Life's a Beach

Neither Rodney nor I had been to a beach in our bathing suits since the late 90's, so we figured it was about time. So, yesterday, we packed up the boys and all the beach gear (i.e., toys, ice chest full of goodies, EZ-Up, beach umbrella, towels, diaper bag, sunscreen) and headed for the the coast. Rodney had the idea of going to the Del Mar beach on Camp Pendleton and it sounded like a great way to beat the holiday crowds. It turned out to be a great idea! We arrived about 10 a.m., got a front-row parking space and our choice of a piece of sand to make our home for the day.
Will had told us the night before that we WAS NOT going to play in the sand or go in the water. He turned out to be a big liar. He found a friend named Luke, discovered sand crabs, helped dig a hole and rolled around in the water until his fingers pruned and his chin was chattering. He did manage to get a bit sunburned despite the 30 SPF sunscreen Mom put on him, but his plight was not nearly as bad as his father's.
Fair-skinned Rodney can't wear shoes today because his feet and shins are burnt so badly. You can see on his chest where he missed with the sunscreen, and he smells like a baby's butt. He keeps putting the soothing baby lotion on to the point where he smells up whichever room he is in.
I got a tad bit sunburned, but thanks to my hardy complexion, most of it had already faded to tan. Our friend Michi stopped by for a couple of hours and I had a great time introducing the kids (and Rodney) to the ins and outs of navigating the beach. I had hoped Will would have shown a bit more than the 2 minutes of interest he showed in the sand crabs I dug up for him, but you can't have it all, I guess.
Xan had the most amusing reaction to the beach - at least for me. I took him down to the water so he could experience it. The moment some of the cold ocean water splashed his toes, he screamed and started crying. Wondering if he'd get used to it and calm down, I kept him out to get splashed a bit. He did not calm down, in fact he caught on quickly that when he saw a whitewash wave go by, he'd probably get splashed. So he looked down and kept an eye on the waves. Any time a wave would pass - whether it would splash him or not - he'd scream and start crying again! This little guy is a fast learner. After a few minutes, Mommy took him back, wrapped him up in a towel and he napped for two and a half hours. Had to recover from the shock to his system!