The Beach

We had a wonderful trip to the beach with Christina and her family last week. We went to Bethany Beach in Delaware. We had such a wonderful time. It was blissful to sit in the warm sun and watch my kids playing in the sand. The only thing I would have changed was the fact that Brent wasn't there. I feel sorry for him when he has to miss times like these. I really wish that he could have seen the kids on the beach. They would have loved to play with him.

Liza was as crazy as one would expect. She was leaping into waves head first, and getting sucked under every so often by an undertow. She was a little too brave for my tastes, but I was lucky to have Kimmie (Christina's Sister), who is a life guard, there to pull her up most of the time.

She tried her hand at boogie boarding, and seemed to enjoy that. She also spent quite some time out on an air mattress with Christina's little sister Lizzy too. She absolutely filled her hair with sand both days.

Alex took more time to develop trust with the water. (true to his personality too) He eventually grew to trust and was out jumping around at the end of day one. Then one huge wave knocked him over and sucked him under. Liza takes the credit for "saving " him, she says that she reached for his arm and pulled him up out of the water. True to his personality again, he decided that the water had betrayed his trust and he didn't set foot in it again. He did however enjoy digging in the sand and occasionally borrowing a wave to fill his pit that he dug. My favorite Alex story from this trip was not on the beach however, it was back at the 'beach house' where we had dinner. Eli's Grandma was sweet enough to make a yummy crock pot chicken recipe, which she served on Mashed potatoes. It tasted good, but it didn't look so hot. (as it is with most crock pot recipes) When she slopped that chicken and gravy on his potatoes he looked at her like she was crazy! Then he sat at the table and watched everyone else eat. (again something Alex does well). When Eli's Grandma came to sit down she told the kids that they would get a prize if they found a bone in their dinner. (PRIZE??? Did Alex hear the word PRIZE?) It was like a treasure hunt! He ate his whole dinner AND Tori's leftovers because he was digging for bones. He found 3!! They were tiny, but they were bones, none the less. She rewarded him with and ice cream cone, and I awarded her with a pat on the back for being to ingenious!

Tori was warned at the beginning of day 1 that she would be "sucked out to sea" by the strong waves if she wasn't careful. Christina's mom took Tori out to the water and let her feel the sand pull her little feet under so that she could get a feel for how strong the water was and what I meant by "sucked out to sea." Tori, being the sweet obedient type, steered clear of the water for the most part of the whole trip. She would get very nervous if I went into the water and would yell "careful mom, you're going to get sucked out to sea!!!" She had a wonderful weekend with Eli's Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa sat with the two of them in the blazing sun and dug for Sand Crabs for a REALLY Long time! Tori Loved it. There is just something special about that Grandparent time that kiddos need. Tori developed quite a relationship with Eli's Grandma, she was found several times curled up in her lap talking. The night that we stayed over, Tori was very tired, but we were waiting for dinner, she was crying and very upset. Eli's Grandpa came in and asked her if he could read her a book. They curled up on the bed and read a book together that seemed to calm her down pretty well. What a great guy.

This is Tori loving her little baby sand crab. She thought they were great. She also loved to dig in the sand and play with her dear friend Eli.

Katie was so excited to arrive at the beach house! She was so happy to see Leah there. She just kept saying "Hi, Hi, Hi" over and over to Leah as I got her unbuckled and out of the car. She just couldn't believe that Leah was there. I think that she was more excited to see Leah, then Leah was to see her, but they got along well. Katie on the other hand did not like the heat and did not like the sand! She had little to no appetite and would just lift up her little princess toes and legs any time the sand got on them. It was nice however because I didn't have to chase her. I knew for pretty sure that she wasn't leaving the blanket, towel or chair that I put her on, so long as she was surrounded by sand. It was like having one of those invisible fences around the blanket. She also however enjoyed some grandparent time as she took a nice nap in Leah's Grandpas arms.
A great time was had for all. Thank you again Christina for letting us join in on your family fun. You're Family is wonderful. Thank you to your folks for all their help and love. They really helped me feel better about my kids needing to see grand parents. We had a wonderful time full of memories. :-)