Maine: 4

This is the day we went to the low-tide beach. It was Ari's very first time seeing the ocean, and she went right for it, cold water or no. Cold water not being very enticing to me, I set about building a sand castle. I did miss Dad and his big ol' shovel. I had to content myself with making a little sand castle instead of the ginormous ones of my childhood. I also made a sand lobster.

Here's Ari playing in the water. She splashed around for quite a while in there with her papa and her Uncle Theo.

There was this whole business of the high-tide and low-tide beaches that was strange for me as a Florida girl. But Maine actually has rocks in it, so you either have to wait until the tide drops below the level of the rocks, or go to the beach that has a thin strip of sand between the rocks and the high-tide line.

This is a nice shot of us playing pinochle! This is always a favorite pastime every time we get together with Marcus. You'll note also that Maryanne's crocheting her Gryffindor scarf, and Ari's Richard Scarry book is still on the table where she had been reading it.

We spent alot of nice time on the trip hanging out at the house and reading or playing cards or doing the crossword with Nancy. It was very relaxing. :)