The Beach And Other Things

Aravis and I are snuggled up on blankets and pillows on the patio watching The Indian In The Cupboard on our $12 garage sale TV/VCR combo. 

It's a nice, relaxing end to the day. Our house is great, but by far, it's greatest feature is the patio. I love having the outdoor living space. With the weather cooler, we've been able to open the doors that open onto the patio and it's been great to enjoy the fresh air. 

Earlier today we hit the beach so Dominick could try out his new surfboard.

He sold a pair of shoes and used the money to buy a used surfboard.  He was dying to practice but unfortunately, the wind and waves were too rough so he didn't get a chance today. There were two surfers surfing not far from us and he got a chance to watch them for awhile. 

And even though he didn't get the chance to try today, I have no doubt he'll learn. With a little help from YouTube, he's mastered the skim board, the backflip and the unicycle and I'm sure, surfing will be no different. I have yet to see him tackle something and not succeed.

 It was chilly and windy but it was still great to be at the beach, something we don't do nearly enough. 

While looking for sea shells we found a dead jelly fish so we had fun examining him for a while

Until Aravis decided to see if she could pop him. 

She could. There was an audible pop and then he deflated. It was kinda cool. 

At home, we've been puzzling,

googling, 

and K'NEXing.

Aravis built a cage for her cat

Or for a little sister who's pretending to be a cat

She's working on one for the dog.

Dominick's been playing with the gears, using different size gear combinations to achieve faster and slower motor speeds.

Aravis has rediscovered Super Mario Bros. and Xury is discovering Thomas the Tank Engine. Dominick and Aravis and I are reading through A Series Of Unfortunate Events again since Aravis was too young to remember reading them the last time. And as Xury lays on my lap falling asleep while I read, I wonder how many times I'll read through this series or set up the Thomas track or soothe a frustrated child over a difficult video game again before this journey is over.  I'm sure when all is said and done, the answer will be, not nearly enough.