A day at the beach...

You know how some days seem to last forever and it's horrible. They day just never ends and all you can do is look at the clock and look at the clock but a mere minutes have gone by between glances. And then there are the days when your head hits the pillow before you even feel like the day has begun - the day that you want to never end. Yeah, we had one of those days. 

We arrived at the beach on Monday at 9am, sprayed on the sunscreen and commenced with awesome. The kids couldn't get the sand castle up fast enough and kept listing more and more things that they "HAD" to do at the beach. 

Paddle boarding, boogie boarding, sea shell finding, swimming, jumping, digging, eating, napping (ha!)... were just a few. And we managed to get them all in.

(And no, that's not me on that paddle board. But how kind of you, dear reader, to think so. And even if you didn't (bc who would think that)... just act like it.) 

Most of the every bit of fun we had is thanks to "Miss Tori". Tori was a teacher at the kids' daycare/school and we all adore her. Especially the kiddos. The poor girl's mom is from Gulf Shores so she spends her summers working on the beach (note the sarcasm) (well, her job is hard... but the beach is goooood!). So, she was a pretty large reason we headed east. And if seeing her wasn't gift enough, she took off her entire week of work to hang out with us. 

A smile did not leave anyone's face all day long! 

There is just something about a beach that calms you. Pops and I had a quick conversation about whether it was a psychological thing where you just think you are supposed to relax because you are at the beach or if there is some scientific evidence about the cadence of the waves having calming effects on people. And after 2 minutes, we didn't care. :) We were on vacation, we were surrounded by the people we love most and were in the presence of one of God's greatest gifts to us. 

The ocean is just amazing - the fact that God single handedly placed all of those living creatures and organisms in the ocean is mind blowing. The ability for us to sit and enjoy it, to feel it and taste it (even if not on purpose) and witness it is indeed a priceless wonder. 

Yes, this was one of those amazing days that we didn't want to end. A day where a ride on the waves was almost as fun as a ride on Daddy's shoulders. 

A day that smelled of sunshine and sunscreen.

A day of your favorite hat (mine) with your favorite girls (them). 

A day of sandy sandwiches. 

A day where Pops could throw you high up in the air so the waves only tickled your toes. 

And for some, even a day with a nap. 

We buried treasure...

and we found some too! 

(no hermit crabs were harmed in the creation of this blog post).

And at the end of that 8 hour day, we came home tired and tan ready to shower off, eat some dinner and enjoy the remaining hours of the too quick day.