Our second day was fair Rosalie's birthday, so we all got to enjoy Edith's delicious crepes for breakfast (and Rosalie's scrumptious chocolate cake later!)
After breakfast, we headed right back down to the beach.
I think the warmth and sea noises agreed with Oscar because he slept peacefully most of the time.
Katie, Edith, and Anika kept an eye on Oscar for me while Caleb, Malan, and I floated in the waves for a while.
Most of us were feeling the sun more on the second day, thus the hats and shirts.
Jane made a shell offering to the sea.
Cue the bad parenting moment. The girls had really wanted to hunt for seashells at the beach, but this wasn't a seashell kind of beach. Still, Jane, Olivia, and Emme happily gathered little bits of shells and sea glass, and they were lovely. Then I got the bright idea to buy a cheap little fish net bundle of about 40 shells from a beach front stand. I discreetly scattered them on the beach and sent the girls hunting. They were thrilled to suddenly find large, perfect shells, but soon they began fighting over who got to certain shells first and how many each had collected. Then when they had gathered them all, they complained that they couldn't find more, like seashells grow on beaches or something, and I was kicking myself. Instead of allowing them a simple, authentic, lovely experience I tried to make it extraordinary and kind of ruined it. Remember that, self.
But of course we still enjoyed the afternoon.
(picture of Olivia the Mermaid by Katie)
(Picture by Edith)
(Picture by Edith)
More to come!
2 comments:
I love your vibrant clear pictures. They make me feel like I'm there! And thanks for the story about the shells. I feel like that happens with our kids too - we try to make things even more magical for them and they fall apart. Very good to remember: kids can't handle too much awesome. But I still sort of love that you did that. It's funny. And us too. Luke not finding a crab and Joey found one and planted it in his path so he could find one. He was still grumpy that first night regardless. We probably should have let him learn about disappointment. Anyway, loved you post. I love that you are doing day by day!
All the joys of going to the beach with my children and grandchildren without the sand in my socks -- I love it! I might like it even better with.
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