...enjoys long walks on the beach, with toddlers...

After reading a post over at Mother of All I am having a terrible craving for salt air and sand in my shorts. I have a small penchant for the smell of a funky lagoon, the wharf and wet nappy hair. That coupled with a bunch of screaming kids makes my heart skip a beat. Throw in a warm smashed PB&J and a hot orange soda and I will elevate to seventh heaven!

Yes, I am talking about summer at the beach. The sting of being sun-kissed and the first gasp as you enter the briny shore take me back to my own childhood. It's funny, but back then it was o.k. to just drop off your kids for the day and pick them up sometime near 9:00 that night. As an adult the thought makes me cringe. Not so much about the child safety issues we deal with now-a-days, but if I were the drop off mom, I would just have to stay and hang out. There would be no getting me back into that car until sundown.

We were taught to swim almost in tandem with walking. We were given secrets such as the water won't keep bashing the tar out of you if you just swim past the breakers, and if you get caught in a rip tide, just swim parallel with the shore and in a very short distance you'll be free again. That and never put a dead jelly fish in your trunk to save for next Monday's Show and Tell.

One of my favorite past times was and still is: Making Sand Castles. While browsing the Deseret Bookstore last week I found a "must have" book for my collection: Sandcastles Made Easy by Lucinda "sandy feet" Wierenga. Not knowing how far I can go without breaking copyright laws I will neglect to post her photos of work...YOWSERS! So cool, so pretty, and so tempting to try.

I read the book in about 20 minutes, and although there are some laws of physics to memorize, it's not rocket science. She gives away her trade secrets and recipes for the perfect castle and sculpting sands. Who knew there was a science to it all? After reading her book I now understand why my attempts have been less than stellar, however well planned and executed. So watch out beach goers! I have knowledge. And knowledge is power! No sand is safe from now on. I am off to stake my foolish man's claim and build me a house on the sand.