My sister Mary and her husband Tom have been talking more and more about leaving Las Vegas and moving someplace nicer. We think they should move to Gulf Breeze. My sister has two daughters, Savannah and Summer. Savannah and Gabrielle are the same age and are the best of friends. And with a name like "Summer," the youngest should grow up at the beach! This post is dedicated to my sister and her family.

Though we can go to the beach year round, we prefer warm water. Now that the Gulf temperature in our area has reached about 70 degrees, we thought we'd brave the chill and start our summer. So we started our day today with a trip over the bridge to the beach.



The kids eagerly await beach swimming season each year.



Gregory jumped right into the water. The adults however, are wimps. We like the water to be at least 80 degrees.




When Gregory was not body surfing, he tried to get his Dad into the water.



It finally worked when Kurt tried to get Gregory to stop body surfing long enough to look at the camera.



Soon Kurt was running through the waves like the children. Here Gregory has challenged the Sea to battle.



We never did hear the identity of the victor. I have my suspicions, however.

Gabrielle loves to build sand castles.



But she managed to find plenty of time for splashing.



This is the first year Gabrielle hasn't worn a "floaty" swimsuit.



And it was the first time waves crashed over her head when she went out too far. But, Gabrielle says she still loves the beach!





However, for such a "girly girl," she sure likes the sand (and dirt).



For awhile, she would cover herself with sand and then run back into the water to clean up.



And then head right back in to see how much sand she could get stuck to her body.



In the meantime, Gregory enjoyed his "great sea adventure."



Kurt hiked down the beach to talk to a couple of guys who were fishing. (We truly are determined to conquer this fishing thing.) He found out there is a delicious fish swimming about this time of year. Best of all, these large silver fish adore the sand crabs living on the beach. With a special rake "thingy," one can obtain all the bait one needs. And since Florida residents do not need a fishing license for salt water fishing (unless on a boat), Kurt thought Tom would love to hear that one can fish, completely free of expense, after obtaining the right equipment.

Of course the idea of not spending money on bait tickled Kurt so completely, he had to see if he could find some sea crabs immediately. So, after commandeering some of the kids' sand castle tools, Kurt went hunting.



He never caught any sand crabs, but then, the man DID say it required a basket and a rake.