Will's First *Real* Beach Trip

*(I'm calling this his first REAL beach trip because the one other time we took him, he was so little that he just laid there on the blanket underneath the shade and didn't do anything...)*

Yesterday morning, we woke up and decided to head to the beach! Ahh, the joys of living 5 minutes from the beach! This was Will before we left... WILD hair and enjoying his daily morning banana.

 It was a beautiful day - as usual - and although it was hot, the breeze off the ocean was quite refreshing! 

 Will was a bit scared of the waves. They were huge! (even though you can't tell from the above picture) Here he is after getting all lathered up with sunscreen.

 He wasn't too sure about the sand, although he was happier in the sand than in the ocean. He sat and played with his big spoon and cup of water for a while.

 Getting all washed off with Daddy.

 And there were CAMELS. We drove through them to get out to the beach. They were grazing. Quite a juxtaposition of settings...

 The spots next to the car in the background are the camels... (I was trying to give you some perspective in this picture) They tie the 2 front legs of the camel together so that they can't run. 

 And this girl. Sheesh. She rolls around in the sand like nothing I've ever seen! Please notice the sand goatee!

And later that evening, having fun on a car.

BONUS!

Last week, some neighbor kids came over to visit for the first time ever. I was so excited! (for the potential for lifetime friends, the potential for neighborhood shenanigans, the potential!) I had such an amazing neighborhood of friends as a kid, and so did Brad. 

So, this was the 3rd time the kids came over and this time it was just this one little girl. She's 8 and Indian and speaks perfect English, which is what Lucy needs right now. They went outside our gate and played on this mound of dirt. What fun! We live on a dead-end and there's no traffic.

We'd had a conversation the night before with some friends about how all the imagination has been taken out of children's play things (i.e. playgrounds). We get so worried these days about things being safe that we're robbing our children of a fundamental basic of childhood - exploration and imagination and yes, getting hurt sometimes but getting back up again - and playing until you are dirty and your fingernails are black underneath and you're exhausted. I have SO many memories just like that! And I want Lucy to have some, too. ((For the overly-concerned grandparents reading this... know that I kept walking out and checking on her periodically. She and her friend had a great time and were very safe!))