There's one thing you can always be sure of when going to the beach with Sophie: you'll get plenty of exercise. Most of our time was spent making sure she didn't drown, since she thought nothing of running headfirst into the crashing waves. So we started devising games for her to play that would keep her out of the surf, like shell hunting or making "mud surpise cakes" like the one in her bucket.
When we were kids, one of the things we always looked forward to when going to the beach was Dad making a sand shark. He was really good at it-- passersby would stop to admire it and sometimes even take pictures. So this year at the beach I turned to Paul and said, "we should continue the tradition!" So, with Sophie's enthusiastic help, we got to work.
And here it is, our masterpiece. It's an octopus, in case you can't tell (I realized after it was done that it looks a little more like a crab, but whatever). It didn't draw a crowd and nobody took pictures of it but us. But I'm already planning what to make next year. I hope you're proud, Dad.
