The Curse of the Biting Flies!

Today began relatively early, with these three sneaking up on me as I was in the middle of my morning yoga.

I have to admit...this is one fabulous way to start the day!

We decided to bake another breakfast delight this morning, so we got set up

and I pretty much put this one in charge.

As I mentioned previously, she's already a baking pro. She mixed the batter, placed it on the tray, and filled the centers with jam.  After they baked, she had some help adding the finishing touches. 

The end result was yummy enough to want seconds. Luckily, we made a double batch!

After breakfast, we headed down to the beach as we were anticipating thunderstorms early in the afternoon.

What we had NOT expected was the sudden heat due to the stillness of the air.  Or the surge of flies that were determined to snack on our legs and ankles.  We had come prepared, but despite lathering ourselves up with various products, we all found ourselves subject to torture.

The only relief was standing in the ocean, which might sound like a perfectly reasonable solution.  But, the temperature of the water reminded me of an ice bath.  BRRRRR!!!! It was COLD!

So, our choice was to endure the torment from flies, or feel our legs go numb from the cold water.  We dragged our chairs near the shore in the hopes of dodging the pests.  

In the meantime, these kids decided that it would be great fun to bury their "dada" in the sand and the cousins were equally excited to join in.

Obviously, he was a willing participant.  

They certainly had a grand time decorating him with sea shells as the finished product.  He didn't stay in the ground long, and who could blame him?  The sun was HOT and the air was stagnant.  So, he popped up and headed out to the sand bar with the girls. 

I can only presume that there were no flies out there, but, to be perfectly frank, there was no way I was going to wade through the icy cold water for relief.  And, I wasn't alone, as none of my daughters, or daughter-in-law were willing to take the plunge either. 

I opted to spend some time helping the little one build a sand city.

He had quite a bit of fun and I enjoyed hearing him sing his "excavator" song as he dug through the sand. 

By this time, I decided that I had endured enough torment from feasting flies, and we decided to pack up and head back to the house, where we immediately sought relief in the pool.

I can't say when I last enjoyed a swim so thoroughly!   Believe me, it was welcome refreshment!  

We relaxed the rest of the day inside, enjoying the perks of a family vacation:  tasty cold drinks and a game of Settlers for this crew.  

.

That was most certainly a bit more challenging than the three games of "Baby Shark" that I had played with the kids earlier in the day.  

A storm had come rolling through once again, after we had headed inside, and the result was a magnificent sky at sunset. 

Pretty amazing, don't you think?

Well, here's hoping for ocean breezes tomorrow!

I'll keep you posted. 

 

Bakers and Beach bums

The morning began with the littles sleeping in a bit, which isn't too surprising, considering all of the festivities yesterday.  But, once they were awake, the girls and I wasted no time spending some quality time in the kitchen.  We have a tradition at the beach, where Gramma G and the littles take over the kitchen to create some sort of delectable breakfast delight.  This morning it was cheese Danish, something that we attempted with great success at a fall family event and all were eager to test their skills this morning.

Our oldest granddaughter is pretty much a baking pro at this point, so I put her in charge.  She makes a pretty terrific lemon squeezer. 

And she makes a terrific delegator when it comes to sharing the fun! Here you see her helping the girls whip up the cream cheese mixture.

The crescents were formed into little "bowls"

which were then basted with a brown sugar/butter mixture.

The cream cheese was plopped into the center

and after they were baked, a fine powdered sugar glaze was drizzled over the top. 

And, of course, there's no more fun than tasting the finished product!

After breakfast, we headed down to the beach to enjoy the spectacular weather.  We once again saw quite a few dolphins swimming along the shore, within relatively close distance.  Quite an exciting sight, for sure!

Another perk of the day was the obvious sand bar within relatively short distance of the shore.  Marty and 

Finn decided to head out to see if they could find some waves in the distance. 

It didn't take long before they were joined by two more for some fun.  Note the extra set of "legs" on the left.  

Within short time, the sand bar became the source of entertainment, with the littles jumping and splashing as the waves rolled by.  Not too be left out of the fun, Marty decided to cart his chair out to join them.

Before long, the whole family was out there, splashing, relaxing, and even a little fishing, as you can see on the right.  Although no fish were actually caught. 

And, obviously, the photographer opted to stay under the canopy although I did put my feet into the water for a bit.  But I was quite content to sit and watch them all at play.

Once back under the shade, these three spent some time attempting to build a sand city.

But it had been quite a long time out on the sand, so we all decided to come in for some pool time.

Which, as you can see, offered a lot of entertainment in itself! 

It's a good thing we made the most of the day, as the rain set in, just around dinner time, and hasn't let up since.  Suddenly, a bank of storms seems possible for tomorrow, so I'm not quite sure what we have in store for us.  But, as you can well imagine, there won't be any lack of entertainment!

I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Look Who's Three!

 I wasn't kidding when I said that I had a special surprise in my previous blog.  But before I elaborate, let me mention here that it's a good thing that we headed out to the beach early, because a string of thunderstorms snuck up upon us mid afternoon.

We had some marvelous morning weather, and the kids wasted no time jumping in and enjoying it.

There was also an excellent opportunity for some fishing

Unfortunately, Jim had little luck, although Marty had managed to catch a flounder and at least 6 mullets throughout the day.   I will attest to eye witnessing the catching of a pair at the same time.  Other than that, we'll just have to take Marty's word for it and hope it isn't a fishy story. 

We were having a grand time, when we noticed dark clouds in the distance.  For awhile, it appeared as if we would be spared any type of weather related issues.

This little one was having a grand time excavating in the sand.

 But, then, suddenly, gale force winds were upon us.  Our makeshift tent was suddenly flattened; chairs were overturned, and we decided that it was probably best for us to head back to the house.

I found it rather amusing that these two decided two stay put, cleverly using a boogie board to block the wind. 

Within minutes, the weather cleared, and we were once again out enjoying the beautiful day.

But the fun wouldn't last for much longer as a second storm creeped up on us, and luckily, we were all cleaned up and comfortably inside when the rain hit. 

And now, the festivities could begin.  This little guy turned three today, and we were all ready to celebrate!

Gramma G made the cake.  You probably guessed by now that the tyke has a fondness for dinosaurs. 

The celebration was enhanced with dino hats for us all to wear.

 

You just can't ask for much more fun than that, can you?

The evening skies seemed to have cleared, and I was able to spy the nearly full moon in the sky at twilight. 

Perfect, don't you think?

More adventures on the horizon....

Cabana Beach Time!

It's that time of year where we load up the cars and head to the beach!  We headed out the door yesterday morning, and arrived just before dinner at our rental.  And, the weather, and views, certainly didn't disappoint! 

After a delicious lasagna dinner ala Stacey, we all headed out to the beach for a quick look at what the surf had to offer.

As you can see, these kids wasted no time diving in for some fun.

We headed back to the house for some dessert time 

and to enjoy the sunset from the comfort of the front porch. 

One of the awesome features of this house (and, believe me, there are many perks), is that the house has windows on either side, so we can see the sun rise as well as set, all without having to venture out!

So, this morning, the sun could easily be seen rising, although the windows were misty, so this isn't the best photo. 

 But, you get the point. 

It wasn't too long before the pitter patter of tiny feet could be heard venturing upstairs, and we enjoyed watching the dolphins swimming just offshore.

In the meantime, PapPap head out for some early morning fishing.

The kids and I set up making some chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. 

Guess you figured out by now that they were pretty delicious!

Be sure to stay posted for future adventures.  Today's a pretty exciting day.  I'll give you a quick preview.

But, for now....it's time to head to the beach!!