Calm before the storm

This morning featured bright blue skies, less humidity and kiddos needing to get away from the house... so, I thought a morning at Lake George would be fun.

We arrived to a quiet beach, only a few families with kiddos playing quietly in the water. Mom's, myself included, were scattered around the beach reading and watching their little ones. The lake was calm, and the only wildlife seen (or heard) were loons calling to each other. The peacefulness of it all had me wondering.... this is too good to be true.

It wasn't long after this thought came to me that my suspicions became truths. A family had just arrived with 5 very excited boys. Let's just be clear - when I say "very excited", it's my nice term for hyperactive-ADHD-just ate a bowl of sugar cubes-doesn't care about anyone else on the beach-sand throwing-water splashing children.

Our nice, quiet morning on the beach had become every beach-goers worst nightmare.... the family from hell! All eyes turned to these children and I wondered where the parents were, as they splashed, kicked and raised havoc on the previously peaceful beach.

I couldn't have been more proud of how my children handled themselves when forced to protect their sandcastles and tidal pools. Colby simply asked one boy to leave his pool alone and that maybe he should go dig his own - and Kaylee didn't need to speak, her glares of disapproval warded off any intruders near her.

It was soon evident that with the presence of these "excited" children, the morning would be no longer enjoyable at the beach... I asked the kids to please pick up their things as we'd be heading home soon. I was pleasantly surprised when they agreed and helped me pack up.

I think we all learned a number of lessons from today's excursion:
1) Saturday & Sunday we stay away from public beaches
2) My kids appreciate discipline and boundaries now that they've seen the alternative
3) Kaylee will begin training Colby on the art of "irritated glaring" for future encounters