obviously, when you go to a beach house you . . .
play on the beach!
The house we stayed in was right on the beach, and we found that renting mid-week is the way to go. You could look left all the way down the beach, and look right all the way down the beach and see not one single person. We had the place entirely to ourselves. Score!
I love this picture of our set-up on the beach. Kites, giant inflatable balls, shovels, boogie boards . . . we got it all.
{photo by Heidi}
We were blessed with great weather during our stay (just one slightly colder/windier day). So we definitely took advantage of the beach and got as much play out of it as we could.
happy fun ball
The last time we all got together at a beach house was Christmas 1999, our first Christmas as a married couple. My parents brought along a huge (we're talking 48") inflatable soccer ball that was named "happy fun ball." The name was taken from this classic SNL commercial. (Do not taunt happy fun ball.) We had lots of fun with it, Denver almost broke his neck attempting a head bunt, and it eventually got a hole in it.
We knew that this weekend was the perfect opportunity to bring happy fun ball back.
This year's version came from Costco -- basically an inflatable hamster wheel. The kids had fun rolling each other on the back deck.
The older kids had fun with it too.
And then my dad and brother did what they are best at . . . completely ignore printed warnings like "do not use as a flotation device" and do exactly that. A few of my brothers tried it out first, and when it was deemed "marginally safe" (j/k) they put Conner inside.
Actually Conner jumped at the chance to have a turn and l.o.v.e.d. it. Loved it. He thought that this was the awesomest thing ever.
dig a hole
When we go to the beach the item at the top of our "to bring" list is always a shovel. Because we like to dig holes. Big holes. On day 2 the kids (with help from Denver, Mason, etc.) dug a "hot tub".
On day 3 my brothers got serious about their hole digging and completed not one, but two massive holes connected by a trench. (Sorry, no pictures. I was working the video camera that day.)
We were saddened later that evening when we saw a group of kids take over the hole and litter it with a giant tree branch, garbage, t-shirts, and a tire. My mind was perplexed -- Where did the tire come from? (it certainly had not been on the beach all week.) So then, who in the world brings a tire to the beach? Anyways, our awesome hole was turned in homeless-looking shanty-ville.
night-time on the beach
The setting sun did not stop us from squeezing a little more enjoyment out of the beach. One night we went down with a huge case of sparklers and let the kids go crazy. That was a lot of fun. Afterwards, Papa gave all the kids flashlights and we went on a night hike down the beach looking for creatures and shells and oddities in the sand.
Another night we made a campfire and roasted marshmallows. lovely face, Anna.
And here's a few more of our crew
Top: Carlee, Kent, Becca, Nicholas, Conner
Bottom: Payton, Mason, Preston, Anna
I love the golden light from the sunset. Wouldn't it be great if we could have that all the time?
Well, I think I've reached my limit for today. More later . . .
