It's Already Over?

So the annual beach trip has come and gone. I must say that seven days of bare feet in the warm sand, enjoying the ocean's breeze and being with family is pretty hard to beat. Sitting at my desk on Monday morning in my cold, window-less office was hardly a joyful experience.

We didn't see as much marine life this year (like last year's phantom manatee), although we did find a man-of-war washed up on the beach. It's bag like body was about the size of three of my fists; its purple tentacles only a few inches long, which means the rest probably got ripped off somehow. I've always been fascinated by these creatures, especially since Lori's horrible encounter with one about 9 years ago, which resulted in a trip to the emergency room and scars across her wrist, chest and legs. Everett buried this year's encounter in the dunes before I was able to snag a picture of it.

How cute are they?!

Other notable events: wiffle-ball on the beach, a trip to the alligator farm, playing Hand and Foot with Kevin, and simply doing nothing but lie on the beach and enjoy the weather (80 degrees...beautiful). Also- Kevin and Everett riding the "swing" at the corner amusement park, which looked more like a catapult that could have shot them 2 miles down the beach. Oh, and as promised, D cooked his famous pulled pork for the fam and it was a hit (that junk is good). We celebrated Father's Day with dad and Robin's 31st bday appropriately with both German Chocolate and Fudge Pie. The tides this year were friggin' crazy! The water came up to the dunes, and completely flooded some of the streets that neighbor the marsh. The marsh grass was completely hidden under the water, making the inlet look like a giant pond. They credited the tides to a full moon and high winds.

Mairin and Rhett putting grass into a bucket to make "a bed" for a granddaddy long legs.

In the setting pictured above, my mom and I over heard the following conversation:

Mairin: Rhett, I love you more than this bucket.
Rhett: I love you more than this blanket.
Mairin: I love you more than Aunt Boo's hair.
Rhett: I love you more than Mema's sunglasses.
(and this goes on for like five minutes)
Mairin: Well, do you know who I love more than anyone in the whole wide world? (pause)...God and Jesus.
Rhett: Yeah me too! (pause)... everybody does.
Mairin: Well, not everyone.
Rhett: Right, like, not bad guys.
Mairin: Yeah, bad guys don't go to heaven.
Rhett: Well...some do.
Mairin: Yeah, but most go to that place... you know, that state, I mean, city, ummm...
Rhett: Yeah, once I saw a bad guy and he was chasing us but we got away.

The conversations of five-year-olds are quite possibly the best in the world.

That's it for now. The rest of our beach pics are posted on our website.