First Beach Day of the Season

The "season" has started a little late due to July having identity issues and thinkin' it's June.

Our July so far has been gloomy. Muggy. Sunless. Kind of depressing!

I decided that today was the day.

Sun or not, we were greasin' up those babies and going to the beach.

Ella was in good hands with my mom and dad,

who gladly took her for me and further deepened Ella's love for them.

She loves my dad. I mean, you know the kid is in love when she won't

even come see her own momma when in the arms of her Grandpa!

It's so precious to see.

At the beach...

 Katie was cold. It was a windy day.

Yes, it was windy. I hate to admit this out loud but it's too funny not to.

I was rinsing off sand from my hands

about 100 feet away from wear we were sitting and

I felt something smack me in the back and then in the head.

My first thought? Charlie threw a bucket at me. Sad, huh? (That's the kind of day it was.)

But no, alas, it was not Charlie.

My own beach umbrella managed to wrangle itself free

of the hole I dug it into and blew away in the wind.

Of all people standing on the shoreline, it had to land on the

one person there who wanted to call the least attention to herself. Me.

Go ahead. Laugh.

I know I did once I sat down and my face wasn't so hot with mortification anymore. 

I guess it's a good thing the umbrella didn't hit a child. Upside.

What's a day among cousins when there isn't a little fight?

My dilemma: Go save Kate from a couple of hits or grab the camera... 

I figured I was on the beach, why not knock one

thing off my Bucket List and build a sand castle with my boy?

Our masterpiece:

Once they had enough of the water, we went up to play at the playground and

enjoy some popsicles from the ice cream truck...

Classic Kate, dancing while eating.

It was a good day. I did lose my cool a few times because
Charlie is going through a phase where he thinks he's 18.

The snarkiness and the back-talking are just about to get the best of me.

I keep saying it's a phase. Or maybe I keep praying it's a phase.

How about maybe I need to get the Super Nanny to pay us a little visit?

Why is he such a little angel at school and such a little...

um, a million inappropriate words just went through my mind right now...

let's just say, he's not such an angel at home.

I don't get it.

Breathe.

It was a good day.