Sand Where No Sand Should Ever Be
On Saturday, Chris, Bean, and I decided to pack up the car, throw Bean in a bathing suit, and get the heck outta dodge! And where do newly relocated Floridians go when they need to get away? The beach, of course!
Cocoa Beach, to be exact.
I grew up on the beach, but since moving to Connecticut my beach bummin’ days have been few and far between. Now that we are back in Florida though, I hope to make up for that. I love the beach. It’s such a relaxing, soothing, calming place to spend an afternoon. Listening to the waves, kicking back with a good book, catching a little nap in the warmth of the summer sunshine…
Wait a minute…
Wait just a darn minute here…
Something seems to have changed. Because on this trip to the beach, my relaxing book and warm summer nap were replaced instead by sand buckets, sticky watermelon, and a mysterious short little man with a belly who squealed in my ear every time a wave crashed on shore.
Ahh…yes. Gone are the days of getting cute to go to the beach. No more bikinis (at least not until I get rid of these stretch marks…). No more clean beach towels that are just used to dab the sweat on my brow occasionally. No more coming home with dry, clean bathing suits.
Those things are no more.
Because of this.
See, I thought that I could stay clean and dry this time. I hadn’t really thought much about the alternative. But, see that sandy little Bean Bean up there? Well, sometimes he needs hugs. He needs a snuggle. And sometimes he needs those hugs and snuggles about two seconds after he has been rolling around in water and then immediately rolling around in sand. And when he decides that right now, in this sandy, wet condition, he needs a hug? Well, I’m gonna hug him.
And when I wrap my arms around his sandy little body, I’m gonna get sand all up my arms and all over my neck, where the sand monkey decided to bury his sandy little face.
But, then I look out from my beach chair where I sit, covered in sand, and I see this…
And even from 50 yards away on the beach, I can hear Bean squealing and babbling and pointing out everything he sees to Chris. And suddenly I don’t even notice the sand in my bathing suit.
It was Bean’s first trip to the beach. To say it was a big hit would be a huge understatement. Bean thought the beach was the greatest place in the entire world. When we first got there, we set up our little area. I brought a big sheet and two beach chairs for me and Chris. We had a big cooler with lunch and snacks and drinks. And, of course, we had sand toys – a bucket, a sand sifter, and a shovel. And we had a giant tug boat (thank you to my friend, Sarah, for giving Bean this enormous tug boat that he loves so stinkin’ much that I had to schlep it across the beach all day…). And a rubber walrus. And a rubber penguin.
Once we were all set up, we had a little lunch.
Well, not really. Chris and I had lunch. Bean spit out everything I gave him as he pointed to the water, crying, “Waaaaa! Waaaaa!” (which is Bean Speak for “water”). There was no way he was eating anything until he went out into the water. So, being the fun daddy that he is, Chris scooped him up and the two of them headed out to the water together.
When they got close enough that the water was actually hitting Bean’s feet, his squeal went up into octaves that only dogs could hear. He just kept pointing to the water and soundlessly squealing, “Waaaaa!!! Waaaaa!!”
They stopped walking for a minute and let the water come over their feet. As the water eroded away the the sand under their toes, Bean sank deeper and deeper into the warm, sandy muck. And as the water rushed, he dropped his voice all serious-like and deeply exclaimed, “Ohhhhh…” as if he had been wondering about sand erosion all his life.
After this little scientific experiment, they decided to do what boys do best. Dig. Chris brought out the sand sifter and the two of them sifted wet, gloopy sand together.
Without warning, Bean decided he had had enough sand sifting and he was ready for bigger things. Like body surfing. So, he headed out to sea all by himself.
Thankfully, Chris is faster than Bean (for now…) and he scooped him up and carried him out to the deeper part.
I have no pictures of them any further out in the water because any deeper than this and I started to yell out, “WATCH FOR SHARKS!! WATCH FOR SHARKS!! SHARKS!! SHARKS!!” and after scaring about every person within a 2 mile radius, I went back to my beach chair and decided to watch for sharks from a distance in silence.
(Note to future beach goers: Probably best to not yell out “SHARK!” or any phrase involving “SHARK!” when in the presence of tourists and families. Unless, of course, you actually see a shark. And then, by all means, yell all you want.)
Once back in the comfort of my beach chair, I opened the Tupperware container I packed of watermelon. Which from all the way out in the water, Bean managed to smell. Within minutes he was crawling all over me for “Mooooooeeee! Moooooee!” (That would be “more,” in Bean Speak).
With watermelon juice and salt water now covering 99.9% of his body surface, Bean decided it was once again time for a little sand rolling.
We spent the rest of the day rotating between walking in the water and digging in the sand.
Two things I have not done on a beach since I was five years old. And I have to say, it’s not a bad way to spend a day. Apparently, sand washes off and salt water won’t kill you. Who knew?
Turns out, a day at the beach – whether you are reading a book on a dry, clean towel or covered in sand and watermelon juice – is pretty darn relaxing after all.
It is relieving, refreshing, and remarkable to me that even when things are hard, even when things seem off and unfamiliar, even when I’m working through things in my marriage, it still doesn’t take much for me to pause and remember that I am so very, very blessed by having these two sand monkeys in my life.
28 Comments
Amber Barnum
It’s so great that you all went out together and had a great day. You get the chance to relax, have some fun, and rejuvenate your relationships all at the same time. I know it is those kinds of days that help my hubby and I get through the tough spots… just spending some real quality time as a family really helps.
