A Day at the Beach

The day got off to a stormy start.

In addition to being a little grumpy about realizing how ill prepared we were for our little daytrip to the Delaware shore, we also endured about 45-minutes of almost constant thunder booming and torrential rain that slowed the traffic to a hazard-flashing crawl.  We were very close to turning around.  But after a couple of phone calls reassuring us that the sun was still shining at the beach, we bravely persevered through the windshield wiper frenzy and heeded the call of the sea. 

It was just before 11:00am when we arrived into Bethany, Delaware, but since  no one had thought to pack any food, we decided that we were best off starting the day with a pitstop for lunch and snacks.   After filling our hungry bellies we headed to Delaware Seashore State Park where we met my brother Matt and his family, Emma,  and my sister Heather who had camped there the night before. 

As soon as the kids set their feet in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, all of their previous woes seem to fade away immediately.    Ellie literally could not stop giggling and ran pellmell excited between the foam from the leftover waves...

to the safety of Daddy's arms...

and then to the sand where she built sand castles and made herself into a sandy mermaid...

Adam was a little more serious in his play and spent most of his time digging for seashells and other creatures...

and learning to boogie board...


Emma became quite adept at boogie boarding and like Ellie, spent a good portion of the day laughing and smiling in pure delight at being at the beach!  

Cami spent her time looking cute...

and boogie boarding with daddy!

Our nephew, Lincoln, had camped there at the beach with his family the night before and needed a little snooze after playing in the surf and sand all day...

I got in the water eventually too, but mostly spent the day keeping an eye on the kids and going around taking pictures (and annoying certain people in the process).

Spencer brought his friend, Ryan, with him and they worked on sweet boogie boarding tricks,

playing Frisbee, getting annoyed at Mom, and looking cool...

Spencer is very pleased to have lost his "cooped-up-in-the-hospital-for-months-on-end" anemic pallor and have some color back to his skin, as well as a good head of hair growing back in. 


All in all, it turned out to be a fabulously perfect day to spend at the beach.  There was hot weather and plenty of sunshine, but without the huge crowds.  It turned out to be the perfect kind of day for recouping and for getting amped up for another busy week getting Spencer, Cam, and Glen off to Youth Conference in Palmyra tomorrow.   

I will miss my big kids this week, but can I just tell you all again how totally happy we are that Spencer is healthy and well enough to enjoy this fun and busy summer?!