Memories are made of this...

Today I feel a little happier...when the chips are down a little bit of beach life always cheers me up. So on Friday night I sat on the computer and surfed for hours looking for some place to say, one hotel booked later and up early on Saturday off we went in the rain, armed with some knitting, yarn, crochet hook and magazine for Mom with spade and wellies for the children... You have to laugh at life sometimes, this was my big plan, blow the expense, we need some quality time together...on the way the camper van front window got hit by a stone...big crack! window now needs replacing, we missed our usual stop to buy a little fabric (that would have cheered me up no end) and a park for the children to run off some of that energy from sitting in the camper for a couple of hours...no we ended up at, dare I say it...a not very pleasant fast food joint!!! I guess the kids thought it great...personally YUK YUK YUK!!! On arrival at the the hotel instead of luxury we were greeted by a dodgy receptionist who literally threw us in to our room, well apartment, it had three bedrooms...sounds great...not when it was mouldy and damp with a boiler that I would not trust the children sleeping in the same room as...So we resorted to yet more fast food...pizza, wrapped up in duvets to keep warm and watched a film, I personally with a painful tum from all that junk.
However the next day we awoke to beautiful sunshine, one thing about the hotel is you could not fault the location, stunning, pleased to report that the breakfast was great and on meeting the rather eccentric owners it became clear that the rather roughness to the place was a result of pure eccentricity, which I guess had its charms. OK the good weather made everything feel much better and with some decent food to sustain us we set off to the beach...
The weather was amazing the beach empty and the water was clear...As the boys frolicked in the gentle waves I set up camp, blanket, something to nibble on, a flask of hot chocolate and the essential (for the children you understand) marshmallows...I got out the crochet hook and flicked through a new magazine I had picked up on the way. Can you imagine my glee when I turned the page to see the beautiful, cheeky characters that our very own Little Cotton Rabbits makes. Even my youngest got excited as he recognised the rabbit to being like Mommy's bunny (that he is not allowed to play with because it is MOMMY's) and he giggles at the little Monkey and shouted 'I want one PLEEEEESE! How exciting, Julie you must be very pleased its a great write up on you and you look lovely!
What more can I say, a day at the beach just grounds me, I feel re-energised and uplifted, what is it about this feeling? Its like a drug and I just can not get enough of it, the day was just so special. The boys had such a good time, we all got rather wet and in the end despite the autumnal chill in the air the boys still managed to strip off and throw themselves into the water...
A change of clothes later and a little food was required so we sat out in a restaurant, again despite the chill, just to enjoy those last moments of 'beach time' and we ate a great freshly cooked meal with loads of salad and a warming mug of tea as we watched the brightness turn to grey as the evening started to draw in. Home again and Monday morning, the rush of getting the kids to school, packed lunches and homework bags, the chores getting done and the weekly shop planned for this afternoon...it feels like a long time ago now, but a mere twenty four hours ago I lay on the sand cuddling my boys, we jumped the waves and beach combed for pebbles and shells, the last warm rays of the suns brought a tint to our cheeks and the love and giggles will remain in my heart. Ah memories are made of this...