Beach

So - today we finally made it to the beach!

Our beach passes arrived last week and so begins the journey's to the sand.

Today we took one of Julia's friends with us - and she wasn't so big on the sand thing. She told us many a time that she was more of a Winter kind of kid. It isn't dirty in the winter. She got into it eventually and I think had a good time.

We built and destroyed sand castles. Dug deep holes and filled them back in. Played in the water. Anna was able to swim and so she was happy. Emma wasn't sure she liked being sandy all that much either - and Julia just ran in an out of the water.

Fun.

It's coming, It's coming, It's coming!!

It's almost time to hit the beach. In the town we live we have several amazing public beaches.

Going to the beach alone with three busy kids requires a system and the appropriate equipment. So, here are some of the things that made beach going easier last summer - and some things I have found that I want to try for this year.

The first thing on my beach list is my $10 Summer Pass. I can use this to access all of the beaches (it covers parking too) and most are within 5 miles of where we live.

I could not go to the beach with the kids sans hubby without this beach cart. I was lucky and bought mine for $25 at the Christmas Tree Shops last year. It is a LIFESAVER. I can put our towels, my chair, the blanket, the beach toys, my wallet, a small cooler and more and then still have a hand free to hold one of the kids. I don't know if we could camp out at the beach without it. I might add it's also pretty handy for carting kids sporting equipment around on game day, especially if you are the coach and have to take the kids, a cooler, a bunch of balls, pop up goals, etc...

I also tricked out my beach cart with these stroller accesories from the girls stroller. A handy place to keep my drink and the hooks can hold an extra lightweight bag.

Another great use of this beach cart is if someone is injured, sore, whiny unable to walk without a body part falling off - you can substitute a small child for a bag on the bottom.

This is my choice of a sand toy bag. Sand is not nearly as much of an issue as it used to be. I just shake it our really well and a lot less sand comes home with us.

Although we don't use one, we have considered some sort of a sun shelter. I'm not a huge fan since I don't think we'd use it enough, we're kind of active beach people, not a lot of sitting around. When we are done being in the sun, we go home, but if we were heading to the beach for long periods of time, then I'd definitely consider this.

Ah, the kids. I'm not normally a water shoe person, but we like to walk the beach and explore, and sometimes that means we end up wandering tidal pools with rocks. So, we do beach shoes. I like these and these and of course these.

I'm a bit of an SPF addict. It's ridiculous how much sunblock we go through. I have found it easier since we moved to sunsuits. Anna and Emma models styles like this that provide non-stop SPF 50.

These hats are amazing to keep the sun off the face and neck.

Julia sports a style more like this with this. She likes it because it really does protect her from the dreaded boogie board rash. Speaking of boogie boards. Julia loves this one and is going to try a skimboard this year. Wish us luck. She's watched other people doing this at the beach, and has been dying to try it. It is pretty cool.

I use a pretty basic hardside little cooler to keep our water (lots of water!) and snacks in, but how cute are these? This one is pretty handy and cute too.

A good beach blanket with a waterproof bottom. Hang out a little closer to waters edge without getting all wet.

Did I mention sunblock? I'm an addict. I need to step away from the sunblock. I love this stuff, it has always kept my kids from getting even a little red. I think I might be talked into giving a spray version a try. Everyone recommends the Blue Lizard, it's Australian sunblock, so I think this is going to be the first sunblock out of the gate for us this year. I also always buy a sunblock stick too, it's so much easier to put on little faces and ears. For me on my body, I usually just use whatever I'm using for the kids, but on my face I have to be super careful. I have super sensitive skin on my face and most sunblock actually burns my face. I use Neutrogena Healthy Defense SPF 45 on my face and hands, of course I'm still a Bare Minerals addict and that also has a natural SPF in the foundation and I use those for everyday running around town. But for the beach, I'm at a loss, some friends recommended Kiss My Face & Neck and I'm going to give it a try.

Another sunblock place are my lips, on the beach it's Burts Bees Lifeguard all the way. I know it can leave a little white trace, but it's worth it. I keep all of this sunblock (so really just a BIG bottle of sunblock, my face stuff, lip stuff and sunblock stick) in a small cosmetics bag so it's in one place and I don't have to deal with leaky bottles if that happens.

Now, I keep the beach cart, boogie/skim boards, bag of sand toys, life jackets in the van all the time. I bring the cooler and the other beach bag with wet suits, wet towels, sunblock, etc back inside so I can get everything washed before the next time.

I'm sad to announce that my faithful beach bag of six years died last summer. The handle broke beyond repair and the liner was shredding on everything making a huge mess. So, I'm on the prowl for another bag. I like a big bag since I might have to carry up to 5 beach towels in it plus cover ups for the girls to change into. I like it to be super waterproof, so I don't have a wet van, and ideally, I love a little pocket or two on the inside to keep hairbands and other small things safe so I'm not digging in the bag. This LL Bean tote in XL with a ZIpper is close, but I'll keep looking before I buy it.

