Our Day at the Beach

Yesterday we went to Seacliff Beach for our ward's Beach Party. All I can say is that the girls had a lot of fun! We all came home covered in sand and wetter than we expected.

Kelsie was taking it all in from the shore.


Sam was all ready to go, though. Can you tell she's ready? Two thumbs up!


Pause for a family photo. See...we all were there!


Kelsie absolutely loved the sand. She loved crawling in it. She loved digging her little hands into it. She loved using the little shovel to dig it up like she saw Samantha doing. She even loved the gritty feel of it in her mouth (apparently), as she must have eaten five or six handfuls of it during the afternoon. I have a theory on this: since none of the baby foods she gets have any salt in them, I think she just like the salty flavor. Ya never know.


Samantha loved being splashed by the waves. Considering that she is terrified to let go of either Matt or I when she is in a swimming pool with us, it was remarkable to me that she would run out to the waves and when a big one (up to her waist) would come along, she would sit down on her bum or lay down on her tummy with her feet pointing towards the water. Of course we also played "wave tag" and tried to run ashore before a new wave could get us wet.


Some of the kids were making a tidal pool on the shore and were trying to dig a hole for the water to get trapped in. Samantha was using her bucket to help and she decided to go get some water from the ocean. Of course she wasn't paying attention and when a wave startled her, she dropped the bucket which was then washed out to sea. She was distraught about this so Matt was looking for it. There was a mad dash for the flash of pink in a wave and Matt came out of it victorious--the bucket in hand and wet from head to toe.


Now, when dads get involved in the building of a sand fort or pool, things really get moving. Using buckets, Matt built a self-digging tidal pool. The water from the waves would wash ashore and get trapped while some would escape down the beach again. As the water moved back towards the ocean, it carved out a deeper path for the water to travel in to refill the pool again on the next big wave. Genius!


The girls got to enjoy the fruits of their daddy's labors floating on a boogie board in the tidal pool.


All in all, it was a fun day at the beach. Fun was had by all, and sand was found in all sorts of places.

Kelsie's First Birthday

Yesterday, Kelsie celebrated her first birthday. It's hard to believe how big she has gotten and how much she has changed in a year. She is such a sweet girl--warm, gummy smile (no teeth), crawling all over the place, exploring new things she encounters, and such a cute little giggle.

Kelsie's Stats: Today: 18 lbs, 1 Year ago: 7 lbs, 5 oz

Sam was happy to help Kelsie open her gifts.


Kelsie was having a great time checking out her new toys. She got a classic rock-a-stacking toy and a See 'n Say.


Kelsie seemed surprised by her rubber ducky cake.


When we put a little cake in front of her, it took her a while to figure out what to do with it. Oh, she tried a little of the cake, but she seemed more fascinated by the feel of the cake and frosting between her fingers. I don't think she actually ate very much of it. And as for being messy, she only had some frosting on her fingers and a smudge on her cheek. Not the sticky mess I had envisioned. Happy birthday, Kelsie!