la plage

Today we went to a beach in Normandy. We went to a town called Deauville. I wish I would have gotten pictures of the town as we drove in. There were a lot of English Tudor style buildings. The houses were so cute. When we got there it was actually cloudy and a bit cold, but it ended up being a beautiful day. This beach is two hours away from Paris. It was nice getting out of town. The countryside reminded me of the Midwest. There were fields of corn and other crops finishing up. The boys kept commenting on the tractors and various shaped hay bales. They need to get out to the country more often. I grew up with corn fields and cows (well around my hometown, not in it) but I have to remember that the boys have lived in big sized cities. Doug was excited to use the GPS and that the speed limit was 130! Kilometers, that is. It was actually 81 mph.

The Atlantic Ocean at northern France.

This was the first time we took the boys to the beach. For some reason we never got around to taking them before. They all enjoyed themselves. Timmy loved the giant sandbox.The boys attempted to make a sand castle, but didn't get very far because Timmy-zilla attacked the fortress. Maybe next summer he will be big enough to join in the building instead of the destruction. Doug told the boys a story about how when he was younger he saw a boy going around a kicking down others sand castles. So he and his brothers purposely built their sand castle around some big rocks. Matt and Thomas thought that was a great story. Timmy dug for dinosaurs. I buried them with their faces sticking up so he'd be able to dig them out. Unfortunately we ended up loosing one of them and some lucky kid will find a dinosaur in the sand.
Thomas brought back a bucket of water to help make the sand castle, but Timmy loved splashing in it. The boys discovered how salty the water is and how when it dries, it makes your skin sticky.Recently for one of our kids meal prizes, the boys all got paddles and little balls. So they attempted to play paddle ball. They thought it was great each time I missed it and claimed they got a point. Well, I told them that they had to hit it well enough so that I could even try to get it. Of course I have my own personal philosophy that I do not sacrifice my body for a ball. Not even in the sand.

They all loved being in the water, even Timmy. He would stand in the water with the waves coming at him and shiver the whole time, but he thought it was great.
The boys really loved jumping the waves with their dad. He helped them a little. We all had fun and the boys wanted to come back the next day. We'll plan ahead better next summer and rent a beach house or something. Anyone want to come with and we'll rent a mini chateâu for a week? It wouldn't be a day at the beach without someone trying to eat the sand.
It also wouldn't be a day at the beach without a little sunburn. I was a responsible mom and lathered it on the boys. I actually did put some on my face. But then I thought to myself, "It's cloudy, and chilly, and all I have is 50 spf. Who wants 50 while at the beach? I need something to show that I was at the beach...right?" I did actually think about applying it again once the sun came out but then decided against it because it was so late in the day. I have now learned my lesson and if I ever say anything like this again, please remind me of this day.
It's quite painful and I'm an idiot. I need to remember that it is better to take care of myself rather than try to attempt to get some color. Because, frankly, I never tan, so why do I even try.

At least I wasn't alone. Doug got some serious sun on his neck and ankles. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's quite red, and it's very painful for him to walk around. He even cut down a pair of socks to be below his ankle so it wouldn't rub. Thank goodness for aloe vera!