Beach Paparazzi (post 2)

It has become an expectation of the boys that they will get to take pictures with our waterproof camera. I always have it with us and (until this year) it has been virtually little-boy proof. (Somehow there is now moisture trapped inside of it...hoping to dry it out and remedy the situation by next year. I actually lost a lot of pictures, too. But I am not too torn up over that because they are likely pictures up my nose or of sand or with a thumb over the viewfinder. Little boys.)

Keagan really gets into the camera. We have to tell him often to give it a rest because he takes multiple pictures of us from multiple (unflattering) angles, leaves to take a picture of a sand castle, then returns to take the same.exact.pictures. Finn wanted to try this year, too. So once we helped him understand how to hold the camera, we had a second paparrazi in our midst. Sometimes it is nice, because that means I actually DO appear to be on vacation with them and don't have to ask Josh to take my picture. A lot of today's blog are pictures that the boys took. There are some that I took or had Josh take, like the first one of everyone except Josh. Ha! But I think you'll be able to pick out the ones taken by our personal beach paparazzi.

Keagan found a whole sand dollar! We actually found 3 during this trip and were able to bring home 2 intact ones (they are super delicate). They are tiny, but I was excited because I have never found a whole one before!

Donuts on the balcony...

Our 2016 Beach vacation picture looks a little different than the past several years!

Maclyn's first toes-in-the-ocean experience! I don't think she cared too much about it. (She was awake...she's just super squinty without her hat on!) 

To the pool!

 

Sweet girl watching her brothers play in the pool...

 

Finley is not as much of a swimmer as his brother. We had to do a lot of convincing to get him off the steps in the pool. Then Josh had to beg (slash bribe slash threaten) to get Finley to go into the ocean with him. It didn't take long for Finn to realize it was fun and then he was swimming and wave jumping!

Looking back at Mommy!

 The fish he saw was THIS BIG!

The boys and some new friends caught a bunch of little fish and proceeded to keep them as pets (kill them). Most of these were flung to seagulls who were thrilled to help take care of them. At one point the bucket dropped over and fish were flopping all over the beach. I grabbed a sand shovel and started slinging (likely already dead) fish back into the ocean. I am sure I was a sight. Josh thought I was crazy, but I kept asking the kids if they remembered watching Finding Nemo/Finding Dory. They responded Yes, but continued to catch (and kill) these little fish. For the rest of the afternoon the waves were bringing up belly-up fish. 

(we don't know this person. It was a picture one of the kids took. Finn wants to parasail sommeday, he says)