The beach!

We finally made it to the beach for an official extended visit. Adele met me at my house and we made our way to Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. I had only seen this beach by driving by it but everyone raves about it. This is the beach that Chris grew up going to. It certainly didn't disappoint. It is extremely shallow and when the tide goes out it leaves pools of water behind that are great for little ones to safely splash around in. There is also a river inlet that is very shallow and fun to play in. The waves on the main beach area weren't too big so it wasn't overwhelming for Madison and Jackson. They both got comfortable with the sand fairly quickly and didn't mind being in the surf. Madison seemed a little more aggressive than Jackson this time. Having Adele there was a lifesaver since you KNOW M&J went in opposite directions from the moment we got there. It was so much more relaxing to only have to be responsible for one child. We were there for over two hours (I think) and would have stayed longer if M&J didn't start to show signs of needing a nap.

For their birthday Aunt Karen bought them an awesome beach toy container filled with toys. Ever since March I have dreamed of the day I would take them and play with the toys. Guess what got left at home. UGH! So the kids had no toys to play with but every other kid on the beach did so we spent most of the time prying toys out of their hands.

Before we left we brought them down to the main beach one more time. This time Jackson seemed overwhelmed (probably because he was tired at that point) so Adele took him and lifted him up and over the waves as they approached. He giggled like crazy so I did it with Madison too. The two of them were laughing so hard that the two of us were cracking up. They were having a ball until our arms got tired and we picked them up to go back to pack up. Madison was heartbroken and cried. I felt so bad :-(

In the river

He fell in the river and just sat there kind of stunned

He discovered he could throw the mud. He had so much fun and got VERY dirty.

Look at the mud in his hair!

Last year I started a tradition I intend to keep up of writing their names in the sand and taking their picture by it. Last year was easy. They were lumps and just stayed where you put them. I knew this year was going to be a bit more challenging and i was right.

These were the best I could do...not bad though



Madison in the river

During high tide the water comes up to just about the bottom of this photo and you can see how far away it gets at low tide.

Jackson's hair was so curly!

Why does Jackson look like he's 7?

I think we're going to a different beach on Monday with some other friends. Hopefully the weather cooperates. It's been not agreeable lately.