a day at the beach


We finally made it to the beach yesterday.  The kids have been out of school for a month, but the weather as taken the “June Gloom” mantra a little too seriously.  Yesterday is sunny and hot here, which makes it tolerably warm at the beach.  Boy 2 invited a friend to come, as Boy 1 is still away having Boy Scout adventures.  We also invited another family which gave both the Girl and I a friend to play with/talk to.

The drive was beautiful through the canyon and the beach was sunny and quite warm.  The kids are now at an age where they want to be in the water up to their neck (or more!).  This, of course, means that I need to watch them like a hawk, which is exhausting!  I do remember being the same way, spending hours in the ocean, riding the waves all the way into the beach, ducking under the ones that were about to crash right on top of me, and getting tossed around so hard that I didn’t even know which way was up.  It makes me happy that they are experiencing the same thing and loving it too.  Since I won’t even get in the ocean anymore- too cold!- it feels a bit like passing the mantle on to the next generation.

The only thing that marred the day was that I think we have a bad bottle of sunscreen.  Both Boy 2 and I ended up with some pretty good sunburns.  Boy 2’s face was so red and painful looking, it broke my heart.  The Husband cut some aloe from the plant in the backyard and slathered him up.  It’s nice to have the aloe plant for situations like this, and the Husband always seems to remember to use it.

Boy 1 is coming back from Camp Chawanakee today.  I can’t wait to see him and hear all about his adventures.  Our little family has not been complete without him.