Milder Moments: Last day at the beach...

I can't believe the week is over! It seems like we just got here. I'm always amazed at how quickly the week goes by. Being that this is our 6th summer here at the Marisol condo, it is familiar and feels like home. I'm always sad when we leave knowing that the next time we return another year will have passed. Yet every summer when we arrive, things are exactly the same. Very comforting for a gal who loves consistency!!

The kids have had a ball! They've played so hard they've just about passed out every night from exhaustion.

This year's highlights include:

*The Braddock's! We were all a little sad when we learned that none of our usual beach bunch was able to come with us this year. The kids were very concerned about who they would play with for an entire week. We were thrilled when our friends the Braddocks said they'd like to come with us. The kids have all played really well together and it's been such a blessing to share this time with friends.

*The discovery of the Ghost Shrimp Extractor/Creature Catcher/Shrimp Sucker. Our first day at the beach we noticed a guy using one of these contraptions to catch something and put it in a bait bucket. Scott inquired and got the scoop. Thursday I finally headed to the bait shop/seafood market/gift shop (another story) for one of our own. The kids (and I!) had a great time using it to find Ghost Shrimp. They are kinda creepy looking and are a cross between a shrimp and a crawfish. I can suck them out of their holes, but the kids have to pick them up!

One that we pulled up looked like this on the underside...I couldn't figure out what it was until Thomas starting yelling,"It's her eggs mom!" He remembered from our lobster cruise that the eggs are stored underneath. He adamantly insisted that we put her back immediately, "It's the law." I honestly don't know if there is a law concerning pregnant ghost shrimp, but if there is we've done our law abiding duty and returned her to her natural habitat to have her babies in peace!

*The skim board. The kids all had fun giving this a try!

*Dirty Al's. Scott new buddy, Robert...(Some guy from Saginaw that owns 2 Mr. Jim's who's been here the last couple of years...Scott gets everyone's life story!)told Scott that the best seafood on the island is at Dirty Al's. We tried to go on Monday night, but they'd had a fire and were closed. The fire damage must have been minimal because we went Friday night and all was well. I don't have any pictures because I forgot my camera, but it was super fresh and fantastic. I had fried shrimp, fish and oysters served with french fries in a paper basket!

*Kaitlyn. As some of you know, the Braddocks have a daughter in college, and we were lucky enough to have her join us at the beach. All the kids, but Mandy especially, adore her. In fact, we all think she's pretty awesome! Mandy's been pretty much stuck to her like glue for the last week!

*Having the tent stolen. Every night we take our tent and carry it up to the base of the dunes and leave it till the next morning. We have NEVER had a problem. Friday morning when the guys went out to move it to our spot it was gone, along with another family's tent. Long story short...the South Padre Island police were called and a very nice officer came out to take our complaint!