Beach Baby, Beach Baby

Beach baby, Beach baby there on the sand

From July 'till the end of September

Sorry, that song just popped into my head & I had to include that in the post since it is the title of my post & all. And here she is in the flesh, as they say. My little Miss Rachel Claire, definitely a beach baby!

We made our first trip of the year to the beach on Saturday...me & the girls that is. We went to Clinton Lake, a whole 4 miles from our house. Its fun cheap entertainment for the kids. They charge $1 a person, but I stuck it to 'em neglected to pay for Rachel, so it was only $2 for the 3 of us! HA!

It was a really good time. Especially fun, because of the group of people we were with. It was me, the girls, my sister Sarah & her 3 kids, my brother Tim & his girlfriend Hilary, and my (2nd newest)cousin-in-law Ashley. Remeber Ashley from this post.

We spent 4 hours there, enjoyed the "radical" (according to my niece Cassidy) & "gnarly" (according to my nephew Nathan) waves. We determined that either it has rained a buttload an excessive amout or the tide was in at Clinton Lake. Because the beach seemed much shorter this year! All in all it was a wonderful day, & Hilary and I decided that we should make it almost a weekly adventure. Plus we had the added bonus of seeing a man in a speedo - which, I am not going to lie, is always funny.

the sandcastle

Olivia gathering water to build the moat around the sand castle

Hilary & Tim - I love these guys! They built a sand castle with the kids & were such a big help.

Nathan is showing me that he touched that orange "boobie" all the way out there in the water.

Obviously he meant buoy, but the boy just couldn't say it. Tim took him all the way out there & corrected him like 10 times then we all determined it was a lost cause! Love that Brownie Boy!

Cassidy & Andrew - these kids are practically fish! They love the water, but I didn't get any swimming action shots of them...so this sandy picture will have to suffice.

My little swimmer girl, Olivia! She was having such a great time!

And little Andrew looked like a "radical" surfer dude himself, in that adorable little swim shirt & trunks.

And this little stinker LOVED. THE. BEACH. Last year she was like trying to throw a cat in the water. I would say she has come around...

And the after effects of a day at the beach - sleep lots & lots of sleep. Plus a little bit of sunburn. (This picture is deceiving - her legs really weren't that red. She just flipped over from laying on her belly with her hind-end up in the air.)