The big big sea

Saturday

Today we went to the beach. Daytona beach. Hot hot hot and warm ocean and busy but not crowded. The smalls, all 6 of them, had a lovely day. They spent time collecting dead jellyfish and found an alive crab hidden in the sand. Bean lay on his front for most of the time in a strip of very warm water between us and the sea. He was here for hours, spotting jellyfish and playing with the water, at one point a man with a metal detector came in to the area the children were playing in and starting digging, which Bean found fasinating.

Pumpkin got straight into the sea and daddy took him way out, carrying him and generally splashing about in the waves. He then requested I took him into the sea so we spent a long time together running in and out of the sea and over the break of the waves and spotted some fish and generally having a good time.

Plum enjoyed running aimlessly around the beach and was intrigued by the sea but stalled every time we got to the strip of water where Bean was. She wouldn't even go in the water. Eventually daddy took her down to the big big big sea and sat with on the wet sand and let the tide wash over them. She loved it and they sat together there for ages. This then gave her the confidence to join all the smalls in the warmer strip of water.

We were probably there longer than we should have been and when you've got 6 smalls in tow all of various ages you begin to see why scheduling and reward systems and other institutional type laws have been developed. It must have taken us over an hour to toilet and change and get into the cars ready to leave. We all got burnt to one degree or another except Pumpkin. Bean got the worst of it on the back of his legs :(

We stopped on the way home for ice cream and the cashier was so confused by our order that she forgot the drinks consequently giving them to us for free...8 drinks for free! We arrived home one and half hours after we had planned with some very tired children. Ours are clearly still out of sorts with the whole time difference and waking between 4 am and 6 am (which honestly isn't bad) but their hunger patterns are altered and they are tired during the day too, probably not helped by the heat but generally I think they have responded well to the change in location.

Today is also the first day ever that both Bean and Pumpkin have taken a shower in a domestic situation. Secretly hoping this is the beginning of a new era and we can get them through the showers more often now.