Quit Yer Beachin’

Last week, my one and only goal was to go to the beach.  I think it’s leftover from my high school and college days when Spring Break meant sunshine and tan lines.  Since Chris was working all week, I loaded up the kids by myself for the day and headed to New Smyrna Beach for a little day trip.

I love NSB because it’s one of the rare beaches that lets you drive out and park. And when you’re taking kids by yourself, parking right on the beach has a lot of advantages. For one thing, I can unload and load our stuff in and out of the car while the kids play and still be close by them. I also like that I don’t have to haul things very far. This particular section doesn’t let you drive out all the way onto the beach. You have to park up at the very top of the beach, near the sand dunes. This makes it nice for kids, too, because once we are on the beach, I don’t have to worry too much about traffic or cars. NSB is also super family friendly, and that makes it perfect for a day trip. Even with the Spring Break “crowds” (which is funny to write when you see the picture below…) it was still very calm and family oriented.

My kids are at perfect ages for the beach. They can carry their own stuff, they can play on their own, and they are getting along fabulously at the moment, which makes for a relaxing trip for me. In short, it’s heaven.

On this particular afternoon, a group of high school kids set up their camp right next to us. Bean and Gracie were about two-feet down this giant hole they were digging when the older kids started playing a pretty intense soccer game really close to them.

(Can you see the soccer game? Can you see my kids? I took every picture that day from my beach chair. I refused to get up. So, some of these are kind of far away. Half-assed, remember?)

I kept an eye on Bean and Gracie to make sure they didn’t get trampled, but I really didn’t even have to do that. The guys were so very nice to them! They had one kid appointed to stand right near Bean and Gracie and guard them from any runaway balls. And when Bean and Gracie would cheer for them, the boys would cheer right back. It just proved once again what a bad rap teenagers (especially teenage boys) get. Most of the time, they are just being kids, too.

I love the ages my kids are right now.  They are so wonderfully self-sufficient, and yet still young and floppy and snuggly.

Wait.  Maybe I’m talking about Daisy.

Puppies and kiddos are very similar.  They all pee on things, chew on things, and smell.

But I digress…

It’s so easy now to pack up a beach bag and head out with them. And they love to be on the go, too.

Spring Break always gives me summer fever. I came back to school this week and put a summer countdown on my whiteboard for my students. Well, mostly for me, I guess. Summer is so close!

NINE MORE WEEKS! NINE MORE WEEKS! I CAN DO THIS!

(Totally just fist bumped myself, in case you were wondering.)