Winter sun and sand

Patrick has been wanting to take the dumplings to the beach to dig in the sand a little bit.  So we finally found some time to do that the other day.  We managed to get down there about an hour before sunset, which you know is a dreamy time for the photographer in me.  It was very windy and bit on the chilly side. So they didn't get in the water at all.

 There were just a few others also out enjoying the beauty at sunset. So I snapped a photo of them too.  

After digging a bit, Caleb and Patrick tossed around the football.

While I love the boldness and brightness of sunsets over the river to the west, there is something special about the dreamy, pastel sunsets over the ocean to the east.  Most of the images I shot were to the north, as that was where the sky was prettiest....that is until the sun finally set, and then out of nowhere the sky to the south was full of soft, delicate pastel clouds, which I captured in the last photo.

The dumplings had such a great time digging in the sand and making castles. The boys also had a lot of fun playing catch.  And me?  I just loved watching them all enjoying themselves so much.  We really need to say good night to the sun more often while digging our toes in the sand, right?