Twinkies and Chardonnay...

...make a perfect ending to a perfect day!

We arrived on the beach to perfect weather yet again. The right amount of sunshine mixed with the right amount of ocean breeze. The kids, of course, wanted to go right in to the water. So Don went down with them. Not a minute later he came back up with his sunglasses, shirt and baseball cap. I asked if the water was warm. He replied "Yes, it's like pool water... in the middle of November!" If you have ever been to Maine, you know the polar bears and penguins would be right at home in these waters! The kids were busy with their cousins all day long and despite turning around every once in a while to see who was in the sand versus who was in the water and making sure that there were 11 little heads in all it was almost as though we had no children! They were so well behaved! For the most part I was comfortable letting Alexander go in to the water with an older, responsible cousin and I was happy to go in with him every once in a while as well. (At one point Don started clicking away with the camera... well this morning I was downloading the pictures and there was this very unflattering picture of my padded derriere and I thought to myself, as I deleted the damned thing from all files, why the Hell would he do that?!)

It was such a relaxing day that I was able to finish my book. I don't think I have been able to pick up a book on the beach and read in 10 years -- that's before I had kids. And it was so nice to read without constantly looking up. Of course there were 4 other adults there yesterday so we had many pairs of eyes between us. And Alexander wants so much to hang with the older kids that I do not worry too much and should he misbehave I know that someone will tell me.

We decided to have dinner on the beach last night. We ordered sandwiches from the only deli/variety store in town and all dined on the beach eating our (disappointing, mediocre -- quality has suffered this year) sandwiches. I opted not to eat mine. I ordered a BLT and the bacon was not cooked and there was no mayonnaise on the sandwich. I figured I would toast the bread at the condo and cook the bacon properly.

We left the beach at 7:00 as the tide was rolling back out. Alexander passed out on the way home and I transferred him in to his PJs and tucked him in. By 8:00 Don was gone -- meeting in New Jersey today -- and Christopher was showered. Rebecca was at her grandmother's for a sleep over. The condo was quiet. I was showered and clean. I poured myself a very large glass of wine and grabbed a Twinkie from the cabinet. Yes, a Twinkie! It was ever so delicious and the Chardonnay was the perfect accompaniment.

Rebecca looking mahhvelous in her Daddy's sunglasses!

Alexander off to catch some Seagulls!

Don has fun with the zoom lens this time!

William gives Miren a piggy back ride