I need to get out of here!

I'm not sure if anyone else is experiencing this claustrophobia feeling like I am. I really need to get the heck off this base, out of this area and just find some place with peace and quiet for awhile. No sounds of roaring plane engines, no revving cars flying past the house, no real chaos. Just peace and quiet. I want to go to the beach. I wanna rent one of those houses that's supposed to be on Pacific Beach. The military owns them and you can rent them for next to nothing. Just to get away for more than just a "day trip." Something, maybe a weekend? Just to get away with me and the hubbs, the girls. Just some family time away from the always present NOISE. Walk on the beach and not be surrounded by all the crazies that are their on holiday weekends or during the summer. Listen to the waves. That's about all the noise I would be able to take.

The girls loved the beach when we've gone. They love digging in the sand, making shapes, finding shells (LOTS of shells) and flying kites. They loved being able to walk around and not have buildings and cars to worry about. I love watching them relax and seem to just be at peace near the water. It's something that is so rare with kids like mine.  It's like the ocean is their white noise and they don't have to work so hard to regulate themselves. It's really an amazing site for a parent. And i love being able to watch things seem so small in perspective to the mammoth size of the ocean.  Part of me thinks that if I stare long enough, and find the right place to focus, I can see all the way to Japan and see my friends, maybe all the way to Heaven.

I grew up around the beach, it was a family tradition to go to Nags Head every summer and just be at the beach. The beaches there are completely different then the ones here. (I'm kind of a beach snob.)  Here the rocky coast breaks the sandy paradise. There, it's sand, all different kinds and textures for miles. Nothing but sand w/ piers that stretch out into the water. You can see the little shops on the piers and people fishing off of them. You don't see "ocean view restaurants" and cement. There it's maybe a light house here or there, alot of families with their toys and kids spread out. Not vendors and trucks parked on the sand. Don't misunderstand me, the Pacific Ocean is amazing. The waves are completely different and the whole atmosphere is more random, which is beautiful in itself. The rocky cliffs, evergreen trees, horse rentals and kites for sale, right there on the beach. That is wonderful here. It is an amazing display of God's work. To have to completely different coasts on the same country is remarkable.

I want to go camping too. I want to pack up my kids, take my husband and the dog and go camping. (Yeah, me, in a tent w/ 3 kids, a husband and a dog? WTF am I thinking?)  Just to show them that you don't have to have electricity and the constant noise from electronics. Nature can be an amazing source of entertainment.  My kids love to hike and walk and see the different parts of nature. They see the amazingly different kinds of trees, mushrooms, sounds. They make up these great stories of elephants and dinosaurs. They carry these magnifying glasses and binoculars to see all of the beautiful things. Sometimes they stop dead in their tracks and start talking about the fairy gardens that are under the ferns and the beautiful sparkles that are coming off of the leaves. They want to try finishing too. We bought them poles this past summer, but Riley refuses to go unless her "Uncle Toby" is there. She is bound and determined that fishing is something that she can only do with her Uncle. Which is absolutely hilarious considering that the kid (Toby, not Riley) left his boots (yes, ones attached to his feet) in the Neuse river back home and didn't even notice till he got back to his house. He's a great guy though, and he loves his "nephews". (Yeah, for the first year and 1/2 of Riley's life, he consistently called her his nephew).   Toby is a wanderingly random free spirit. Some people aren't made to stay in one place for too long, and Toby is one of them.  I love seeing the excitement in his eyes when he talks about his upcoming adventure.

I think Ella is alot like her Uncle Toby and her Moogee. She loved to take off on the trails and just keep going straight, even when the path would lead in a completely different direction. I guess I don't have to worry about her being a "trail blazer", she loves to follow her own course. (God help me!)

Maybe that's part of my genetics, wanting to get away from all of this chaos. I'm not sure, but I'm sure I need to. :/