It was the Saturday before Christmas...

And we went to the beach....

I believe the lifeguard said Gulf temp was 66 with air temp around 81.

Curiosity... we hadn't been to the beach in a while, so I think this was all 'new' to Ben. Like most boys (kids) I know- they like getting messy. So he enjoyed hiself all day.

These spray bottles are what my kids use as water guns. I have nothing against them using toy guns, but they prefer these. Everytime I iron clothes, they beg me to chase them with my spray bottle... so we got a couple for them to play with outside. It works great at the beach too. Holds more water than a water gun and has a great range.

I bought two of these garden shovels on clearance for $3 at Walmart. They work so much better than plastic shovels traditionally used at the beach. As long as we can keep up with them, they'll be money well spent.

This is Ali chasing the sea gulls with the water gun spray bottle. One flew down and took half her sandwich right out of her hand while we were eating lunch. So she was protecting us while we ate.

This is Benjamin relaxing in a custom beach chair Dan made for me.


And the classic picture of a day well spent!