I’ve been meaning to show you guys for a while now how we do the beach. I try to spend at least one day a week beachside. Most of the time we head over to Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs, where we were married. I love that we’ve made such wonderful memories at the same place for almost 10 years now! It has beautiful white sand beaches and good fishing for Vic down toward Gordon Pass.
We get lots of shade from our awesome Kelty Tent- similar to this *Kelty Shade Tent (affiliate link)- we’ve had this thing for at least 3 years now and it’s awesome. It’s super lightweight and I can assemble and put it up all by myself in less then 10- minutes. The BEST ever! This * Kelty Air Tent (affiliate link) is on my wishlist- its air pump powered so it’s even lighter-very cool.
Beach days for us start as soon as the beach is accessible at 8am. We pack up our gear the night before so we’re out the door early. I’ve been trying to work on our grocery budget so I pack breakfast and usually lunch for the day. It just depends how long we’re staying. Usually we leave around 1-2 when the kids get tired. We used to stay longer but lately Ami has been fighting taking naps on the beach. She used to sleep for two hours on her beach towel-oh how I miss those days!!!! Nigel did the same when he was little. My kids are both beach babies. We’ve been bringing them since they were just a few months old- they love it.
We pack lots of beach toys for the kids, our shell and beach guides, all our suits and rashguards-mostly made by me, beach chairs, blankets towels and our fabric insulated cooler. Ami requires many changes of swim suits for the beach as she can’t stand being in a wet suit. All this is loaded up in our * Wonder Wheeler (affiliate link) . When my husband is with us on the weekend we trek out with a second cart for all his fishing gear. Vic has been on a roll lately catching some nice whiting for a tasty fish supper after we head home for the day. Beach time means the kids are busy playing and I get to relax and read!
Our typical menu :
drinks: Iced tea, Coffee, Water, Kefir
My fav yogurt mix (recipe below)
Berry Muffins ( I use a mix of frozen berries)
Veggies, Pita Chips and Trader Joe’s Organic Hummus-the best!
Tabouli
Watermelon, Strawberries
Buffalo Sweet and Spicy Jerky (TJ’s)
Leftover Roast Chicken or Sandwiches
My Morning Yogurt Mix recipe:
Mix together one at a time and let sit overnight or for a few hours to soften seeds/nuts. I usually mix up a double batch of this before we head out to the beach and it’s perfect by mid-morning. The kids love this one too!
1 c whole milk organic yogurt
1T coconut oil (unrefined)
1tsp raw Honey
1tsp vanilla
1 tsp organic ground cinnamon
1tsp Unfiltered Organic Apple Cider Vinegar or lemon juice
2-3T spouted seeds mix (sunflower, chia, flax, etc.), oatmeal, nuts/or raisins
I highly recommend the Thursday Next book series (shown above) by Jasper Fforde. He’s one of my fav authors mixing fantasy comedy and classic lit. I just reread the whole series! You can see what else I’m reading by following me on Goodreads (the link is in my blog sidebar too.)
What we’re wearing:
The hat above is from Bass Pro Shops- I always find nice wide brim sun hats there! The kids are both wearing mostly me made suits plus Coolibar hats and the orange rashguard. Links for the kids me made outfits are here and here for Ami and here for Nigel. I’m wearing my Nautilus Bikini and a new rashguard that I’ll be sharing soon.
Happy Summer!!!!
*please note this post includes affiliate links of products I purchased and love as well as items on my wishlist.
Happy summer is right! This looks like the perfect way to spend it. Thanks for sharing the recipe — it sounds delicious. My son likes a morning yogurt that is savory with middle eastern spices and olive oil.
It’s been such a great summer so far! The yogurt is so good. My kids ask for “mommy’s yogurt” all the time now :) Middle eastern spices and oo sounds great! I’ll have to try that out.
What wonderful memories you are making! We have all day beach days too- Although my kidlets are all grown up (the 3 girls are still at home) they all STILL come for beach day. We try to get there at dawn to see the sun rise and drink coffee. Then like you I can laze around and read all day and they can do their thing! Fun times!
I hope my kids always want to spend family time at the beach with us. Love that you’re girls still do too! Sunrise and sunset are just spectacular at the beach! :)
It looks lovely and I’m totally jealous since Sweden isn’t showing itself from its best side this summer. WE’ve had a few beach afternoon and the kids love it, a giant sandbox AND splashing with water, best things ever!
Isn’t the beach the best! Wishing some of our sunny days your way :)