beach day

We spent Memorial Day at the beach. I can't tell you how gorgeous the weather was. There was no humidity and a cool breeze. If I hadn't the parental responsibility of 4 children, I would have laid my chair back, closed my eyes and slumbered peacefully for hours. But, because I am such a great mother, I took lots of pictures of the children, applied lots of sunscreen, worried about all the sharks waiting to eat feet and legs, helped bruised souls mend, applied time out a few times, made sure the little ones didn't get swept away by a wave, bought sea shells at Lana's store, supplied a warm lap to ward off the chattering teeth, and enjoyed the warm sun and my children having fun.

I'm always impressed with Chris. The second he applies vast amounts of sunscreen to his head, he is off in the water with everyone. He takes each individual far into the water to jump the waves. He helps each of the little ones ride perfect waves on the boogie boards. He spends time with the older two as they swim farther and farther, making me nervous!, and protects them. And then he comes back and starts all over. He never sat down once the entire time we were there.

It's fun to watch each child.









Ceily has always been a digger. She sits in the surf and shovels up wet sand in her hands and usually lets it fall upon her body. She rolls in the waves. She always has sand in her hair. As we return I always find pockets of shells she has collected.

Eddie is in the water. Always. Body surfing, boogie boarding, swimming. He will occasionally dig huge holes and try for sand castles, but the call of the waves is too strong to resists. He's usually the last one to come out of the water so we can go.

This was the photo Eddie wanted me to take. No one in the picture.

Lana loves the water and this year has become extremely brave. I was watching her as she took the boogie board all by herself and masterfully rode wave after wave. She would hop on top and paddle her little body to find those perfect waves. I was quite surprised. She did get upset and sulked for a bit when she had to wait her turn for dad time. But, she was able to collect lots of shells to sell. And yell at Noah for destroying said shell store.

Noah is constant movement. He's in the water. He's jumping over waves. He's boogie boarding. He's running after birds. He's chasing dogs.

He's trying to instigate sand wars. He's belly flopping in the surf. He's clinging to his dad as they swim together, far, far away. He then takes the time to cuddle in the towels and my arms and talk. Usually about how he's hungry and needs some food and he can't believe I didn't bring any good snacks and he's starving and what is he going to eat...

And then I gather everyone, sand and all, and we head home. Filled with shells and memories and pink cheeks and heads...and the house is quiet for a bit as we all rest and remember and plan for the next beach outing.