Spontaneity Rules

Rule #1: Anything goes, as long as it wasn't planned in advance.

"Whattid ya say, Mom?  I can't hear you!  Guess I'll just stay in the water a while longer."

Weird lip thing due to trying to show his gum in the picture.

Recently, 6 y.o. decided he's going to be a Marine Biologist when he grows up, and has been watching a lot of shows about sea animals and rescues.  He's also been behaving really well at school lately, unlike in previous months, so Husband and I have been coming up with various ways of rewarding him for "green" days.

This week, we decided to take him to the marine science center, and it just so happened that they were planning to release some rehabilitated sea turtles back to the ocean on Saturday, April 27th.  Turns out, I wasn't the only one who had decided to go to the science center for turtle day.  Fortunately for the turtles, unfortunately for us, the marine center had advertised very well.  There were cars and people lined up for more than a mile around the center.  Unfortunately for the turtles (maybe-not exactly sure) the release was canceled.  I decided to park on the beach and walk with the kids to the center.

After approximately 1/4 mile of sand walking with the stroller and the boy, the walkway from the beach to the mainland (and the science center) finally came into view, and with it, dozens of stairs.  Stroller.  Stairs.

"Hey, 6 y.o.!  You wanna just stay on the beach, instead?"
              "YESSSSS!  We can watch for dolphins that strand!"

We walked back to the car, where we all 3 removed our shoes, 6 y.o. removed his shirt, and I applied some sunscreen to the two of them.  I instructed 6 y.o. to only get his feet wet, since I hadn't brought him a change of clothes.  Somehow, he "fell" as soon as the first wave touched his ankles.  I gotta say, it's hard for a Mama to be annoyed by disobedience like that when she's having so much fun, herself.  Baby had been to the beach one other time, last year, and she had screamed all the while.  This time, she was ecstatic.  She tried to touch the sand with every part of her body, and cackled with laughter as I held her while the waves washed over her tiny feet.

We spent 45 minutes or so, got ourselves covered in sand and dripping with saltwater, and then had to drive all the way home without even so much as a towel to sit on.  It was totally worth it.

Speaking of spontaneity, I've been working on a different blog post all week.  Suddenly, I decided to share this story first.  See how impulsive I am?  I can do all kinds of things without lists and plans.  You should, too!

Every had a spontaneous decision backfire?

Wanna vacuum out my car?