I also always bring a grocery bag or two for beach finds that I don't want making a mess all over, but I'm careful to not let them fly away! If you have any favorite beach items, tips or must haves, please share!

Home again.......

We're back on the beach.

Looks like most everything made it ok. Strange things have washed up on the road, like shoes, Christmas trees and lots of rocks.

The surfers were out and enjoying the big waves. We even saw a hanglider tonight.

Evacuation fun...

Baldacci Declares State Of Emergency

Splendid.

We are under a non-mandatory evacuation as of right now. Because of the girls we have decided to leave in the morning. They are worried about high tide tomorrow morning and tomorrow night because of the astronomical alignment (means really high tides). Public Safety called and gave us the info on the Red Cross Shelter they are setting up, but we have decided with the girls that it would be better for us to pay the money and stay at a hotel.

We'll be there at least Monday night and possibly Tuesday - but we'll play that by ear.

We're in no real danger of having the house itself flood since we're up a small hill and the house is situated up as well, but they are concerned about the river flooding behind us and the beach flooding in front so our neighborhood would be trapped. The houses directly on the beach and lower on the hill will almost certainly flood.

We're not worried, but don't want to take chances with our kids. Our neighbors do have a really big boat trailered next door --- so maybe... nah...

I'll have high speed internet so you'll probably be hearing from me!

Don't worry about us. We'll be fine!

The post where I get to use the word hunker....

This is from my good friends at WCSH6 NBC here in Maine -


Weather Notes: WEAK HIGH PRESSURE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NICE WEATHER BREAK ACROSS PARTS OF NEW ENGLAND THIS AFTERNOON. WE WILL KEEP THE FAIR CONDITIONS GOING INTO THE NIGHTIME HOURS... BUT CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE AS A LARGE STORM MOVING ACROSS THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES TRACKS OUR WAY TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION WILL GET UNDER WAY SUNDAY MORNING GENERALLY... IN THE FORM OF RAIN AND SNOW. EAST WINDS DEVELOP OVER THE REGION AS WELL. COASTAL AREAS WILL GO OVER THE RAIN FIRST... BUT EVENTUALLY ALL AREAS AWAY FROM THE MOUNTAINS WILL SEE THE SNOW GO OVER THE RAIN AS WELL. A MIX OF SNOW AND RAIN IS FORECAST OVER THE HIGHER BY LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS WITH THIS INTENSE WEATHER SYSTEM WILL APPROACH 2 TO 4 INCHES OR MORE BY THE TIME IT MOVES AWAY. COMPLICATIONS FROM THIS EVENT WILL INCLUDE HEAVY WET SNOW ON BUILDINGS... POWER LINES AND TREES AT FIRST... AND THEN AS THE SNOW CHANGES OVER TO RAIN WE WILL START TO SEE A SHIFT TO FLOODING PROBLEMS. ADDITIONALLY... THE STRONG EASTERLY WINDS THAT ARE FORECAST AS THIS WEATHER SYSTEM NEARS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND WILL PRODUCE COASTAL FLOODING AND EROSION... ESPECIALLY AT HIGH TIDE. THIS WILL BE A SLOW MOVING STORM. WE ARE GOING TO BE DEALING WITH ITS EFFECTS FROM SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY. THE STORM WILL EVENTUALLY MOVE SLOWLY AWAY FROM THE REGION TUESDAY... SLOWLY EASING ITS IMPACT ON OUR REGION THROUGH WEDNESDAY. MOST AREAS WILL SEE DRIER WEATHER BY LATE THURSDAY... AS SHOWERS FINALLY TAPER OFF. DAYTIME TEMPERATURES DURING THE STORM ARE GOING TO STAY BELOW NORMAL... BUT A SLOW WARMING TREND GETS UNDER WAY AT MIDWEEK WITH MUCH IMPROVED WEATHER FORECAST BY FRIDAY. (NWS/GYX)


Fun to live at the beach. We're pretty prepared, but hoping for no flooding. The tides are at their highest this time of year because of the astronomical pulls... so it could be ugly. The neighborhood coalition went around and warned us to be prepared. So, we'll be hunkering down! Hope we still get to go to our open house tomorrow.

Spring Break

Here is how we spent the first day of our Spring Break.

I should mention there is snow in the forecast for tomorrow!

Beachin it

We have had unseasonably warm weather here in Maine this Winter. I think we've only had 3 days of snow so those snow shoes and sleds are just sitting around waiting for use!

The warm weather has been great for us because it means we are really getting use of the beach. On Christmas day we took a walk down the beach and Anna and I braved the cold water and put our feet in!

On Sunday the beach was hopping with surfers and people out enjoying the mild weather. The girls and I walked the beach in bare feet. Can you believe it??? Maine in January????

Unfortunately it looks like the cold weather is about to descend upon us and stay as that artic air is coming... so we'll just look at these photos and remember the warmth...