With a baby in the house, we only made it to the beach a few times this summer. All year, Belle has been dying to see if she was tall enough to go up the Hunting Island Lighthouse. Even though she was still slightly short of the height requirement, they allowed her to make the climb. She was ecstatic until she walked in and gazed up at the winding spiral staircase for the first time. Admittedly, I am afraid of heights, so I understood her hesitation and was ready to back out with her, but Grandma encouraged both of us to face our fear. We sang up the first few flights of stairs, and by the time we made it to the half-way mark, Belle had regained confidence. After climbing back down the 162 steps, she made the trek again with Granddaddy. When we returned to the beach with daddy a few weeks later, she was an expert light house climber. Of course, the boys have a few years before they will be able to make that rite of passage, but they still had a grand time at the beach. John just giggled and giggled as the waves splashed him, and James enjoyed eating and playing in the sand.
