.... Remember the times when all we brought were two chairs, sunscreen, towels, and a book? ...
We found a place to set up shop, and proceeded to put up our big sun tent (which is the best thing ever, by the way), while lathering up the kids with sunscreen and attempting to keep hats or sunglasses on them, and keeping them occupied with sand toys while we assembled our tent.
....Remember when we just found a spot, plopped down in our chairs, and sprayed sunscreen on each other?...
Next, it was off to carrying Aiden down to the water to test out the ocean, while Alli skipped along meeting new friends with sand toys all along the way. We got down to the water where Aiden was not a fan. He cuddled up in my arms and now I'm hot and sweaty and have a sticky 20lb-er attached to me, not to mention he's covered in the sand he and Alli were playing with earlier. Alli is pulling on Eric, trying to get him to go in the water, but when a wave came, she ran around like a nut trying to jump over and still get further in the water. Our little dare devil, makes my heart rate skyrocket. Now, Aiden's seeing Alli having fun, squealing and laughing, and is getting a little braver, too. So, off he goes, tentatively, but I have to keep a good hold on him and he does just fine, but also wants to head up the beach and up to the other beach-goers relaxing in their chairs.
...Remember when that was us? Or, remember when we went out to the waves and could just jump right in, get refreshed, swim with two arms, go under water, get back out, and head back up to our chairs?...
Now little explorer #2 (Aiden) is out and about, ready to greet each and every other child, adult, and dog on the beach. When he approached other kids, he would blab to them while sneakily stealing their beach toys. Not on purpose of course, but, he'd grab a shovel and take off. So, I'd have to run after him, take the shovel out of his hand (which of course, he wasn't too happy about), and return it to it's rightful owner. He met a lot of friends along the way, but also a lot of kids that weren't fond of his steal and run technique. I was worn out just chasing him.
...Do I ever remember chasing anything on the beach prior to having kids? No...
Of course, now it's time for Alli to say she has to go potty. So, off I go, carrying the 30lb-er up to the public restrooms. We get in there, stripped down, and of course, "I not need to go potty, MOMMY!" Like it was my idea. Yes, I really wanted to carry her all the way up there for her to have a false alarm. So, I tried talking her into just trying. Ha! Cue meltdown. In the nasty public restrooms that are wet and yuck from beach goers. Ugh.
...Remember having to "go potty", and just heading right out to the ocean? (Oh please, don't act like you've never done it before)...
Finally, it was snack break time. We head back to our wonderful tent we so carefully put together so we all would have nice shelter and a nice little place for a break. About halfway through the snack, Alli proclaims that it's time to go home. "I go home!" Umm, okay? We played just a little longer, but could tell it was getting toward everyone's nap times and the fun of the beach was gone for the day.
...Fun? Did we have fun? Well of course we had a great time seeing our kids enjoy the beach. I loved seeing them both explore, play in the sand and water together, and seem like they genuinely have a good time. But, where was our "relaxing" beach time? The beach therapy we used to always bring up as a motivator to get through the work week? It's a lot different now. We're adjusting. But needless to say, Eric and I still need a beach day after our beach days these days...
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