Beach!...Go Daddy!

As the first sign of the ocean appeared, Riley yelled out "Beeeeach!", followed by "Go Daddy!  Let's go to the beach!"  What a difference from one year to the next.  Last year, her first time down, she walked cautiously across the sand and toward the water.  This time around it was a direct shot straight to the water.  To say she loves the beach and the ocean would be an understatement.

(Cleaning the beach of sea weed)

Our trip had a bit of a hitch when we arrived though.  Aside from being right on the beach, one of the selling points of this house was its three bedrooms, which we were missing in our condo from last year.  So we were a bit perplexed when we stood in the living room looking back into...two bedrooms.  So then it hit me:  I walked outside and back down the stairs, and there was the third bedroom.  Not a problem for most I am sure, however it had no access to the house from the inside.  Neither one of us was crazy about the idea of sleeping down there with the two of them upstairs without any direct access to them.  So we spent our nights on the two futon couches while the kids got the two bedrooms.  The sacrifices we make for kids.  :)

One of the funny moments from the trip was her almost immediately spotting a big (dead) crab on the beach that first day.  For Riley though, it was not just a crab.  When she spotted it, she walked up to it and said "Hey! It's a party crab!".  We still do not know what exactly makes one a party crab, and I have a feeling that we never will.  :) 

Riley meets the "Party Crab"

This was Jackson's first trip down of course, and I have a feeling next year he will be wide-open with his big sister since he has now had a taste (literally) of the sand and water.   We tried to keep him on the towel as much as we could, but that was a losing battle, so we finally just let him get down in the sand.  He wasted no time at all digging those fingers down into the sand and playing in it.  Naturally, he also brought those sandy fingers right to the place everything else eventually goes these days...his mouth.  But luckily for him he did not get very much in there.

On our second full day, I decided to dig a hole for her to play in.  And eventually the hole got bigger and deeper.  And then even bigger and deeper.  She proclaimed this her "bath tub", and spent quite a lot of time in the rest of the time we were there.  There was no shortage of people who walked by and got a kick out of her in her "tub".   If standing in the water and looking toward the beach, or vice versa, the only thing you could see was the top of her head.   It survived the waves until the day we left, when there was finally no sign of it...but it lasted for as long as it was needed. 

Speaking of her "bath tub", on her final full day, she met an older boy and girl to play with.   As the two of them sat down by the water, Riley proceeded to run back and forth to bring them almost all of her beach toys to play with.  When they left to go back to their parents, she stood there watching them walk off and said "I want those people to come back".  Eventually they did, and they brought company with them:  two fish!  Their dads were casting a net out in the water catching these fish for the kids to play with.  The fish were probably around 8-9 inches long, so no small minnows by any means.  To my amazement, the little girl pulled one of the fish out of her bucket and asked Riley if she wanted to touch it...and she did. 

Eventually the two kids had to return to their parents so that they could get ready to pack up for the day.  However they had created a monster with those fish:  Riley wanted one of her own.  I suppose there is a first time for everything, so that marked my first time walking up to two strangers out in the ocean and asking them for fish.   Having kids of their own of course, they laughed and understood.  So they cast the net and hauled one in, and I took it back down in her sand bucket.  We poured buckets and buckets full of water into her "bath tub" so that the fish would survive and swim around.  A few minutes later, the guy came walking down with the net to deliver one more.  Riley was then convinced she wanted to hold one, until I was holding it and it jumped out of my hand.  So that was the end of wanting to hold it.  Fortunately for the fish, she bored of them quickly, and I returned them to the water most likely not a moment too soon.

This trip also brought us an unexpected bonus:  Jackson officially started crawling.  He had been making some moves in that direction before we left, but he would move a leg or two forward and then flop down.  But while we were there he got it down, and now when he sees something of interest, it is off to the races.  He is also trying to pull up already, so he is wasting no time becoming very mobile.  Just as a preview of many days to come, Riley would get mad when he tried to crawl over and grab her toys.  And of course when she took something back from him that he wanted, he too was not happy.
 

Like last year, I took Riley out to splash in the larger waves, which she and I both have a blast doing.  It is always fun until one that is a bit too large comes along and gives her a nice splash to the face.  She is not crazy about salt water in the eyes, but then again neither am I.  On our way out into the waves on the first full day, she started crying that "something got me!"  At first I was thinking it could be a jellyfish.  But then I remembered earlier in the day something had "gotten" Mommy as well...a tiny little crab.  So I picked her up out of the water and there, hanging off of her middle toe, was a tiny crab.  Any time she experiences something bad like that, or a big wave, I always worry she is going to get freaked out and not want to go back in.  But she always does.

As we finally packed up to head back to the house for our final evening, Riley paid one last visit to the "Party Crab"...still laying there partying in the exact same spot we found him in days earlier.  I have no idea if we have the only girl who befriends and is entertained by dead crabs, and I really do not care.  It was good for some laughs, and that is all that matters to me.  Back at the beach house, she got into Mommy's make-up.  She has always done this of course, but usually just pretending.  Not this time.  She dipped into the mascara and plastered it across her forehead, making herself "very pretty".  Needless to say that was not fun to wash off of a girl who hates to have her face and hair washed. 

So another good trip to the beach during which we made a lot of good memories and had a lot of laughs.  I have no doubt that next year's trip will be even more entertaining and allow for even more laughs since the two of them will be able to interact and play together much more at that time.  Can't wait!