Beach Days!

We've gone to the beach four days this week. I think it has something to do with all the cold, snowy weather that I've been hearing is sweeping the country. Here it's all sunshine, and maybe I appreciated it a bit more this week (although snow is great, too).




So, we went to the beach on Monday (I wrote about that trip already).

Then on Wednesday, Paprika's school had a field trip to meet the lifeguards down at their beach headquarters. That trip ended up being a near disaster.

Long story short, while the kids were taking turns to sit in the front seat of the lifeguards' truck, the waiting kids were playing with the flagpole. I was about 18 inches from Paprika and should have told the kids to stop...but I didn't because, well, no one else (not even the 5 lifeguards standing there) seemed to think it was a problem. And who knew flagpoles were dangerous? Not me.

Well, now I do because Paprika got her finger caught in the flagpole pulley and it almost ripped her finger off. It took two EMTs to dislodge her finger and she was screaming in pain. If you know Paprika, then you know that she never complains about pain and even danced through an entire ballet class with a bloody foot. So, I knew it was bad and I figured it was broken.

After lots of crying, cuddles, icepacks, and distraction-inducing stickers, the EMTs checked out her finger and said it was just bruised, not broken. Phew!

We left the field trip and went out for lunch...Paprika got a big chocolate shake with whipped cream (I know, I know)...and then she really felt all better. Ha!



Thursday I took Ginger to the beach by myself after I dropped Paprika off at preschool. She did not want to stay in the stroller and everytime I would stop even for a second, she would throw herself forward and try to escape. We were on the path where bikes and rollerbladers zoom by (not to mention lots of dogwalkers), so I didn't want to let her out of the stroller to run.

Here is a picture I took of her on that day. All the pictures from this beach trip pretty much look like this, with her about to leap out of her stroller:



I could just see her careening into the next cyclist or running towards a pit bull (nothing against pit bulls). So, instead I basically jogged the whole walk to get her to stay satisfied. I got my workout in, and she was pretty happy.



Today I took Ginger and Paprika to the Pier and to the little Aquarium. Ginger does not want to be babied, and has to do everything Paprika does and then more. She wants to one-up her all the time.



On the Pier, they were chasing seagulls and pigeons. They just wanted to touch one, but wouldn't you know it, the birds did not feel the same way!



We also spent a long time looking out at the ocean, watching the waves crash, and spying on the seagulls.



The girls had a great time at the little Aquarium. The little Aquarium has a big puppet collection kids can play with, which they both loved. They also both love the touch tanks, and Paprika can identify every single organism inside them. She is an animal lover, for sure.




On the way home, Ginger wanted to push Paprika in the stroller. She would get so mad when I tried to help her steer. Paprika played along. She is a great sport, what can I say?



Happy Weekend Everyone! Hope you stay warm and snuggly, no matter the weather!