Shell Point Beach Day

All the schools and daycare’s were closed in town today for a little spring holiday. So Meg & Bo & I had to take the day off to take care of the girls (Jeff had two new employees starting today and wasn’t able to get off work), so we treated ourselves to some fresh salty air and vitamin D in the sunshine.

We had planned to go to St. George Island, but since the weather wasn’t looking as good as we would have liked, we changed plans went down to Shell Point Beach, so we would be closer to home if needed. But it ended up being a great little spot for us, and pretty perfect for the girls. Not too many people, and very shallow water for the girls to play in.

Addison didn’t step even one little toe into the water, but she absolutely loved playing in the sand for hours on end.

Some of the girls picked up a shell and were excited and shocked to find it still had a crab in it! They gave it to Bo and he was holding it to show them all the little hermit crab legs peeking out, and they thought it was so cool. So they put some water and sand and shells in a bucket and “kept” it for a while.

They then found a second crab, and added it to the first. Those two dark-colored shells were the crabs.

Of course we had to have an early lunch at like 11am, when everyone was starving already. (Our giant beach blanket, which is actually the same kind of material as those Eno hammocks, came in very handy for all these sandy little girls.)

Towards the end of our time out on the beach, the girls were all hungry again, but also very messy and sandy and dripping wet. So the three adults each grabbed a snack, and fed the girls bites directly into their mouths, with them rotating in our three lines around and around, and the girls all thought it was hilarious.

It took us about 30 minutes to get everything packed up, get the girls rinsed off, and get everyone into some clean, dry clothes, and then loaded up into our cars. My girls each ate a snack, gulped down some water, and then when Google Maps said we had 30 minutes until we were home, I put on our lullaby playlist, and told them to close their eyes and rest. And with just one song, in the first three minutes, both were sound asleep.

Before we left home this morning, I put everything in the crockpot for some Swedish meatballs for dinner. So when we got home, I put the girls into the bathtub right away to fully clean off all the sunscreen and sand, and then took a shower myself. I heated up some store-bought mashed potatoes, and the steam-in-the-bag broccoli, and dinner was ready, easy peasy and so delicious.

Emerson was supposed to have gymnastics tonight, but was just too tired out after the beach, so we had a slow, restful evening at home, watching “101 Dalmatians,” then doing some artwork, and followed up by snuggles, Bluey & and early bedtime.

Both girls were still exhausted after our big day, and only a tiny little car nap, so they fell asleep super easily, a little bit earlier than usual, which was definitely needed. I asked Jeff to do a little bit of clean-up work in the kitchen to get things started, so I’m going to go finish up the rest of it, and then probably fall asleep early on the couch myself. I accidentally let myself get sunburned today (we were vigilant with the girls’ sunscreen, but less so about myself), so I’m warm and toasty and ready for bed!