July 19
We went swimming this morning! Well not really we. I've never actually gone into the ocean before, and so when we took the kids down to the beach and I saw how much fun they were having, I thought I would give it a try. Sad to say, I didn't actually get very far due to panicking when some seaweed "attacked" me (that is to say, it wrapped itself around my ankle and I thought it was a jellyfish or some such thing). So I ran out of the water, sat on the sand, and there I stayed while Thorin and the boys continued to play in the surf.
We went walking for a bit after the boys were done swimming, and it was the funniest thing! There were a few crabs running here and there on the beach; and Kíli walked over to one that was lying still, and he loudly proclaimed, "Oh, look! Here's a dead one!". Then he went to nudge it with his toe, and it jumped at him! Well, Kíli screamed and fell back onto the sand, and the crab ran down its hole – and even though it wasn't dead before that, there's a chance that Kíli scared it to death!
And, well, I did get a sunburn this morning. Turns out I forgot to put sunscreen on myself when everyone else was putting theirs on (probably because I was busy applying Frodo's sunscreen). It isn't too bad a sunburn, at least; but bad enough to make lying down uncomfortable. And leaning back when I'm sitting is kind of unpleasant, as well. As is wearing a shirt, because it rubs against my shoulders. I can't imagine how difficult it will be to get to sleep tonight.
It's funny that Thorin never seems to burn, regardless of how much time he spends outside! And it really does tend to get quite sunny and hot here. Sometimes it is just too hot to go out, so we stay in the trailer, watching movies and cartoons on the PS3. Fíli and Kíli and Gimli do play chess together a lot lately, as well - and Gimli is getting quite good at it! At night, however, when the sun goes down, we often brave the bugs so to have a fire and toast marshmallows.
Oh! The boys were gathering wood for our campfire last night, and one of the sticks they came back with was a nice long (only slightly-crooked) one. For some reason, I fell in love with it and I claimed it as my own! And while we were all cooped up in the trailer today, away from the heat (and Thorin was rubbing aloe on my burned shoulders), I wrapped the top of it with twine for a handle, and made a walking-stick for myself. Now to see if I will ever actually use it. Perhaps I could loan it to Kíli, so he can poke at things on the beach to see if they are really dead!