Getting his toes in the sand

A normal visit to Queensland involves taking regular (almost daily!) morning walks along the beach.  We get up and first thing you put on your togs (swimsuit) on, grab your hat and sunnies (sunglasses) and load the dog in the car to head to the beach.  (In my case, I also have to lather myself in sunscreen as I burn even in the early morning sun in Queensland!)  This trip we only made it to the beach just a handful of times, mostly because our morning routine is more complicated now and we had to be more picky on when we went.  We needed good weather (not too windy, as it was Evan's first trip to the beach, not too sunny, and not raining) and we needed to go early enough in the day that the sun wasn't in peak hour.

On one of our last mornings in Australia, we made a deliberate effort to get to the beach one more time.  I especially wanted Evan to see and hear the real ocean waves (not just know the sounds from his swing at home) and maybe even get his feet wet in the sand.

It was certainly a bright and sunny morning, and we dressed Evan fully from head to toe so that he wouldn't get sunburned.  Since it was still morning, and on the beach there is always a bit of a breeze, we didn't think he'd get too hot.  Evan also donned his new hat; an Australian souvenir we had just picked up a few days before.

I think the hat says it all...

While we were not really prepared to undress Evan and have him spend some time playing in the sand, we did our best to at least allow him to have the experience.  And while it only lasted a few minutes because his morning nap time was fast approaching, I think he enjoyed it.  Overall, the whole experience must have worn him out, because he fell asleep on the walk back to the car in daddy's arms. 

Awwww....