Things I learned at the beach...

Spray-on sunscreen doesn't work on your face for some reason. I have a red face to prove it.

Shrimp gets better each time I eat it. And homemade cocktail sauce is really the only way to go. Made by the one and only Aunt Stephanie.

The beach with children is the last thing in the world from relaxing. Fun. Exciting. Exhausting. But no, never relaxing. For example, I took 3 books with me to read. I am on page 7 of book number one. And I have no idea what the first 6 and a half pages were about.

While I'm not at all a confrontational person, usually avoiding conflict of all sorts at any costs, if your dog (who by law, should be on a leash on the beach) bull rushes my kid (who is terrified of anything that has more legs than he does), we will have words about it. They were nice words, but words none the less.

Horses wear diapers when walking on the beach. Definitely don't want to have the job of changing that oversized undergarment.

Sleeping in a sleeping bag is super cool. As long as you are under the age of 7.

Sand unfortunately sticks to little boy's brown heads like glue. Go ahead, just try to rinse it out. Doesn't work.

You can teach a child their ABC's in the sand. It's way more exciting than writing it at home on a chalkboard.

And yet another word on sand...I'm almost certain God didn't make sand for your butt crack. So, why is that the first place it finds to go when you are at the beach??

I don't really like sand.

According to Papa John, the shells on the beach will "make you die". At least, that's how Charlie translated his comment about watching where you step, making sure not to step on the sometimes sharp shells. This also applies to crabs, sharks and swordfish since somewhere along the way Charlie decided they were all a detriment to his health. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Charlie is quite fearless in some situations, but in others, scared of the dumbest things. Makes for some entertaining stories on occasion.)

It is nearly impossible to get a good picture of kids at the beach. Sam has perpetual outrageous faces and Charlie felt the need to wear goggles that were twice the size of his head all week. Literally. All week.


But I said "nearly", so you know more pictures are coming...