The Shore: Part 2

After the scare with Ryan, I watched both children myself, instead of letting Larissa and Ryan disappear on their own.

We found a tide pool away from the reach of the waves. This captivated them for the rest of the afternoon.

It was deeper in some spots than others, but both kids could stand, even in the deepest part. 

Ryan became braver than I've ever seen him in the water.  He allowed himself to lay on his back with his head back, he crawled on his belly and put his entire face in the water, trying to blow bubbles.  And he was successful!

He was so very proud of himself. 

 Dylan loved being on his belly.  He would pick up handfuls of wet sand and smush it between his hands.  He would crawl on his belly and kick.

Then he saw the seagulls. 

So he had to chase the "birdies." 

So they chased the birdies for a while. 

 And of course before we left, we tried to build a sand castle.  Dylan enjoyed knocking it over.

Around that time, the heat from the day was giving way to cool breezes and although it was still sunny, there was not the same measure of heat beating down.  We went back to the car and I changed the kids into clothes.  We picked up the stroller and went for a stroll on the board walk.  I have never seen the kids eat so quickly as they did that night.  They had worked up such an appetite. 

 We stopped at kiddie land, where the rides are.  Dylan doesn't quite understand the concept of waiting in line or tickets determining the number of times you ride a ride.  So I was glad he slept through this until the very end.  He did enjoy riding on this fire truck, which went around in a gentle circle.

 Ryan impressed me with his bravery on some rides that would have terrified me at the same age.  He rode every ride with his Aunt Larissa, including this one where he was stretched out then lifted up high and spun in a giant circle.

 And this roller coaster.  He enjoyed this so much he wanted to do it again!

And this giant swing.  He loved all these rides.

It was a great end to a nearly perfect day....minus those ten minutes Ryan went missing.