Travelingjenny

1. Even if you put rain boots on them and roll up their pants, kids will always end up barefoot and pantless at the beach – even if it’s only April and and not quite 70 degrees.

2. When watching a four-year old wade out into the water, it is important to tell her to stop before she gets to the spot where you really want her to stop, because she will always want to go deeper. The lure of the waves makes it really hard for her to hear you. Or maybe it’s the sand in her ears.

3. An almost two-year old who won’t eat without wearing a bib and having her sleeves rolled up will eat food that has been dropped in the sand without a second thought.

4. No matter how many times you tell a four-year old to stop staring at the big kids, she simply cannot because BIG KIDS ARE AWESOME. And they do cool things like bury their brothers in the sand.

5. No matter how many times you tell an almost two-year old not to destroy the sand castle you are building, she simply cannot stop because WALKING ON SAND CASTLES IS FUN.

6. No matter how happy and injury-free your children are when you get ready to leave the beach, things will inevitably go haywire because BEACH OUTINGS ARE NEVER EASY. And no matter how much fun you have, the story your four-year old will keep telling over and over is about how she fell and was bleeding while mommy was loading up the car to go home, because SOMEONE ALWAYS GETS HURT.

7. While my children were romping in the ocean in their skivvies, I was wearing jeans, rubber boots, a long-sleeved shirt, and a fleece vest. The girls seem to be well on their way to becoming thick-skinned Mainers, however, I most decidedly am not. Hopefully it will be a long time before my girls are aware enough to be embarrassed by me. In the meantime, we have a lot of over-dressed, but very fun, beach outings ahead of us!