Blog Ketchup #4 - A Trip to the Beach!

A friend from our ward here in Vancouver has been organizing a walking group every Monday this summer. But it's not just a boring walk-around-the-neighborhood walking group, we've checked out several fun trails! And this one was especially fun because it ended with a trip to the beach! Who knew there was such a great beach only 15 minutes from our apartment?

Well, the walking part came first. We just walked for a ways, then turned around to go back (the parking is right by the beach). We waited too long before turning around, and the kids were getting tired and hot and cranky (me too, but we'll blame them). So they started demanding turns in the stroller. Katy was happy to walk for a little while, but her little legs tired quickly. Ryan wasn't ready to walk again, so we piled her on top!
This picture cracks me up! Ryan frequently does the open-mouth-instead-of-smiling face, but this is the first time I've seen Katy do it. It's great that I caught them making the same face at the same time!

All crankiness was quickly forgotten once we got to the beach! These are three happy kiddos!

Ryan, whom we sometimes affectionately call The Gross, enjoyed playing with the sand. Ew.

Some other kids had worked hard at digging a pool close to the water, and it looked so nasty. So of course we wanted to play in it a lot. Then we built things out of sand - there's an octopus right behind Ryan, then a starfish and fishy next to him. And there's Katy, being quite immodest in the back.

Katy Mermaid! She actually thought this was really cool, despite the grimace on her face!


So, we're really happy to have discovered the beach! I saw several people there with off leash dogs (despite the signs saying not to), so we went back a few days later with Molly. She LOVED it! We brought the ball launcher and had her play fetch in the water. What a way to wear out a pup! I didn't take any pictures that day, though. I figured I had enough to worry about.