Beach Days

Last weekend our little family headed to the beach for the day. The kids and I have actually gone quite a few times this year already with our friends. But it's so nice to be able to go with Daddy. And not just because he can help haul all that stuff down there!

He loves to play in the water with the kids and make sand castles and buy ice cream from the ice cream truck that drives by with the obnoxious music. I never buy it but Daddy, he always buys it.

There is always a moment for me while sitting there listening to the ocean, feeling the breeze and just relaxing in the sun that I think... this is perfect. I love going to the beach and lucky for me so do my kids. They aren't the ones who don't want to get in the water (except this last weekend when I thought I felt something on my foot and started freaking out and Andon was watching me the whole time and starts running like a wild banchee out of the water. :)) But we recovered when I told him that I think it was some shell or something. Really, i'll never know what it was but it was weird feeling.

I never really like to take my camera to the beach because I don't want to get sand in it but I decided to take it with us this time.

I can only get pictures of the back of her because once she sees the water, she's gone!





And he lives for boogie boarding now. He will do it the whole time we're there. Come home with a rash all over his belly from the board and the salt water.







Playing with daddy in the water.





And just for fun here are a couple pics from our beach trip last year on Memorial Day.

What a difference a year makes!





We are getting into the swing of summer around here. Since we homeschool we don't take the full summer off but we do chill out on the daily grind of keeping to the schedule and getting our work done. Let's just say we're pretty relaxed about it during the summer and it feels so nice!

The beach (torture) experience!

So we decide we are going to the beach (I automatically think of all the work, get all the supplies, stop for more supplies, lug all the supplies on fiery sand with Andon asking a million questions and never doing what you want when you need. Picking a spot on the beach away from the crowds, unloading all the supplies, sand in EVERYTHING and so on, you get the picture) This time I decided it best to focus on the kid's (Andon's cousin's went as well) and make the day about them and experiences. Andon already trusts daddy to go in the ocean and brave the waves so it was time to switch it up. I have the bright idea to bury Andon in the sand (photo moment!) so I start digging with a .50 cent shovel from WalMart (piece O junk) and find out real fast that after the first inch down it's all hard sand. The sun is 190 degrees (at least) my back is on fire, I think i'm having a stroke and need to remind myself to breath. After twenty minutes realize i'm only a foot deep... GREAT! "Andon help daddy dig" Andon is actually caving in the sides now while he digs his own hole so I switch it up "Andon go play for a minute, over there" (anywhere but near my hole) After I finish I tell Andon to jump in, fill him up to his neck and let Jen snap some shots. I decide that it's pretty cool and I need to be in the hole with him (What am I thinking after that torture, must be the stroke) and start digging a deeper hole for me and him. 20 to 30 minutes later Jen is pouring water down my throught (I really am having a stroke now, I can't feel my arms and I'm sure the skin on my back has melted off) I jump in with Andon and everyone piles the sand in (WOW, sand compresses your chest and makes it impossible to breath, to top it off it's like an incubator, im dying inside) "JEN TAKE THE PICTURES QUICK". All in all it honestly was worth it, even though I spent a ton of mental time complaining, Andon's look of curiosity mixed with amazement makes all the "torture" worth it! - Jared