Beach Day

On the way to the beach

          Oh, my gosh, was our day at the beach fun!  We took the four pre-school age kids yesterday (Tuesday), and we all had a good time.  The kids swam and played hard for over four hours and behaved well (well, pretty well).

Just chillin'

          The first half hour was a bit rough because the kids kept wanting to go out too far and then ended up panicking when a wave knocked them off their feet.  It seemed as if all Abby and I did was pluck kids up by the collars of their and drag them back to shallower water.  The kids would get turned on their backs and look like turtles with their arms and legs flailing.
          It's hard to capture in words just how much fun the kids had, so I'll share just a couple of the highlights that made Abby and me laugh:

Alisha

Alisha

          Alisha is about 5-6 years old and is one of the most uncoordinated kids I know.  She struggles to walk on flat ground without stumbling.  It's not a development issue; it's just that the gross motor skills just haven't gotten to where they need to be yet.  Well, she decided to try to run across the beach (think Baywatch opening credits).  She's running.  Four steps into it, she falls flat on her face.  I know that may not sound funny, but if you could've seen it, you would've laughed.  The beach is a bit rocky, and she was running, arms pumping trying to pump, head up looking around, but the feet can't get up over the small rocks.  So, she falls flat on stomach.  Bounces right back up and tries again.  Another four steps.  Bam.  She's back on the ground.  She finally heard us calling her name, and it registered that we wanted her attention.  She turned to us and came running into the water.  And again, four steps into the water she fell.  At least this time the water provided a softer landing.

Alvarez

Alvarez

          Abby had the first round of potty breaks and took three of the girls to to pee.  I got the next round with Christine and Alvarez and got to deal with the caca.  Christine was no issue.  Alvarez announced when he was done so that I could check it out (Is that a boy thing??).  I told him to wipe, and he looked at me and asked, "Moi meme?  Myself?"  Yes, little boy, you can wipe yourself.
          Alvarez decided that he wanted to play lifeguard, otherwise known as "Let me save your from drowning by almost drowning you in the process."  It was hysterical!  Alisha was his most saved victim (she struggled standing in the water, so she was a prime rescue victim).  Alvarez would shout "Sauve!  Sauve!  Save her!  Save her!" and then slow-motion run to her, grab the back collar of the life preserver, and drag her back to shallow ground.  Once she was safely in shallower water, he would shove her back out so that he could save her again!  This went on for a good half an hour, and right before we left, Alvarez saved me.  If it were not for him, you might not have been able to read this post!

Lunch

Christine wasn't too sure about the boat

Lunch

Friends

FYI:  I did get to drive the truck back to the orphanage.  No problems.  Guesly, our driver, even said that I was a good driver.  I think he was a bit surprised that a female could drive so well.  I think it's time to practice a bit more on the streets of PAP!