Our beach vacation got off to a great start this year. I finally did something I’ve been meaning to do for years – I brought along a big shovel so we could make more ambitious sand castles, and also so we could bury people more efficiently:

We brought along our extra kid Will for the week, and on Monday the soccer players and I rode down to the neighboring town for an open pickup game. They had an age group available for Anna, too. Here they are downing some hard-earned lemonade after the match:

Tuesday was a strange day at the beach – there was a marine layer of fog on top of us, even at 1:00 in the afternoon. Here’s how it looked from our vantage point only about 60 feet (20 meters) from the water:

Even as the fog slowly lifted, it was a strange sight:

Chelsea and Maria actually joined us a day late this year, because Maria had to finish out her performances from her summer theater camp. (That girl keeps a busy schedule!) Once they were with us, though, their bright smiling faces were more than enough to cut through any fog:

Tomorrow: More fun on the beach.