Beach Boys

Saturday was the perfect day to go to the beach. We had made plans several weeks ago to join another family at the beach and were so glad the weather agreed with our intentions. This was William's second time at the Pacific Ocean. The first being last summer on our mini-family vacation. We were way overdue for another beach day.

In my mind, this was going to be anything but relaxing. I imagined the four parents straining to keep the two toddler boys within arms reach as they ran at the water's edge; trying to keep them contained in the wide open space, and not loosing site of them in the midst of other children, surfers, and dogs.

But our boys surprised us. Content with sand toys and balls, they stayed within arms reach and only a few times explored the beach in the opposite direction of the water. We breathed easy as they ran back and forth and returned to dig holes and fill buckets. We relished in the opportunity for conversation and basking in the warmth of the sun.

We took William to the water's edge a couple of times, thinking he'd love watching the waves and touching the water as it lapped the sand. Once again, he surprised us. He was timid and unsure. I held him as I talked about the waves and we watched the water get closer and closer to our bare toes. Only once did it touch us and that was enough for him.

We only stayed for a couple of hours, which was plenty of sun for us. The boys were tired and covered in sand. We left feeling tired but blessed by such a fun outing with good friends. We will have to do this again soon!

Saturday was the perfect day to go to the beach. We had made plans several weeks ago to join another family at the beach and were so glad the weather agreed with our intentions. This was William's second time at the Pacific Ocean. The first being last summer on our mini-family vacation. We were way overdue for another beach day.

In my mind, this was going to be anything but relaxing. I imagined the four parents straining to keep the two toddler boys within arms reach as they ran at the water's edge; trying to keep them contained in the wide open space, and not loosing site of them in the midst of other children, surfers, and dogs.

But our boys surprised us. Content with sand toys and balls, they stayed within arms reach and only a few times explored the beach in the opposite direction of the water. We breathed easy as they ran back and forth and returned to dig holes and fill buckets. We relished in the opportunity for conversation and basking in the warmth of the sun.

We took William to the water's edge a couple of times, thinking he'd love watching the waves and touching the water as it lapped the sand. Once again, he surprised us. He was timid and unsure. I held him as I talked about the waves and we watched the water get closer and closer to our bare toes. Only once did it touch us and that was enough for him.

We only stayed for a couple of hours, which was plenty of sun for us. The boys were tired and covered in sand. We left feeling tired but blessed by such a fun outing with good friends. We will have to do this again soon!