life's a beach

As I am sure you have read, I love the lake. Lucky for me, I live in a town which has a lake with a fantastic beach right in it!

Sometimes going to the beach can be somewhat of a "job". Packing up not only the towels, swimsuits and sunblock, but also the assorted snacks, drinks, water, beach chairs, floatation devices, buckets complete with many different types of sieves and shovels, cover-ups, my camera, and beer (of course). And this job gets a little harder when you are the only adult going (might as well put the beer back in the fridge, because you won't have any time to drink it!).

Today, though, it wasn't a "job" at all. In fact, it was a relaxing and fun trip. In order to make this happen we decided to down-size and leave out some of the packing. And, to make things even better, Carl got to come too! We packed up three girls who were wearing their swim suits along with big grins and we were off to the beach.

When we pulled up and Claire saw the lake, she could not stop from giggling and squealing. She was so excited to get into the lake and "splash, splash", we didn't even have time to put down our stuff! So Ella took her by the hand and walked her down to the water's edge.

Claire loved the way it felt as the waves crashed on her little legs. She just stood their and giggled every time another wave came up to kiss her tiny toes.

Nothing could stop this girl from being in the water! She loved walking into the lake, and then back out to the beach . . . then she would turn around and do it again and again.

Jocie and Ella were having a blast too! Ella has been much more confident now that she can put her face in the water.

Nothing is better than watching your family have fun together at the beach . . .

. . . No wait, I lied. It just got better! This beer is for you John!

Jocie worked tirelessly on this sand castle. The girl has some skill. A castle, complete with working moat, and a seaweed embellishment for a creative little touch.

No getting crabby at the beach (pun intended) for this girl. She was all smiles the entire time, which I was extremely happy about because she has been quite testy at home . . . I hope it's just teeth.

Sometimes, when one starts the saying "Life's a . . . " it can end with a different B-word. We have all had days like that . . . often times, too many days like that. But today, my friends, the B-word that ended my saying was BEACH!