I made a commitment to myself this summer to be a good San Diego mom and actually take my children to the beach a few times to do more than just walk along the sand and collect sea shells. When you have gone through a near drowning experience with your child in a pool, the beach suddenly seems like the scariest place on earth. If my child nearly drowned and died in what felt like safe and responsible situation in a pool, why in the world would I ever allow my children to venture into the unpredictable ocean and subject myself to such stress and worry. And so I haven't. But this year I decided it was time to be brave. I had to accept that my children will not be able to be kept from the beach forever. So I told myself that though I was allowed to be annul and overprotective, we needed to go to the beach. And we did. And we had A Ton of fun!
A few times we went with some friends to the bay. This was perfect for me, and actually quite perfect for my children (at least while they are this little). There was hardly any crowd at all, which meant I could relax a little and not be freaked out every second feeling like my kids were being lost and swallowed up in the sea of skin and people. There are no waves, so the water seemed much friendlier and kind to me. And we could park totally close, allowing me to take 10 trips to the car if needed. I loved it!
Kellen and Peter are so funny together. I love their crazy boy friendship. And I equally love watching Conner trying to keep up with them.
Makenna and Addy at the beach. It was nice to have another little girl for Makenna to play with and collect sea shells with, instead of having to be with the boys who were running around pretending to shoot seagulls and throw sand on each other all day.
Papa met us down at the bay one day and we had a really fun time playing with him in the water and in the sand. He certainly knows how to be a kid himself!
We attempted to make a small "wading pool" for the kids by digging a huge hole and then filling it with ocean water. Then all the "bucket heads" got in at once. It was cute. But in this picture it actually just looks kind of nasty :)
My Favorite day at the beach this summer by far was when Todd took the day off and was able to spend the day with the family at the beach. This time we went to the actual beach (with the crowds and waves and all). Having Todd with me to manage the kids made this much more relaxing and enjoyable. We went to this adorable beach in Escondido called moonlight beach and it was so worth the drive. It was a really pretty beach and just the perfect "family" beach. Since Daddy came with we brought the boogie board and Todd took Makenna and Kellen both out for awhile and helped them both catch their first wave and ride in to shore. It was really cute and both of the kids had a blast.
The kids also had a lot of fun catching sand crabs (their first time experiencing this). Makenna especially loved the crabs and quickly had 2 buckets full of them. I taught the kids how to make drip castles and attempted to make them as tall as we could before Conner came over and destroyed them. All in all it was just a really nice day and a lot of fun as a family. It is always so nice to be together, all of us together.
Perhaps one of my very favorite parts of going to the beach with my kids this summer and for the first time as a parent was seeing the beach through my childrens eyes and being reminded of all the things I loved about the beach as a kid. The feeling of running as fast as you can right into the ocean until you tumble and fall and collapse into the waves. Coming out of the cold ocean, all clean and salty and diving straight into the hot sand and being warmed instantly (only to then have to go back into the ocean to clean off again). The taste of sand on your sandwich and snacks, no matter how hard you try to stay sand free. Running away from the waves or jumping into the waves. Chasing seagulls away from your food. There is just something special about the beach.
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