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Thursday, July 25, 2013

The Dock (book inspiration)

This is a photo of Highport Marina. It is the inspiration for the slip where Kate's mother's houseboat is docked. I tried to find an image of the houseboat that I see in my mind, but that always leads to looking at all gorgeous possibilities for houseboat living and from there I move on to dockominiums and I completely forget that I'm searching for a smallish less-than-elaborate boat that Kate's mom has. Happy summer 2013!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

What's in My Summer Beach Bag?! Summer 2013

It's summer! It's beach time for my kids and me. I love this Target beach bag, and I have stuffed it with....

Band-Aids.

Apparently that is how we will measure summer success. How many Band-Aids did we use in a day? I have a 10-year-old and a five-year-old. Also, the five-year-old gets these ouchies that the human eye cannot detect but a Band-Aid cures them. Stops any crying of whining cold. I can get on board with that. So far, our record has been six Band-Aids between the two kids.

In addition to Band-Aids, the beach bag includes these things.
1. Beach towels! I love this hibiscus towel from Target. I take one beach towel per person, plus one to stand on or use as a back-up.

2. Sunscreen. Last year, I discovered that I love Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock. It doesn't leave my hands feeling greasy after I apply it. This year, I also found that I like Banana Boat Sport Performance Coolzone Sunscreen. This is only 30 SPF, so we use Neutrogena first, and then use the Banana Boat for re-application. It's a spray and nice and cool, so it's great for the beach when it's hot. I use Coppertone WaterBabies Sunscreen on everyone's face.

3. Goggles. My kids love wearing goggles when swimming, so I keep several sets in the bag.

4. Dive toys. When beach boredom sets in (I know...who can get bored at the pool or beach other than my kids?) I pull out dive toys.

5. I love Bubba drinking bottles this summer. This is the only brand I've found that truly does not leak. 

6. Sunglasses. I buy sunglasses at Target because I lose, break, misplace them. I also like options. If I wear sunglasses, I can afford lots of options.
  
7. And the secret stash. I wrote more about it last year, but I always have some work in my bag for when my kids aren't paying attention.

What's in your beach bag?