Beach Time

We live just blocks from the beach, but until recently we hadn't really taken advantage of it.  With the addition of the wagon, I am actually able to get all three kids out of the house on my own and without the car so more frequent trips might be in our future. (Though, I readily admit it is MUCH nicer to have Uncle or Boppy along to share the dragging duties.)

We've gone a total of four times so far.  The first was in the afternoon with Uncle (see here), then the next morning they begged me to take them out again.  I piled them in by myself and walked them down to the sand, where we played right by the bottom of the ramp.  Grandma called to say hi and she and Boppy came along to meet us and play for a while.  And this time I remembered to bring sand toys.

Caroline's gone far afield to find sand

Resting with Grandma

Ready for the trek back home

A few weeks later, Uncle and I took them again in the afternoon.  It was warmer than the first time we went, but still a bit chillier than we wanted.  Uncle taught them about digging down to the wet sand to get better building materials.  They really like building sandCAStles (emphasis on the middle syllable for some reason).  But like at the zoo the day before, the big hit of this trip to the beach was the snacks.

Because it was a few days past Valentine's Day, Boppy met us on the way home to deliver some post-Valentine's gifts - little pink stuffed animals!

Daniel calls his frog a "bee beep" (ribbit), Caroline loves her "horse" with the horn on its head, and Max has insisted on adding his pink monkey to the kissing routine at bedtime.

The next morning we went out again, this time in bright sunlight and much less wind.  Tentatively, another triplet family was set to join us, but it didn't work out for them, so we were thrilled when my friend Kate called and said she'd come meet us, especially since some of the kids' favorite sand toys were gifts she'd given them at their birthday.

Uncle dug an extra big hole to get the good sand

All three kids enjoyed finding sticks to "decorate" with

This time, we ventured further out onto the wetter, packed sand nearer the water.  With denser sand, and a little assist from Caroline, Uncle was able to drag the boys for a joy ride.

Caroline needed a bit more of an assist

When we got near the water, Caroline reminded everyone they were not allowed to go in with a definitive, "No go water! Too wet!"

Snacks were still a big part of the experience