Day 378 Beach Babies

 A beach day with all four of my grandsons, clear skies, crystal clean water and nothing to do but swim, dig in the sand and hunt for lucky rocks, perfection. Packing up for the day is always met by grumbles from Tim, wondering why we need to bring everything except the kitchen sink. I want to be sure that once I'm on the beach I can keep my feet firmly planted in the sand so ok, I may overpack. Especially when all the kids will be with us, it's crucial to have all the snacks, drinks, towels, lunch and dinner ready to go. There's not much in life more enjoyable than watching little ones run along the beach feeling the freedom only the vast shoreline can give. My youngest grandson is only two but gave the seagulls a run for their money as his little feet chased them away. We arrived at the beach late morning and  left the sand only to move onto the deck for dinner. Opening our cooler again and finally having my packing efforts appreciated as I pulled out hotdogs for the grill along with all the condiments needed. We didn't make it home until after sunset, sandy, salty and exhausted. After showers, baths and endless unpacking we sat around the kitchen telling silly stories and trying to recall ghost stories for my 5 year old grandson, who for some reason is infatuated with hearing scary tales. He is particularly curious to know all about the headless horseman and although we all think we know the story, non of us could recall it in detail.  My daughter read up on it quickly, on the spot,  but telling us all the tale to get us caught up on the facts took out all the spookiness. Poor Ichabod Crane, I'd be frighted too if someone chased me through the dark woods pretending to be headless! We're all determined to work on our ghost story telling stills before the next gathering, I'll even build us a campfire so we get the full spooky atmosphere. We can sit outside in the dark around a fire, use scary voices and tell stories until we are so frightened we are all  afraid to go to bed, including me! We have that to look forward to for fall, for now, let me enjoy another beach day or two especially with all my beach babies!!