The kids are spending most of their time either riding waves or playing Minecraft. So far they don’t seem so interested in spending the day building large castles that occasionally outlast the tides as we have in the past. The surf here is pretty gentle and the waves break over a long distance. The water is quite warm. In terms of riding waves it’s the best beach we have ever visited for beach week. All six of them are able to ride waves here. The older three can do so on their own, and the younger three can do it with some help. All of them have been rolled in the waves from time to time.

Funny quotes from the kids:
“I’m bored!”
“There’s nothing to do here.”
“So let me get this straight. All there is to do here is go in the ocean, play in the sand, play games, play Minecraft and read books?!?” Um, yes?
“Get your horse out of my pool!” The last quote was something we overheard while they were playing Minecraft, and ultimately led to some strange sounding proclamations from the parents who had grown tired of the bickering and arguing which was occurring in the real world over things happening in the virtual world. Such as “No one put any animals in anyone else’s pool, ever!” and when that didn’t work we told them “Everyone get in your own world and stay there!”

The adults love+hate the iPads. The good thing about them is that they provide reliable entertainment for the kids. And one remarkable thing about Minecraft is that all six kids will play it together. They never seem to tire of it, and they are able to work together to create virtual worlds. The thing gives the adults pause is the frequency and amount of time the kids will spend on their devices. We note that Everett recently received the latest Wings of Fire book, which was so engaging that he often chose it over the iPad until he finished it on Tuesday.