in the water

Are you tired of seeing my kids on the beach? While we are here there is not much else to do so you will have to wait to see my other interests until I get home. The weather has been beautiful and we are enjoying lazy days relaxing together. As you can see Lily is in the pool - and it is not heated!

simple pleasures

We spent the whole day at the beach today. I mean 8 hours straight! We totally missed lunch unless you count the grapes, pretzels and cookies we snacked on. As you can see the kids are getting darker and darker (and "Yes, Mom" I did cover them with SPF 50 sunscreen! ha ha) Can you believe how high Christopher is jumping in that top picture? I was taking some cute shots of them looking at the water when he leaped up! The bottom picture is of the sand cake that they made me. They happily played all day together with only their imagination and a few sand toys. I LOVE homeschooling on days like this!

beach routine

Our days here have taken on a lazy routine. We wake up and eat breakfast then head out. I walk and the kids ride their bikes down the bike path about a mile and a half to the lighthouse/playground. It is a wonderful new playground with swings, slides, playhouses, see saws and all kinds of neat things- not the metal structures back in my day! I sit and alternate watching them and reading on my Kindle 2 (Amazon's ereader). They play until I am starving and we ride back, picking up fresh seafood for dinner. We eat lunch then head out to the beach. They have dug in the sand and built elaborate structures and racetracks. They jump in the waves and play until dinner. After dinner they play and color while I read aloud to them. Other days we go to the beach first and then the park. It has been such a blessing to be able to spend time with the kids without having to do anything else. I am wondering why we have so many toys at home when they are so content with so much less. Is it because we as parents find it easier to give them toys than our undivided time? Hmmmm......

Raw Oysters

It has been beautiful here at the beach. Todd and I are sun burnt - are we the only parents who religiously slather our children from head to toe in sunscreen and then go out without any on? We went to the Annual Chili Cook off today and then headed to the beach. Christopher & Lily surfed the waves while Miles played with his trains in the sand. The water was freezing to Todd and I but the kids thought it was perfect. There is nothing more relaxing than a lazy day at the beach watching your kids splash in the water then crash at night. All our kids also tried raw oysters last night! They loved it! Crazy.

first day at the beach

We decided to home school our 3 children this year. To take advantage of this schedule, we are spending the month at the beach. I figure why not "do school" at the beach when rates and crowds are low! (I am going for the learning opportunity not because I love the beach- obviously) So, yesterday we loaded up - I mean we really loaded down the car with everything for one adult, 3 kids, and a dog for a month! And today we went for a walk and played at the beach. It is a little cool for me but the kids didn't seem to notice. I have already collected lots of shells. Anyone have any craft ideas for shells? The two older kids buried themselves in the sand! Our first day has been fun and relaxing - I mean- filled with educational experiments!

Not all who wander are lost.
_jrr Tolkien