June 15, 2009

Mermaids, Castles, and Beer Pong

At 4:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, my family and I set out for our beach week. The drive was fairly uneventful. There was one necessary stop at a shady bathroom where Lil C spent the entire time questioning me as to why I was using toilet paper to line the seat before I allowed her to sit (Yes, sometimes, I temporarily turn into my grandmother and I'm cool with that). There were also people lined up before 9 a.m. to buy malt liquor in the store (Apparently they start early in those parts). We arrived here on the Outer Banks around noon and were able to get into our beach house earlier than usual. That's always a good thing, especially when you only get about three hours of sleep the night before.

We spent Saturday afternoon unloading the cars and settling in to the beach house. This year, we're oceanfront and we're enjoying that immensely. Yesterday, although it was cloudy much of the day and very windy, we spent the day on the beach and I wasted no time getting to work.

This year, the girls ordered a sculpted mermaid and the biggest sandcastle yet (pictures forthcoming, as soon as Mr. BBM gets his act together).

Mr. BBM made me a pile for the castle the size of a manatee, and I spent my afternoon sculpting from the top down. My dad and I decided that I need a mist bottle. These aren't your ordinary sandcastles anymore. This morning, the sculpture of the mermaid and the castle are still there and are being used as a photo backdrop for many a vacationer's picture. Big I was anxiously awaiting going down to the beach so that she could claim ownership and tell people that she helped; then my Dad broke it to her that our mermaid had been given some "plastic surgery." Two boobs turned into just one. Fantastic, and no, I don't have a picture of the new and improved.

The girls are having a great time, although Lil C has absolutely no fear which can be a bit terrifying for a parent. She's been a little cranky lately and a visit to Urgent Care this morning confirmed that she has a sinus infection. She's on antibiotics but that hasn't stopped her ornary need to sit on every sandcastle that exists on the beach.

Last night I suggested that my parents learn how to play beer pong and to our complete surprise, they agreed that it sounded like fun. We drove several miles up the beach to the K-mart so we could buy ping-pong balls. We're getting the cups today. Last night we realized we didn't have any good beer pong quality cups to play with so the game was postponed to tonight. My Dad woke up at 5 a.m. today so I'm figuring that by this evening his aim will be off and I'll be grand-champion.

Many years ago, I came home with a 4.0 GPA and my Mom was thrilled. My parents broke out a couple bottles of champagne and we drank it while playing Scrabble. At one point, my Mom announced that she was "stoned." She meant buzzed, but used the wrong word and we've never let her live it down. I'm thinking tonight, she'll be a bit stoned if the game goes on as planned.