Day 2, little whities on the beach

Jonathan slept most of day one. He slept for the entire night. He slept past the girls waking up, past our getting dressed, past our breakfast, past the screaches of delight when we told the girls to slather on the sunscreen. He got to his feet just about the time we needed him. Time to load up the car.

I had brought along 1/2 a case of water, my homemade corndogs, fruit and the cooler. We loaded all the food into it, found a bag that could carry the beach towels, sunscreen and diapers. The guys loaded up while I went through my mental checklist and remembered diaper wipes. Then Tanner got into our car, while I got into Johnny's car and we headed for the beach.

A balmy breeze greeted us when we arrived at the Malaquite Visitors Center. We had decided on this beach because it offered clean bathrooms, ice cream and showers. We found a vacant picnic table and set up camp. Up went the newly purchased beach umbrella. Out went the chairs and picnic blanket. Dumped went the beach toys. On went the life jackets. And then the kids went running for the beach.

And here is where Mommy's island blood comes into the forefront. I yelled at them to stop. I could almost see the spray of sand as they came to a sudden halt. The girls turned and bent questioning gazes at me. And then, I sat down on the beach like my mommy use to do, and I watched the waves. I showed the girls how to watch the different currents. I made them sit for 15 minutes, and then gave them the green light to go splashing into the water.

We spent the morning and the early afternoon just enjoying the warm water, the tropical breeze and the amazing sand. It's the type of sand that is just perfect for making sandcastles. It's not sopping wet. It's not coarse and dry.