The Lang Family: California Dreams

When thinking about our summer vacation plans this year, we considered renting a beach house in North Carolina's Outer Banks or Rehoboth Beach, like so many of the other folks around here do. But Reed is notoriously wussy when it comes to new situations, and we worried that we would pack up for a week at the beach, get there, and Reed would steadfastly refuse to get anywhere near the sand or shore for the entire time. Instead, we decided to head home to Agoura, where a heated pool waited in the backyard for twice daily swim sessions, the beach was a mere 20 minute drive away (in case a certain 2-year-old hated it and needed to leave NOW), and our Sherwin family awaited our arrival with big smiles and open arms. We made sure to plan our trip with Rob and Brie, so that we could all be there at the same time.

It was an amazing week. Some of the highlights:

Twice-daily swim sessions (as mentioned above!). Reed particularly enjoyed the noodles, his circle raft, and seeing Uncle Robby wear his swim sweater.
The beach! Turns out, Reed could be a beach bum. He loved it all - the sand, the waves, the tunnels on the canyon.
Watering Grammy's flowers. Reed loved his daily chore.
Colin's performance and Aunt Candy's choreography in TADW's Aladdin. So cool to get to see all of their hard work this summer pay off in such a great show! Colin was an amazing Abu and Candy's choreography was wonderful. I think the best part of the experience was Reed's comment once we got in the car to leave. After being on the verge of tears the entire time and whimpering into my ear every five minutes, "Home! Go home!", he says cheerfully, with zero sarcasm, "That was FUN!". I kid you not.
Telestrations. Perhaps a new Sherwin family favorite?
Old friends. A special treat for me was visiting with my old ballet teachers Kim Maselli and Joyce Hurley. They were such an important part of my childhood and teenage years, and I owe so much to them.
Family BBQ. Catching up with our family and seeing Reed enjoy his cousins Colin, Evan, Brooklyn, and Chelsea was so precious.
Splash park! Well, maybe not a REAL splash park, but the water fountain at the Janns Mall was definitely a highlight for Reed.
Talking, talking, talking . . . Reed had a huge language burst while we were in CA. All of a sudden, his three and four word sentences turned into six, seven, and eight word sentences, and we could actually have real conversations with him. It's only increased since then.