The beach (even in the winter)

I had a photography moment while watching my kids play in the water. The texture of the sand and the water and even the building's reflection just caught my eye.


I love this one. My purpose was the pattern in the sand, but there is a bonus. I just love the fisherman in the corner, almost as though he is an afterthought, but still part of the scene.Again, I was struck by the patterns of the reflections in the water, including Emma's.
Is this not the happiest boy in the world?! He is never as happy anywhere as he is at the beach...
The beach has really become a personal playground to him. He stands here and just stares at the waves, mesmerized, then he breaks from his reverie and runs like crazy in circles so the waves can't catch him.
This little boy is in heaven at the beach. The water, the sand, the seagulls...why is it when we are young we are so convinced that we can catch sea gulls?


We have been to the beach often enough that I am beginning to look for more creative shots. Unfortunately the picture was a little blurred but it almost adds to the effect. I wanted her silhouette as she chased the retreating waves. This picture makes me think of childhood, the carefree feeling...

What the rest of us do

So Andy is a busy guy and trying to balance the most important things in his life can be a challenge. So, we try to support him how we can. The kids love the beach anyway!
We went down to the beach one day after Briley got out of school. The wind died rather suddenly and so the kiters make their way out of the water. Briley is retrieving a board for someone who had taken his kite to the beach to land it. He left his board in the water and she was worried that the surf would take his board.
Andy comes to visit usually and hang out with the kids for a bit before returning to the water. In the mean time, this is what the rest of us do while he kite surfs.


Cameron has told us that when he is a big boy, he will get to kite surf with his daddy. He is actually really excited for that day. I think this summer Andy is going to put him up on his kiteboard so he starts to get the feel of the board and the water. 3 isn't too young, is it?! (oh, and he is building the Great wall of China-do you see the resemblance?)

Kiteboarding

Andy has been spending a lot of his free time kiteboarding. It is much like wakeboarding but without the boat! So much cheaper for us! It is quite chilly so he is in a full wetsuit and generally stays in the water until he can't work his fingers.This kite is actually a borrowed one. His kite is in the shop. He was trying to avoid another kiter who was not paying attention and his kite dropped out of the air. A combination of an overinflated kite and rough surf popped his bladder and ripped the kite. He almost had his back in time for this day until the guys repairing his kite realized that the wrong bladder had been shipped. So they let him borrow one from the store...
You can see some of his gear in this picture. The wind had died (enough to keep hi kite up to walk into the beach but not enough to surf with) and so he was walking in. I will not pretend to understand all his gear but I do know that he is in a harness with a safety release (that was important for my peace of mind!)

Just for fun

Briley lost another tooth. This one she yanked out herself. Her first tooth (a little over a year ago) her aunt had to bribe her with $5 to get it out and now she won't leave a loose tooth alone until it's gone! She also recently has taken to getting her hair curled on Sundays. It makes her look so old!
Emma takes Logan for rides on her back while crawling around on the floor. He thinks it's great fun and laughs hysterically. So the other two now take him for rides as well. We had some friends over for dinner the other night and they have a newly turned one-year-old son. He walks mostly but suddenly decided to crawl. We heard their son screaming, came around the corner to find Logan on his back! Apparently anyone on all fours is in need of being ridden!
Cameron recently discovered something out of his sister's closet that he just can't live without. He loves Briley's pink kitty-cat rainboots! Check out that grin!