Since school let out on June 21st,  we have been to the beach 4 times and to the pool at least 6 times.  And today I took the kids to the beach and the pool,  because half of them wanted the beach and half of them wanted the pool, so I just did both because I woke up with the decision that today was going to be a YES DAY.   A YES DAY is a day when I pause before responding to a question, take a moment to think about it, and then if it’s not a dangerous request or anything like that, I answer with a YES.   The kids just love my YES DAYS.Today it was….YES for the beach.  YES for the pool.  YES for Dairy Queen ice cream after dinner. YES to having a friend sleep over. YES to the “can I sleep in your bed tonight?”  question from four of the kids  (I’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight)Even though today was a YES DAY, I did say NO once today.  Boo!  I know.  But hear me out.  A couple of the kids asked if they could bring a friend to the beach with us,  and while normally I would say yes to the can-I-bring-a-friend question,  today I said, “No, not today.”  because I really wanted my kids to play with each other and enjoy each other’s company  without any distraction from friends.  And when I saw this….

and this

and this

I knew I made the right decision about the no-friends-today thing, because it was so nice watching A.J. and Alex together.

They hung out together the entire time.
Brothers.
I just love it.

Andrew and Aria played nicely together, too.  Here is Andrew doing a little negotiating with Aria about who should get which shell in the collection.

They decided to divide them up evenly.  Good choice.

And of course Audriana and Aria had their special time.
Aria sure loves her biggest sister!

It was a perfect day at the beach today;
the sun was out, the temperature warm, the kids played well together….

and I got to kick my shoes off and relax a little, which is always a nice thing.

Considering that it’s only the second week in July and school doesn’t start up until the second week in September, I’d say we are off to a great start to our summer with 4 beach days and 6 pool days already behind us.   And there is plenty more to come!

And to end this post, here is a 5 minute photo/video music montage of our day at the beach.Enjoy!  song credits:  Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs    click this link once a day to vote – thank you so much!