Grand Haven

On a whim, we decided on Saturday morning that we would pack up and head to the beach in Grand Haven with the kids.  We'd make it a day trip, spending time in the sun and in the water, visit the American Legion (where Steve and I are both members) and then grab an early dinner on the way home.

Little did we know that there would be a big parade in town that day, so parking was a tad more scarce than we planned on.  But -- we made it work.  And with the kids now older and responsible for most of their own items, we lugged our bags and parked ourselves in a great location in the sand.

We even brought our own flag to stick in the sand!  It was very patriotic, but also let the kids know exactly where we were located when they came out of the water.

My crew:

Jimmy is capable of swimming without a life jacket now, but I always feel much safer knowing that he has one on and he doesn't mind.  It gives him more freedom, as well.

The water seemed pretty chilly!

When this picture was taken, Jack was back on the beach preparing for a shoveled masterpiece:

Warming up for a bit:

Some of the best trips are the impromptu ones!

That flamingo towel has been her favorite one for the last 5 years.  It has gotten so much use!

Working as a team to see just how deep they can make that hole ...

... apparently deep enough for Sam to fit inside of it!

Even Jimmy found his way deep into the sand!

On our way home, we stopped for Mexican food and it was wonderful!  Everyone was a little sunburned (not much, though); full of sand; thirsty; but happy to have been able to get away for the sun and waves before we start back to school later this month.