Siesta Key Public Beach

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We took our little beach bums to Siesta Key Public Beach this afternoon with my parents, my sister, my brother, and my sister-in-law. It's advertised as the number one beach in the country. It reminded me a lot of Pacific Beach in San Diego but with fewer waves and finer sand. We parked in a fairly full lot, and I wondered how people manage to find parking in peak season. There is probably a quarter mile of beach to walk through to get to the ocean, so I think you need a certain level of mobility to get to the ocean itself. There was a handicap-accessible boardwalk, but the boardwalk is far from the shore.
The temperature was comfortable in the 70s, but it was cloudy with wind

The temperature was comfortable in the 70s, but it was cloudy with wind--not ideal for splashing in the sea. We started to build sand castles, but Oliver quickly decided we were building a birthday cake. He and Uncle Andy frosted it. Then, he combed the beach for candles (sticks) with Andrew to put in his cake. We sang "Happy Birthday," and, when we didn't know who to sing to, decided to sing to Martin Luther King, Jr. We might be the only people who have ever built a cake out of sand and then sang, "Happy Birthday, MartinLutherKingJr. Happy Birthday to you!" As far as Oliver is concerned, there is no greater honor! After celebrating MLK on his remberance weekend, my parents took the kids to an ice cream stand.

The clouds slowly turned grey. We decided to head back to our bungalows and swim in the pool instead. Oliver enjoyed swimming with Aunt Julie and jumping out of the water with assistance from Uncle Andy. Jo loved getting propelled through the water. When the kids were thoroughly exhausted and cold, we brought them back inside for a warm bath and lunch. Oliver helped me prepare breakfast for everyone tomorrow, we baked a (real) cake, and then put the kids down for bed.

My parents have a bungalow attached to ours, so they're able to take the baby monitor and listen for the kids, giving Andrew and me a chance to spend quality time together. We went down to Turtle Beach and walked along the ocean, hand in hand, star-gazing and listening to the waves crash.

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