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Today is my birthday. Getting older is no fun, but keep 'em coming... it's better than the alternative! I decided I wanted to do something fun today, something much less predictable than the usual daily timetable of breakfast, a round of Mr. Potato Head, getting dressed, out for a walk, home for lunch, down for a nap, more Mr. Potato Head, dinner... the mundane everyday. No, today would be fun. I decided to go to the beach. Liam knew this involved sand castles, but I think that is all he really expected, and I thought it would be fun to show him a good time. I mentioned my beach idea to Cindy last night when I picked Liam up, and she said she was planning to go to Mitchell's Bay today herself, and I should try going there. So we did. It was a great idea... first, this place is only about 15 minutes from home. Second, there is a ton of playground equipment in the sand. There is no real beach per se, but you can wade out forever (albeit off a concrete ramp) and only be knee deep. And... there's a splash pad... one we didn't expect to be open this early, but it was.
We had fun on the playground equipment on our own, but the real fun began when Cindy's van rolled in. I hadn't even told Liam she would be there, but he went nuts when he saw it. Having the other kids to play with definitely made his day, and they spent the vast majority of their time on the splash pad. He glommed onto their group like you wouldn't believe - even helped himself during her snacktime (even though we had just finished snacks of our own right before they arrived) and plunked himself down at her picnic table for her lunch. Luckily she had enough food and was very accommodating (we probably deserve to be billed for today!)Mallory slept through most of the morning, which made for a perfect excursion. I plan to be out at the beach (this one or another of our 2 local favourites) once a week all summer, weather and behaviour and stamina permitting (mine, not the kids'... the packing up that's required is unbelieveable!!) Unfortunately Liam turned into a little monster for most of the afternoon, refusing to nap and generally being miserable. Luckily we did all eventually get a bit of shut-eye, and then Chad took me out for a great dinner, with Gramma and Grampa Cook corralling the kids for us so we could get out. I was also treated to a very cool and fun birthday gift... something that will hopefully make its debut here on the blog one day soon. :)