It's rough, but somebody has to do it...

so it may as well be me.

we wrapped up our annual trip to the coast and i think this year's was one of my favorites in recent memory. for sure better than last year's which included a 10 week old baby, that did not nap well at. all.

eww. just thinking about it makes me want to cry all over again.

so...the hi lights.
awesome weather. really. monday was frigid, but after that, it was almost, dare i say, hot. but that made for perfecto beach days in which my kids wore themselves flat out. which made for awesome afternoon naps, which made for kid free beach afternoons. ahh. bliss.


that and the waves were better than they have been in recent memory. typically i paddle out a day, maybe two. this year? i was out 4 of the 5 beach days, without being asked or prodded by my husband & brother. and that made for some serious skill improvement in the body boarding department. i've decided that body boarding is a lot like skiing in that it is way more fun when you actually know what you are doing. and just like you improve leaps & bounds on week long ski trips, the same is true of week long body boarding trips. and i suppose the fact that i can actually keep up with the boys in this endeavor doesn't hurt either. there isn't much in the athletics department {okay nothing} where i can not only keep up, but hold my own. and that, frankly, feels good.

so...some hi lights & low lights.

hi lights:::
scoobs was playing on a kiddie body board in the shallow water when a wave knocked him flat down. i'm of the parenting philosophy to watch, but not always help. so instead of picking him up from under the water, i just told him to stand up. and instead of standing up in the sand, he thought i meant to stand up on the board, like a surfer would & did that...all while the waves are crashing in & out & he is trying to get his head above water. love that kid.

while riding a wave in i was approaching some peeps in the water. okay, i was heading directly at them at what would appear an alarming speed. but on my end, i was in complete control & the wave was going to close out before i would have nailed them...anyway, 1 mili second before the wave is done this guy {18-23ish}standing next to his girl screams at me like a girl, "WATCH OUT!!!" & heads under water. but before he can even finish, the wave has closed & i am standing 10 feet away, not even moving and well...laughing. he felt dumb and i thought it was really funny & then he apologized, thinking he messed me up, when really he didn't, that was just where i was going to land. anywho...this is all babbling, but at the time, i got a seriously good laugh. like dude...don't scream like a girl, go under water & i will ride over you & you won't be the wiser for it.

another wave my dad, myself & my brother were on. we were all just riding the foam & when we all catch one together, we usually just ride it all the way in...trying to knock each other off in the process. well this time, i actually rode the wave AND my brother as my board was literally on top of him. it was a bad shore break all day & we all got tossed into the sand in the most ungraceful way you could imagine. just think of me in my wetsuit & fins with my board flapping about above the water while i get tossed under the water...and oh yeah, my brother was under me & in between all that too. i came up laughing...and gasping for air. then i saw my dad...getting tossed as well, and laughed some more, because the only thing funnier than you getting tossed is watching someone else. then a 6 year old girl informed me that my board nailed her in the head and yes, i laughed at that too. and the untangled my board from kevin's & laughed some more.

low lights:::

my brother got stung by a sting ray and for the first 30 minutes i laughed out loud at him. and before you think i am the most insensitive person alive {which could be true} let me clarify the details.

it was 4:30 on the last day. almost everyone is up at the house. a few straggles {us} were on the beach still. he tells his wife {who just had a baby 5 weeks ago} that his ankle hurts, mind you he had been out of the water 45 minutes. we all ask what he did. he doesn't remember hurting it, but it hurts to the point he can't put any weight on it. his wife heads to the house. he sits. i laugh. no battle wound. no battle story. just his ankle hurts.

lame.

and just so you don't think i am beyond mean, he was laughing too. until it really started to hurt. we called the house & my dad came down to help him off the beach. we were still laughing a bit {by a bit, i mean out loud with teasing remarks}, thinking it was only a cramp. and while the whole thing is a bit of a low light, this next part was definitely a hi light. he hopped the entire way up off the beach & then my dad tried to piggy back him {unsuccessfully} to the house {across the street}. my husband, my brother's wife & myself were in hysterics. never have i seen something so funny.

fast forward 30 minutes i make it back up to the house. only to find him in bed with his foot elevated & him white knuckled & shaking the pain is so bad. yeah, i felt bad at that point. a quick trip to the ER {seriously, it was quick} & he was stung by a sting ray. which really gives me the willies as i was next to him out in the water. ew.

all in all, we wrapped another great year at the beach & i am looking forward to more next year.

thanks mom & dad...