The Waves Crash

Can you hear that? It's the sound of the waves crashes against the sand as seagulls fly overhead. If you listen really carefully, you can hear the sound of distant voices being carried hither and yon through the wind.

The ocean. The beach. The coast.

Yes, my friends, that is where I am at this very moment in time. The kids are sleeping (it's been a big, big day for them), Dakota and reading and I logged on to check the price of Nautica towels. (Oh my goodness - we must have some and, as it turns out, they are affordable. Yay!!! The condo we where we stayed for a couple nights had the towels and we both loved, loved, loved them.) We were supposed to be home tonight but yesterday afternoon we made the decision to stay another day. We could have stayed in the condo - it was a nice place to be - but instead opted to move to a hotel that is right on the beach.

I gave Dakota a semi-bad time about needing a place ON the the water but alas, the joke was on me. I need it too. The condo had a view but there was a row of houses between us and the sand and it is just so not the same. (Did you catch that Dakota? I said I was wrong right here for many, many people to read. It doesn't happen often but I was so, so, so wrong. It matters. :) ).

One of the best things about the town where we are is that there is a child play center connected to the nearby casino and you can drop (for a small-ish fee) your kiddos off for up to 4 hours and go play (presumably at the casino but you can go off-site). It was awesome!!! The first time, we left them there for about 90 minutes while we checked out the casino (I just don't get the whole slot machine/gambling thing. I lost my $10 in not time at all. Dakota played her $10 and walked away with $12.) but today we dropped them for the entire 4 hours while we went and explored local shops and the outlet center. Talk about luxury!!!!!

The kids had a good time though Kaylen had clearly hit her limit at 3.5 hours. She completely melted into a puddle the second she saw us. Something about losing Kelton and being scared. We never really got the whole story but after a good cry and lots of snuggling, she was fine.

We head home tomorrow and I have a ton of photos to sort through before I can find oh - I don't know..about 100 to share. :) It's been GREAT even though the weather has been anything but. It's rained most of the time but I don't mind. Yesterday we had a spectacular thunder and lightning storm for most of the day and practically all night. It was something else!!!!

More later....