At the Beach (finally)

It's true...I haven't taken my kids to the beach all summer.  And I practically live in Galveston.  The shame!

I finally broke down and went at the suggestion of a friend.  Apparently there was a cute little beach just a ways down from me in a little bay.  It was very quiet and uncrowded and overall lovely.

The waves were very small and gently lapped up on the beach, which must have been much less intimidating to Jake because he charged right in with his older brothers.

To my dismay, however, this beach was teeming with hermit crabs.  While I was interested at first, I was less than thrilled when the boys begged me to bring a few home.  And for some asinine reason, I agreed.  What is wrong with me?  Now I have two petrified hermit crabs living in a tank in the boys' bathtub until I can find a spot for them (if they don't die first).  Let me tell you, the smell is...odoriferous.

After enjoying the water for awhile, the gentlemen went to work digging enormous holes and then filling them with water.  (They then put their hands in the water and pretended they had "phased" into another dimension--their words, not mine).

This is the fantastic lady I went with.  I had an absolutely wonderful time talking with her about everything under the sun.  She made me promise not to post this picture on Facebook but I made no such promises about my blog (mwahahaha).

What you don't see in this picture is how absolutely caked in mud Jake was at this point.  The lighting was apparently forgiving, but if you look closely, you can see dirt eyebrows with a matching moustache.

Grace was an absolute peach the entire time.  I just wore her in my sling and she was happy as a little clam.  That is until she realized she hadn't eaten in 90 minutes...that's where things started to get ugly....(believe me, that sandy strap-cover she's gnawing on wasn't cutting the mustard).

Lovely, lovely day.  Will definitely have to remember that spot.