Lake Michigan

We moved to Chicago in the dead of winter. As the temperatures have crept up, I've been getting more and more antsy for a trip to the beach. Apparently in 1836 the lakefront was declared public ground "to remain forever open, clear and free" so there's a beautiful string of beaches bordered by grassy picnic areas. On our way out the door I was carrying Ireland, a mini cooler, and the beach bag. Liesel was drinking the sippy cup I'd just given her when out of nowhere she said, "I can't carry you Mom; I'm holding this *points to sippy cup*." LOL!
I thought Liesel might be old enough to remember all our forays to the north shore in Boston last summer. In the past few days she's chatted endlessly about how we "need" to go to the beach. Once we arrived and the sand kicked up over her flip flops, she stopped and informed me, "It's dirty!" Oi, I must be passing on my OCD to my children. It took a lot of convincing for her to be okay with it. Ireland didn't like the sand either. Here she's dug out her sandals which she wanted me to put on her so she could wander off the towel.
Neither girl had any interest in the water which was surprisingly warm! Lake Michigan is so huge it looks like an ocean but without the tide effect. I'll miss the salty smell of the Atlantic but I like that they have lifeguards. I'm guessing it will take a few trips to the beach before Liesel is comfortable with the water again. She had a blast playing with the sand though! See how long and lean her limbs are getting? Her baby fat is disappearing at break neck speed. She has the cutest little calves.

Our day started and ended exactly the same way: with a bath. I slathered the girls repeatedly with SPF until they looked like geishas. We were all completely covered in sand in spite of my best attempts to clean it off. Ireland was asleep less than a minute into the drive home and Liesel slept hard last night. For that matter, so did I!

For this trip we tried Foster Beach but there are a few others I want to check out before settling on a favorite. Liesel's already telling me we "need" to go back to the beach!