East Wittering

I don't think today could have been any more perfect.

Standing with Steve holding Bear's hands as we paddled and splashed in the sea, watching Bean jumping and splashing and laughing and mucking about in the water: this is what summer holiday memories are made of - these are the days you hope and pray for, the days that you wish summer holidays could be made of, the days that memories turn into when you look back at childhood memories. These are the kind of days that make an entire holiday worthwhile. The kind of days that you only need one of to make you feel like you've had an amazing holiday.

Packed up our camp slowly this morning. Slowly even by our standards. So many distractions. Bean spent most of the time over with Mel, just sitting and chatting with her. He'd already spotted me wearing a headscarf and smiled at me and said "that's cool, man!" and I wonder if he'll say it again at all once we're home. Bear eventually fell asleep and the pack down sped up a fraction. Sausages cooking on the camp stove outside, tent slowly coming down, sun beating down....

And then off to East Wittering beach for the afternoon where we played in the water, made sandcastles, had icecreams, played in the water some more, didn't want to leave the water. Bear discovered he LOVES the water, like properly loves it. No fear left in him at all! He was jumping and running and then falling over deliberately and laughing his head off, chasing us round crawling through the surf, getting soaked and coming up laughing, snapping at our feet and running all over the place. Bean found some new friends and helped them dig a dam, we barely saw him! I'm glad they both like wearing their sunhats, they make them a little easier to spot from a distance :)

Eventually it was time to get ready to go home. Bean in dry clothes for a change, and Bear in Bean's dried teeshirt from yesterday. Back to the car, a quick play in the field with dandelion clocks, and off to the chipshop in Bracklesham for supper before the drive home. Of course they wanted to eat their supper on the beach too ;) so we had supper on the beach, threw stones into the surf, didn't get wet again. Climbed benches, ate chips, bribed the kids into the car with goldibears...

We thought we might bath the kids when we got home. But they fell asleep in the car.... rather predictably, really....