Laguna Part Un

This post is a long time coming. It has been almost 3 weeks since I took the last of these pictures. Why it has taken me so long to edit them and get them up is beyond me... Every year for the past 23 years my moms family has gotten together for a weeklong vacation/reunion in Laguna Beach, CA. I consider Laguna Beach to be the most beautiful of all the So. California coastal towns, but that is a highly biased opinion. What makes the week so great for everyone is that we do the same thing every year, and we are all okay with that. There are no expectations about how to entertain ourselves; we have found what works for us, and we stick to it. Our days pretty much consist of this: Eat, play games, swim/go downtown and hit the shops, eat, go to the beach to surf/body surf for 4-5 hours, swim back at condo, eat, swim, games, sleep. Doesn't that sounds like a great week! This post is split into two parts, part un and part deux, so don't stop after this one!

Caleb having a great time with his G-paw!

Three generations of Johansen men

Laguna Beach has a Mediterranean European feel to it. What's not to love? Other than this was one of the few times we actually saw the sun that week. In 23 years, this was the first it had ever rained on us. What luck.

Let's ask Caleb what he thought of the vacation with all his relatives.

"Caleb, did you have a fantastic week?"

Caleb: (thinking)..............................................

Caleb: (after some contemplation) "giggle, giggle, smile, laugh, squeak, laugh squeak!"

Caleb even got to assert some independence now that he is growing stronger by the day.

And he got to feel the sand between his toes...

And he got his toes tickled frequently...

Jim was really happy to get to spend at least a little time with Caleb

Grandma Kim was super excited to spend lots and lots of time holding her new favorite person to spoil.

Nicole was really happy to be able to relax on the beach when she could.

One thing we discovered is Caleb's love of flying. Not so much on the airplane, but in our arms.

See, I told you...

Caitlin and her boyfriend Steve. It was fun meeting my future brother-in-law.

And of course we had to get fresh gelato downtown one night!

(Continue to part deux)