Graces, #14

3 days at the beach.

Escaping the heat of the city for two nights of cool, salt-rimy air and enormous stretchings of sky.

Ice cream cones with the girls. Pea asking for "chehwy ice kweem in a cone!" and then dancing along the sidewalk, cone in hand, from sheer July holiday happiness. Birdie sank her teeth deep into my waffle cone again and again, sucking out huge mouthfuls of peaches and cream. (At least one of the girls missed the cold-sensitive genes.)





Small town parade. Antique fire trucks, antique cars, candy, flags, a terrifying Jonah and the Whale float spouting water and covered in commands to repent (yikes), grown men in coconut bikini tops, Cub Scouts, children dressed as the town's first schoolchildren, the mayor, the works. The town we go to is 100 years old this year.

Pea's face when she came back from seeing the over-the-water fireworks display with Jeffrey. Shining--absolutely shining out from her stripy fleece hat. She told me she'd seen purple shooting stars and that "now that I'm threeeee, I'm not afwaid of firewooks anyMORE!"