It's a Beach Day!

Today had to be the record for the hottest day of the year. So when the question, "What are we going to do today?" started coming in from five different directions, the obvious answer was "Go to the beach!" We headed north to Good Harbor in Gloucester and spent the afternoon and evening relishing in what we knew would be one of our last days of summer. 

From our beach chairs we watched a lobster boat hum around in the bay, sea kayakers paddle to a little island in the distance, and a couple of light houses stand guard on their rock cliffs.

 The kids spent the afternoon digging for clams, 

building sandcastles,

examining a lobster trap that washed ashore 

and crossing a sand bar, which was exposed during low tide, to a small island. 

After romping in the waves with her sisters and brothers, Emilie retreated to the beach and spent part of the day deep in her Beacon Street book. For Emilie, trading surf time for reading time was a first, reminding me once again that we are transitioning to a new stage. (Actually the reminder began when she brought a TIME magazine in the car with her!) 

With the sun ready to disappear, we packed up our castle molds, buckets and shovels, tossed the clams back to sea and slipped on our sandy flip flops.  I found myself cooking dinner at 9:00 p.m. and then tucking five exhausted children into bed at their suggestion, which I knew were remnants of a successful day.