this year labor day happened to coordinate with ben's birthday. so we took advantage of the long weekend and rented a house in santa cruz with family to celebrate ben turning 35. ben's birthday present was to surf as much as his heart desired. the first evening in town we checked out the waves at steamers lane.
then we ventured over to the santa cruz boardwalk, a first visit for all of us. i don't think william knew what to make of all the lights and sounds at the arcade. we did manage to win a few tickets playing my favorite ski-ball.
me being 8 months pregnant and william little we were limited in our ride options, but we could ride the sky ride or 'this fun ride' as william refers to it.
of course we spent some time at the beach.
in capitola we joined the crowds to watch a bit of the begonia festival and river parade.
william got the best view from ben's shoulders.
and we had cake for bens birthday. william loved the fire.
before heading home we did a quick visit to the fantastic monterey bay aquarium with the rieben family.
happy birthday ben!
