Ahhhh

***warning--lots of photos in this post

We just got back from our annual trek to the beautiful beaches of Santa Rosa Beach, FL. It was wonderful. Great company, awesome weather, refreshing water, fun time in the sand, yummy food--perfection! We normally don't take our vacation until much later in the summer, but this year, J felt it would be better with his work schedule to go a little earlier. I'm so glad we did. I have a sinking feeling that in a few weeks, SRB will be feeling the full effects of the oil spill, just like so many other communities on the Gulf coast. It is just tragic. I shudder to think of the kind of damage that has already been done and what the ramifications will be. We're talking generations here. Horrible.

When we go to the "beach house" (as the Noodle likes to call it), our days are pretty similar. We try to make the most of the beach. When the youngest member of the family typically wakes up between 5:45 and 6:15, you could be down by the ocean, by say, 8:30-9:00. We generally went back up for lunch and certainly the all-important nap, but once the Chinese Noodle woke up, we were back down there until 5:00-5:30.

Somehow, the days flew by and we were busy, busy, busy. Nothin' like the sand and surf to make all 3 of us sleep like babies!

Things to do on the beach:

fly a kite (watch out for power lines...more on that later)


build a sand town


or a sand turtle


blow some bubbles (or let the wind help since it was sooo windy!)


sit in the "stream"


feel the sun on your face and the water on your belly


do a little coloring


catch up on a good book


enjoy a snack


play with the spiky ball


jump for joy


take in the sights


ride the waves


take the hand of someone you love


run along the sand


have a temper tantrum (and be ignored by mom and dad)


cook up a batch of "chowda" (for Uncle and Aunt C)


take a dip in the "chowda"


pause and pose for a family photo (making sure Spiderman is included in the shot)


look at tracks in the sand


watch the sun set and marvel at the beauty of God's creation