Mr. Cole - 5yr old stuck in a 2yr olds body

Traditional night attack

 All were overjoyed that Cole's birthday was here - or maybe they were just happy to have balloons to play with that morning!

When I asked Cole how old he was, he yelled, "FIVE!" - the funny thing is the night before, Andrew and I were talking about how weird it is that he was turning two when he feels much, much older.  I suppose he agrees :)

We weren't up for doing much or coordinating much, so we packed up the kids that morning and headed out on our own.  A friend of mine posted a picture of this beach park on her Facebook and I knew it'd be just the place for us.  The best part was that this weekend was forecasted to be beautiful.  Marina Park in Ventura did not disappoint.

Our first plan of attack was the zipline on the pirate ship.  Ry had absolutely no interest, Cole couldn't hold on himself, Andi got over her hesitance after Jackson's first run and Jackson, well we couldn't get him off the thing.

 It was such a wonderful day I was truly addicted to capturing every aspect.  Hence the reason I took over a hundred pictures and have most of them posted right here.  I simply could not choose!

After our photo op, we headed to the playground where Cole felt it necessary to snack.  As did Andrew, but who needs a picture of that!?

Cole was in no way a fan of the swings - I haven't had much luck in children loving swings :(

After about an hour or so, we made our way to the water just as the sun was making it's way out of the clouds.  Cole immediately ran out into the ocean but I couldn't capture that considering I was on sole duty as Andrew made a trip to the car.  Once Cole was safe and sound, I was able to capture his rendezvous with the seagulls surrounding us.

Many are cowering from this creature yet Cole stands strong.  He's obsessed.

The other three played at the water for some time.  Well, really, the boys played there the entire time we were on the beach.  In and out of the water, they were happy as could be.

 The following incident is what placed a bit of fear in Cole - he was taken out by a wave and from that point on, stayed clear of the waves.

 Yep, back with mommy where it's safe.

These two either fight or cooperate - one or the other.  Luckily this moment focused on cooperation.

 Cole kept practicing showing me he's "two" and he kept practicing his name.  It was clear he was getting pretty sleepy at 1pm because he put quite a bit of his body weight on my legs.

 Andi insisted we take a picture with our arms out flying.

The sand castle may have been the highlight of Jackson's day.

LUNCH

Grandma and Grandpa were on their way to join us so we decided to grab a bite to eat before they arrived.  Being about 1:30pm, the kids were starving... ok, so were we.  But, I wasn't the one that shoveled a double double with cheese down my throat.... *cough*cough* JACKSON!

At one point one of the kids took the sprite away from Cole.  He threw a little fit that I found to be hilarious.  Of course I then had to keep trying to get him upset so I could capture the perfect two year old tantrum.  It was awesome.

Once back to the park, we found the old folks scoping out the view.  The kids were stoked to be able to hide and sneak up behind them.  Then of course they got to show them the ropes.

Ry again didn't want to try the zipline, Cole camped out with the sand toys, Jackson and Andi soared and grandpa grandpa coasted sans Cole - he chickened out.

 We were pleasantly surprised that by the time we hit the beach again, it was still gorgeous.  We hung out until about4pm which put us at 5 hours in Ventura.  Truely a perfect day.

Despite the fabulous day, this little birthday boy was still pleased to knock out as soon as we got on the road.

Pizookie's for dessert - what I loved most was the applause Cole received from the tables surrounding us!

Once home and as we were bathing the kids, Curtis and Tristan stopped by to wish Cole a Happy Birthday - they also spoiled the other kids with sand toys and we're even more pumped for our next beach trip.

Papa and Garnet's package arrived in the mail with Cole's gift and it's always fun for them to receive a package.

We feel so blessed to have this little man in our family.  In 90% of the kids' prayers, they thank God for giving us Cole, "the best baby in the whole world".  He completes us!

Cole and his colors
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Cole tells us his name and age
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Sand Castle
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Jackson Zipline
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Grandpa grandpa zipline
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Andi Zipline
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