Beach Hopping

This week my Mom had us each pick something that we wanted to do and I knew I wanted to visit the beach. And we ended up visiting three different ones in two days!

First we visited our hidden treasure of a spot along the Arcadia River.

So it's not the actual beach but it's good enough for us. Sand + water + shovels and buckets + swimsuits = beach for my family.

We were trying to find a comfortable temperature because it was hot sitting in the sun, but the river was SO cold (it's melted-snow runoff from the mountains). My mom discovered the perfect combination:

She walked her chair out into the middle of the river and plopped down. An occasional foot-dip in the water and we kept cool :)

Ammon kept true to himself and got as dirty as possible after checking out what the sand tasted like.

Boy did he love digging his hands in the sand. Throwing it. Digging it. Dumping it.

The next day we adventured out to try a new beach at Kopachuck State Park.

See that island, to the right in the picture? Kenny and I were going to commandeer a boat in true savvy-pirate style and claim it as our own. Unfortunately, Lydia interrupted our escapades by reminding me she needed to go the bathroom, and the steep hike back to the "comfort station" - as they were called on the map- took too long and reminded me that I needed to put my pirate hat aside (sorry Will Turner, alas, I will find you someday) and return to being a mom.

Kenny, dreaming of the gorgeous mermaids we would encounter once we loosed our sails.

Despite a lot of fun seashells to pick up and examine, the tide was too high at Kopachuck to truly enjoy the area, and we decided to pack up for another beach at Point Defiance called Owen's Beach.

The girls enjoyed the "waves" with Kenny.

Ok, so they were teeny little things that only came when boats went by and created wakes, but this is the Puget Sounds after all and not the actual ocean. I think they were just the right size for Lydia who was terrified of the seaweed because she thought it was jellyfish - no matter what I said.

The water was a little daunting for Ammon, who was more of a spectator this time.

You see that little umbrella stroller? Ammon loves it. It's hard to get him out of it and he's content to sit in it all.day.long. Talk about a fit if you take him out. Who knew?

After two more bathroom trips for Lydia (I swear sometimes potty-trained kids are much more work than diapers) and tiring of the water, Ammon joined them for some sand action.

They dug a giant hole and kept filling it up with water...which Ammon would then proceed to try and drink from like a dog. Either that, or splash anyone within five feet.

Needless to say, he was tuckered out at the end of the day.

So were the adults. However, the girls still ask for more beach time. Even after sunburns and tubs full of washed-off sand.

Three beaches in two days is good enough for me. For now at least :) Someday I'll take them to the actual ocean and we'll frolic in waves all the day.