back to the beach

we kicked off beach season yesterday! it was a beautiful day...and just a tad bit on the windy side. when we arrived around 10 am, we had the whole beach to ourselves. seriously. we were the only ones out there! i guess everybody else checked the weather report. i just saw a big fat sunshine in the forecast, and that's all i needed. :) that's us on our private beach in the picture above.

the kiddos wasted no time getting to work. i love watching them stay so busy in the sand.


this little girl actually played in the sand instead of eating it like she did last year!


amelia wasn't so sure about walking in the sand, though.


she got the hang of it before too long... there's my happy girl!


caroline was so happy to be back at the beach! her favorite thing to do at the beach is to play with dolls or ponies in the buckets of water. i didn't get a picture of her doing that yesterday, but here she is smiling... so she must be on her way to those buckets!


ethan had a ball splashing around in ankle-deep water. he wanted to go deeper, but it was just a little too cold in there.


he also picked up where he left off last summer.... collecting shells. there's not a lot to find on our beaches these days, but that doesn't stop him from trying! here's one he was really proud to find.


we took a break from the beach to enjoy a little treat. the kids all got push-pops. it's been a long time since i've seen one of those! you can see how much the wind was blowing amelia's ponytail!


"want some, mommy?"


no thanks, i've got my own! i had to laugh at the description of this strawberry shortcake bar. after listing all the artificial junk, the wrapper said, "not a light snack." thanks.


amelia was really enjoying that push-pop! and she was not too happy with me when i took the soggy cardboard cylinder away from her!


i am looking forward to the next several (as in 6 or 7!) months that we can enjoy the beach! praise God for His glorious creation that we can experiene time and time again. i must admit that i've been guilty on multiple counts of snow-day-envy after reading my northern friends' facebook updates over the last few months. but once my toes were buried in the sand yesterday, i say you can have your snow days. i'm headed to the beach.