the (lake) beach

I'm not sure exactly how we did it, but somehow 90% of the summer slipped away from us without squeezing in a visit to Grandpa M's house.

So this weekend that's exactly what we did.  Five hours up Friday evening after Ian got off work.  Five hours home Sunday afternoon.

That means we weren't actually in town all that long.  But if you know us, you know we packed in some fun.  Highlights included viewing Olympic competition, chasing off pretend bad guys with a new police car (complete with realistic sirens ~ thanks Grandpa), an Olympic worthy synchronized twilight glow stick twirling competition and stuffing ourselves full of har gow, jiaozi, and shaomai at the dim sum restaurant we were treated to for lunch on Saturday.  (and I do mean stuffing ourselves, I felt a strange sense of pride at how much my kids were able to put away).

But the highlight according to the kids?

Hands down.  Their favorite part was the (lake) beach.  (Grandpa lives in a lake community).

The sand, as always, was met with much enthusiasm.

not sure exactly what he was doing, but it appeared to be a form of  kickboard zen garden smoothing

Of course the water was also much appreciated.  Perfect temperatures made for lots of smiles.

And lots of splashy mischief.  I suspect the original plan involved trying to dunk Grandpa in a sneak attack from behind.  Luckily a not so quiet approach gave him away before anyone went underwater.

The three littles went on a "fish discovery expedition" across the beach with Tony.  

And my big girl?

Well, she swam for a little while.  But then she declared that the water was "a little bit stinky" and decided to stay more on the sand with her Barbie.

tell me when she stopped looking like a baby ~ or even a little girl...

It was a short visit, too short actually.  But it was a good one.  The quad is already looking forward to our next trip to Grandpa's and some time at the lake beach!