Beasts at the Beach (not the kids)

We hit the beach today. My cousin Cheryl accompanied us and we met up with my sister, Cara, and her brood at the coolest beach around. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins and we had enough adults around that we didn't fear losing any of them in the wild waves (can you see how high those ripples are??) Just kidding-I'm feeling a little sarcastic today and have to get it out somewhere.

When we got there, we were the only ones at the beach. A little while later, only 2 more groups joined us but it was so quiet and relaxing. Here are my 2 hamming it up for the camera. Cheryl is my saving grace at the beach. Since little Miss Lynnea was being what we call HM (High Maintenance and needy), I couldn't go out and play with the older kids in the wild waves so I stayed back on the blanket and observed from a distance. Oh, I forgot to mention the fact that half of the reason I didn't go out in the water was due to lack of a swimsuit (you're kidding me if you think I'm going to squeeze my body into a pre-pregnancy swimsuit and feel good in it.) Nope, Riva went to the beach in a tank top and shorts, thank you very much.

The CUTEST picture of Austin with his sand bucket. You just want to pinch those cheeks. Go ahead, pinch 'em, PINCH 'em!!!

Sorry, got a little carried away. The next picture was so precious you should have seen us. It was like Cara, Cheryl and I were on a photo shoot. I think we caught every angle, bougar, sand speck and drool on this shot. But isn't it SO CUTE!! Austin is going to be a great catch when he gets to dating age (sorry to make you think that far into the future, Cara. Deep breaths). He is so gentle with Lynnea and she loves him (even though she has that look of complete boredom).

Today was the day for wild sea life. First, a man caught a sea snail and threw it back before our children could see it. After I asked if Mikayla could see it, I think he felt bad and went to look for another one, meanwhile pointing out this small crab that found his way onto the shore. Poor thing...he just about ran his little legs off when he discovered that he'd meandered upon 3 toddlers who thought he was the coolest thing ever. He was lucky he wasn't manhandled.

The same man who had found the first snail found another one and, God bless him, came back to show our little ones what it looked like. He was the sweetest guy (a grandpa of another little one on the beach). The kids loved seeing it and, of course, Mikayla wanted to find her own and keep it as a pet. Yuck. So went our day at the beach....I'm looking forward to doing it again! (that definitely isn't sarcasm!)