Oh, and P.S. Bean is so stinkin cute!!! 🙂
Megan
Sounds like Beanie’s first beach trip turned out much better than Q-Tip’s. She wasn’t so sure she liked the sand sticking to her wet feet. And the fact that the water was around 65 degrees didn’t help matters. Maybe she will enjoy it next time…or maybe we need to come to Florida!
Glad y’all had a fun day out of the house!
🙂
Megan
http://reddirtandcrazy.blogspot.com/
Candice
I’m sure this day did wonders for everyone’s spirits. Sunshine is nature’s mood lifter.
And Bean is so cute… and Chris is a hottie. Looks like a great day all around. 🙂
Sara
Awwwe! That post made me swoon before bed. The pictures of Bean and his Daddy are precious, and I’m so glad that you shared them with us. Thanks!
Ashley
SOO JEALOUS!! Bean is so precious in his swim suit! Such a cute/sweet family!
Jessica
Cocoa Beach is my hometown.. I was born there. We now live in the desert of Las Vegas (Thank you Airforce) and I miss it so much!! I can’t wait to take our little girl for her first trip to see the Grandparents & play in the sand.
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
Sand and water. Pretty much all a kid needs for entertainment as it turns out. Our version also includes toads. I’m going to take picture this week too, but I gotta be honest: my kids just aren’t as cute anymore as yours is. 🙂
TheCakeMom
Oh my, that belly! Too cute!!!
And I would be screaming about sharks too, lol
Dana
Oh my! Such fun! We are headed to the beach this week and I am so excited. You are so right, though, once you have babies, it is a different kind of relaxing!! So glad Bean is a fan since y’all live in Florida now. Thanks for sharing your fun day!
Heather M
I’m glad that you had a great day at the beach. I love visiting the beach to escape too 🙂
Sarah@Crazy Love Gamble-Style
What a fun day! That last picture just about killed me with it’s cuteness! We spend as much time as we can on the beach. There is no better place to play. So fun it is even worth all the clean up!
Leah
Yay for a great day! Adorable photos. And yes, it always amazes me how some kind of little getaway seems to clear up all me and my husbands tensions and frustrations, at least for a while. And even if they all come crashing in the second we get back home, that glimmer of truth in the midst of all the crap gives me something to remember and cling to when I’m tempted to indulge in wallowing later on.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
Oh goodness. I’m sure you get sick of hearing it but I can’t stand the cuteness. Maybe it’s because my baby fever is so bad. So adorable!
Sarah H.
I loved this! I don’t know why but I started tearing up when I read this. Maybe because I use to live 25 min from the beach and now I live 2 and half hours. Or maybe because your family is just so cute and wonderful!
Alaina
What cute pictures! He really looked like he was enjoying himself…my niece Riley was scared to death of the sand (I think it was a texure thing) the first time she went to the beach. I love his little tummy sticking out of his shirt…so cute!
Nate's Mom
One of the most awww-some (get it? awwwww-some?) entries ever. I sat here telling Chad, “Bean says Water! Bean says More!” and marveling at his joy at the beach. Did Bean try to eat the sand? We’re debating introducing Nate to the (really stinky, nothing like the Hawaiian ones that I grew up with) beach here in CT. All I picture are fistfuls of sand going in his mouth and hearing an endless crunch for weeks….
Kendra
Looks like you had tons of fun! The picture of you is great!
Jen at Cabin Fever
That’s too funny… yelling “Shark” is a great idea if you want a nice photo op of he beach with no one in the background!
And sand in weird places is the reward of an appropriately enjoyed time at the beach 🙂
Cabin Fever in Vermont
Life of a Doctor's Wife
How wonderful to see the beach and ocean through the eyes of your little one!! He looks so deliriously happy out there! And that last photo of Chris and Bean is amazing.
Ashley
Haha I love the part about looking for sharks….and the pictures are so darn cute!!
Lissa
You might enjoy a book called Love and Respect by Emmerson. Might be a real help for the transition blues. Thanks for sharing such a great blog btw.
Jamie
Beanie! He’s such a little pork and bean!
Kimberly Loomis~The Musicians Wife
I totally lost your RSS feed and am SOOO behind! Boo! But I love this post…I can almost hear the waves crashing and feel the warmth…it’s like, sixty degrees here in the Seattle area. And cloudy. And the ocean feels like it is a million miles away. So this was a nice little mental trip, as I’m working on a blog post about my first baby, our son, going to overnight camp for the first time! Sigh…he was just Bean’s age yesterday! I swear! I remember his first trip to the beach…he hated grass but loved sand. =)
~Kimberly
http://www.themusicianswife.com
Jessica W
He is so brave! I don’t have any kids of my own, but I’ve gone to the beach with most of my friends’ kids and they are all terrified of the water!! I try and be the “Cool Aunt” and show them it’s fun but they seem less than convinced. My niece (3) freaks out if I’m holding her and a wave even just splashes her foot! I’m so impressed with your seemingly fearless little boy!
Sarah M.
This is completely unrelated to your post, but I want you to know that I love that you post so early in the morning! It is a wonderful start to my day before I have to trudge off to work.
P.S. Bean is cute. But I’m guessing you already knew that.
Emilyc
What a wonderful adventure for your little Bean!! Love the pictures and had to laugh about your new beach experience with a baby. My sister and I have always loved going to the beach and once she had a baby we continued to go but it certainly does change everything! Hope you have many more trips to the beach!
Emily Marie
CUTE!!! Cute cute cute cute cute – I wish we had a decent beach around here for me to take my two little monkeys to – unfortunately Washington beaches are neither sandy nor warm. Boo. But you guys look like you had an absolutely fantastic day. Yay!
Andrea B.
Bean is just too cute in his outfit and that hat!! And I just love hearing about his squeals and ooohs!!