Beach Fun October 2009 (Columbus Day Weekend)
My mother, the best granny in the world, invited my family to go to the beach with her. The kids were out of school on Columbus Day so we hopped in the van and took advantage of the three day weekend. Danny and Connor were with their dad this weekend. Connor actually went home Friday with a sore throat. They will be a chance to visit the beach at another time. The little kids did so well on the trip down to the beach. It took about four hours. Eliot slept a little. Evan got to sit in the back with the big girls. Eliot wore her swim suit all the way down to the beach.
The ride to the beach
We have discovered that Eliot is a water baby. She is a natural in the water. We tried water wings on her and away she went in the pool. Evan on the other hand was something else. He needed every float we had handy to even get in the water. And even then he was so timid about the water he did not really have much fun at the pool. He did better at the beach the first day but by the second day he lost his umph. Dare I say my three year old son may be a bit of a brat sometimes. He did not want to make any choices of activities and transitions were horrible. All of his behaviors are normal for his age they just seem magnified when compared with his easy going little sister. They are only 14 months apart but she is able to cope with stress a lot better than he is.
Lyn and Annika have enjoyed themselves. Lyn has surprised me at how comfortable she has been in swimming in the ocean. Annika can officially swim this year. That has been such a bonus. She doesn't need as much supervision in the pool. She is actually helping to teach the little kids how to swim.
Lyn helping Evan swim
Annika making a sandcastle
Evan and Annika digging away
Beach fun
Pool fun
Check out more pictures on the sidebar slideshow.
Before school starts for Annika and the big boys we planned a trip to the beach. Thank you Granny for inviting us. Danny and Connor opted out and stayed home with their dad. We missed them the whole time. It was Ben's first trip to the beach. He did really well. We had the chance to swim in either an indoor or outdoor pool. The beach looked great. We saw a little bit of oil but other than that the sand and water was clean. Evan was braver than we thought he would be in the water. He isn't swimming like a fish like Eliot but he is getting better. The weather was great. It was hot though. We were out to the beach at sunrise to take advantage of cooler temperatures. We saw crabs, clams, sand fleas (I think that was what it was), salt water catfish, porpoises, and plenty of birds. Hubby and I even were able to go for a night swim. 
