BEACH: before kids and after kids.

Going to the beach pre-baby: wake up lazily on a Saturday morning, look out the window and see that it is 11:00am and gorgeously sunny. Enjoy a nice pancake breakfast with husband. Discuss intelligent topics and causally mention that going to the beach would be nice. Put on bathing suit, grab a towel and drive to beach. Lay on towel in the sand. Read a Shopoholic novel. Put on more sunscreen and work on tan. Walk hand in hand with husband to ocean, throw the skimboard a few times. Friends show up. Talk. Laugh. Blare Bob Marley's Jammin' on speakers. Roast hot dogs. Go home, take shower and sleep 10 hours.

Going to the beach with children: start planning a week (maybe weeks) in advance. Make a checklist of everything we will need. Consider renting u-haul for the amont of stuff required but remember husband has large pick-up truck. Stay up late packing truck with everything the children own. Wake up to Baby crying at 5:00am. Convince Baby to go back to sleep until 7:00am. Rejoice that you got to sleep in til 7:00am!

Triple tasking feeding oatmeal to baby, cheerios to toddler and pack snacks for beach. Eat Toddler's leftovers for breakfast. Tell Toddler to put on bathing suit. Explain that the one she wants to wear is size 6 and too big and its only in her closet because it was on sale and it will fit in 3 years. Negotiate she can wear the top of the size 6 bathing suit but she has to wear bottoms that stay on. Explain to whining Toddler that yes, it is her bathing, yes I bought it for you but no, your bum is too small right now for it. And yes your bum will grow bigger and in 3 years you can wear the bottom part.

Tell Toddler to put on sunscreen. Chase Toddler around the house with sunscreen in your hand. Give up and put sunscreen on Baby first. Look everywhere for Baby's bathing suit. Dig out everything that was put in the truck the night before to see if its there. Find bathing suit in Toddler's room. Question yourself if you left it there or if it was Toddler's fault. Blame Toddler.

Pack everything in truck and wonder if there is room for the children. Decide to move things around to fit the children.

Leave house at 9:33 am. So impressed. Fist pump to husband.

Pray Baby will nap 45 minutes on the way to the beach. Baby is awake for 40 minutes and falls asleep the last 5 minutes of the ride. Baby wakes up as soon as husband turns ignition off.

Unload everything into wagon. Drag everything onto the beach. Set up tent and umbrella. Put Baby in shade. Baby prefers to be in the sun and eat sand. Try to stop Baby from eating sand. Try giving Baby crackers to eat instead of sand. Baby scoops sand with cracker and eats it. Baby is happy eating sand. Give up and decide as long as Baby is happy ingesting sand is probably not permanently damaging.

Decide it was so much work to get here and just enjoy it.

Toddler and Baby both get the memo. Both have tons of fun. Splash in skim puddles.

 Dad tows kids on his skimboard invention. Even Noah learns to hold on!

Watch Dad and Mom prove they still got it (a little bit). Build sandcastles and blare  the Frozen soundtrack on speakers. Pretend you don't know all the words to Let it Go.

Natallie starts to look tired but then friends show up. Suddenly receives second wind of energy.

 Jump waves in ocean. Marvel at dead crabs.

2:30pm. In awe that Baby is still happy and awake. Nurse Baby in tent. Drag stroller across sand, put Baby in stroller. Cover with excessive amount of blankets and push baby in sand until he falls asleep. Baby and friend's baby sleep next to each other at beach.

4:45pm. Baby is awake after 2 hour nap in stroller. Toddler is exhausted. Haul everything back in car. Toddler falls asleep in car seat before leaving the parking lot.

Unpack truck and clean sand out of the house for the next several weeks.

Decide it was worth it and start planning for next beach day.