mr. golden sun, please shine down on me!

based on last year's experiences, i was a wee bit hesitant to take our girl to the beach this year. she couldn't even walk for the majority of last summer, yet she managed to bolt for the waves without an inkling of fear. i even let her get knocked down a couple of times just to teach her a valuable life lesson about the mix of the powerful ocean and gravity, but that didn't phase little fearless whatsoever. she had little to no interest in playing in the sand, and so unless i wanted to be ass deep in salt water bobbing the baby up and down in the waves for our entire stay, i avoided the beach at all cost. luckily, last summer wasn't all that hot and so the beach trips were kept to a minimum. today was pretty warm and so i decided to give it a go, just emmerson and i. i explained to her in the car on the way that this was a test, and would determine how our entire summer would play out. i told her that if she was a good girl, then we could make the beach a regular event, and if she was naughty then she would be banned from the sand until further notice. she looked confused, but some of my words must have soaked into that big head of hers because we had so much fun. little social butterfly made some new friends who happen to have a house right on the sand, way to pick 'em, kid! she played nicely in the sand, she played in the small waves in the shallow water, and she remained happy the whole time! it was so pleasant. what a relief. summer, i officially welcome you with open arms.