Moclips-Part 2

"I miss Beau."

We all said it at one point or another during our two days at the beach. Beau had opted to stay behind with a friend so as not to miss a special end-of-the-school-year field trip. It was not the decision Wes and I were hoping for, but the one we knew he would make just the same. "I love you guys," he reminded us over and over again as we packed everything into the car.

Fortunately Beau and I have a decent texting relationship and despite the crumby phone service we were able to stay pretty well-connected. Still, we were all anxious to see him again on Monday evening.

In the meantime, the mellow strains of Jon and Roy mingled with the sound of crashing waves on the beach, setting the perfect maritime tone for Wes's yummy surf and turf creations.

These clams capped-off a wretchedly chilly but fun afternoon at the beach. Oh, the biting wind!

And there was time in the hot tub, too- until the neighbors started building a new deck.

Then on Sunday afternoon while the little girls napped, I looked up from my book to find this fuzzy blob peering over me-

"No more photos of us, Mom!" they yelled as they ducked behind the couch.

Clearly they were asking for it.

Setting my book aside, I stealthily leaned over the back of the couch and surveyed the veiled mass of giggles. It was going to be hard to wrest the blanket from them with one hand and aim my camera at them with the other.

But I was eventually somewhat successful at both.

And that's how the little girls woke up an hour later.

The next day we headed to the beach one last time, then shook out as much sand as we could and packed everyone back in the car. It was an hour into the drive home when "I have to go to the bathroom" was closely followed by

"Oh no! I left my shoes at the beach!"