Another August

When my lovely husband mentioned that he'd never been to a beach house in North Carolina in August, I kindly reminded him of the one we married at 11 years ago in Emerald Isle--in August. Oh, right. And yes, it's true, we usually make this trip to spend a week at the beach in September, but with kids in school and busy schedules all around this was the year to say enough. It needed to happen earlier and fortunately, mom and dad agreed. So we settled on a week mid-month and just between birthdays for us. And getting down here on Friday mid-day wasn't too bad. We were greeted that next day with cloudy skies and rain which meant the move-in to the beach house was somewhat lowkey and restful. Now we wait for the rest of the crew to arrive....it's going to be a full house with Uncle Kent, Leroy and Stacey on their way. Not as many as the wedding party here years ago, but fun nonetheless. Another August at the beach we love. I'll take it. 

Beach Day

Considering how impromptu this whole weekend was, it really came together in the most amazing way. Our travel day was nearly flawless, we had a nice day to lounge and recover, then Stacey and family drove down on Saturday to kick things into high gear.  With another day of beautiful clear skies and highs in the mid-80s, we decided to head out to Emerald Isle for a bit which is only about 30 minutes away.  The crowds were thick and choosing to park at the public access site definitely didn't do much to help this. But with two little ones, I knew we wouldn't be staying long anyway. An hour and a half was more than enough time for these girls to get their feet wet, jump some waves and scratch around in the sand. Elisa was completely carefree and happy to run back and forth from the sand castle to the waves. I barely needed to watch her at all. She found a couple of kids playing nearby and made some instant friends. She's always good at that.  

Carolina, on the other hand, wasn't so confident at first.  She took a few minutes to warm up to the pounding water and sand in her toes, but then it was as if a light switched. Suddenly she wanted to be independent and stride right out into the sea.  There was lots of hands flapping and toddler cursing as she shouted and pushed me away. I love the way she stomped her feet and tried to tell me to back off.  Sorry kid.  We had to keep pulling her back toward shore and chasing her out of the surf which got pretty old after about an hour. She didn't like this one bit, but helping her jump the waves was fun, if tiring, and Mia was a great help.  I can see so much of me in both my girls' love of the water and I really look forward to the time when we can all relax a little bit on the beach. Trying to get them both to sit still on the beach blanket to have a snack wasn't easy. And then there's the problem of sand. They just don't understand to keep their hands clean when we sit to eat. Ugh. I hate sandy food. But after a quick few bites, we were nourished enough to go back and splash around. And then it was time to pack it in. A brief stop at Dairy Queen in Swansboro on the way home was exactly what the day needed. Yes, summer has arrived. We've made it to the beach already. And now we look forward to heading back north to the city and seeing how soon we can feel the sand again.