Beach Retreat

A few weeks ago we escaped the Phoenix heat for a bit of camping on the beach with family and friends.

 

There’s nothing like a little granola and monster trucks in the morning.

 

The cousins were all excited to spend some time together.

 

Dog pile!

 

Veronica was ready to put all the toys to good use.

 

Introducing Ariadne to the ocean.

 

But the ocean is cold, so she decided she’d rather just eat Dad’s shirt instead.

 

The girls wasted no time in getting sand everywhere. In fact, if there was one word that could describe this trip, it would be…sand.

 

Looking for shells and other ocean treasures.

 

Chillin’.

 

We got to meet our newest nephew, Brian Jr. What a cutie-pie!

 

Babies everywhere!

 

I wonder what she’s thinking?

 

Paul hacked a cover for the playpen out of some shade screen that we had lying around – it worked great to keep this little girl out of the sun during nap time.

 

Trying to repair the wall that just got washed away. The risk of building with sand.

 

Structures are safer away from the tide line. He got first place in the sand sculpture contest!

 

A team of architects and their Snowy Mountain Fortress Ruins.

 

What would a trip to the beach be without tumbling in the waves?

 

If you get tired, there’s always someone nearby who’s willing to carry you.

 

And at the end of the day, you could pass out and rest up for the next day of fun.

A Fishy Situation

The big project on Saturday was…digging a hole. But not just any hole.

 

It was the mother of all beach sand holes. Complete with a ramp for easy access and an archway for decoration.

 

The kids loved climbing down into the hole, despite my aunt insisting that holes and tunnels weren’t safe and she had read about them collapsing and trapping kids inside. Everyone thought she was being a worrywart, until the archway did collapse – right on top of one of the kids who was, for some unknown reason, lying under it. I wasn’t there to capture the exciting moment, but I’m pretty sure they pulled him to safety.

 

 

Aside from those involved in the hole-digging, it was a day for relaxing in the sun. The weather was perfect.

 

And there was plenty to snack on. Ew.

 

Once the sea-side antics were finished, some of the group went for another shell-collecting walk.

 

The rest of us stayed behind to collect diaper sand.

 

There was plenty of that to go around. But it was worth the fun playtime.

 

 

I mean, it’s not every day you get to drive a lounge chair around the beach, right?

 

The walkers came back with some interesting finds. This was some kind of stationary sea creature…but if you look closely it kind of looks like a very small hippo. Weird.

 

And of course there was Fernando the Fish. Irresistible to three year olds everywhere.

 

Oh, Fernando. What fond memories.

And Veronica did wash her hand thoroughly when play time was over.

 

Which is good, because we had a tasty dinner waiting to close out the night.

 

Sunday slowed down a bit, at least for me and Jacinta. We took an afternoon nap in my parents’ tent trailer while everyone went back down to the water. But while she was waiting for me to finish my lunch, Michael kept her entertained by reading the ingredient list off of various items on the table, including this bag of flour. Fascinating.

 

And Sunday was a special day – Tyler’s birthday! So there had to be a tasty treat at end of it.

It was also really our last day, since Monday was spent packing everything up and then driving back into the Arizona heat.

We had a fabulous time, especially the girls. I don’t know if I mentioned it yet, but Paul couldn’t make it on the trip, so it was just us girls who got to go. I’m so thankful to my parents for taking such good care of us, and to my aunt Kathy for letting us use her house. It made a huge difference, and let me get the rest I needed to make something like this possible.

And now I’m ready for the next adventure! Or at least I will be…after a few weeks of sleep.

In which Jacinta attempts to crawl to China

Friday was filled with more beach fun. Veronica really wanted to use the boogie board…but I vetoed that idea. It’s a little big for her to handle.

 

She made the best of it anyway.

 

Some chose more relaxing beach activities.

 

But not Jacinta.

 

Catch me if you can, Mom!

 

While some of the other kids played happily in the (mostly) dry sand…

 

Jacinta repeated yesterday’s attempt to crawl all the way to Hawaii.

 

Hawaii? Fuggetaboutit. I’m going for China!

 

Nothing could stop her. Except getting hit in the face by a wave.

 

That encouraged her to try the other direction, too.

I’m going this way!

I was fine with that.

 

Jacinta was pretty tired after her many escape attempts, and finally fell asleep on me. This was a big deal, as she almost never falls asleep anywhere besides her crib. She must have really been exhausted. Trying to crawl the Pacific will do that to you.

 

There was more sand play.

 

And water play.

 

And wave play.

 

Good times were had all around. Except maybe by the parents who had to clean it all up after.

 

Then it was time for dinner. This was the kitchen.

 

More than adequate, I’d say.

 

While dinner was prepared, some snuck away for a little quiet time by the water.

 

But there was playing to do as well.

 

There was no shortage of toys.

 

Or games.

 

I know I’ll get it this time!

 

And, of course, somebody had to organize the collection of shells and rocks.

 

Veronica was happy to oblige.

I’m falling a little behind, but there’s still more to come.