Beach Must Haves

    Can you believe it is already July? I feel like summer is flying by! On the upside, at the end of summer we are taking a beach trip. We are so excited! We will be driving so that means we can bring way more than we probably should. I will break down the top things we will need for our trip. Maybe it'll help you on your next beach trip.

Actual view from our beach house

This water though!

                            Floaties, life jackets, & noodles
We are renting a place that is right on the beach & it has a community pool. So the first thing we are bringing is floaties, life jackets, & noodles. My kids are obsessed with the idea of getting a poop emoji floatie. They also asked for a laughing/crying emoji or swan floatie. The big swan is like $40! It is fun to have floaties. Maybe we will even throw in a beach ball.
                            Sunscreen
Sunscreen is a must for obvious reasons. I really enjoy Neutrogena sunscreen. I usually just get 30SPF. We burn easily and it works great & it smells so delightful.
                           Board games & cards
During relaxation time when we aren't at the beach or pool the kids may get bored. So we like to bring a few board games. They really like Chinese checkers, Chutes and Ladders, and Guess Who. We also bring Uno & face cards. Pretty much every vacation, we bring cards.
                           Baby Powder 
So I've heard and seen many things on Pinterest saying baby powder helps with the sand mess. So apparently once you are dried off you just put baby powered where you have sand and it comes right off. I am totally trying this out!
                            Goggles
So I should've mentioned this along with floaties, but my kids have to have goggles to swim. I am not sure what they think happens if they don't have them, but it's not good. I can't argue that after a day of swimming in a pool your eyes do get red & sting from the chlorine. So I will not be forgetting them.
                            Bathing suits
With all that swimming, you need a few bathing suits. I have found that if you wait til say July or August to buy bathing suits, you may be out of luck. I was on Children's place website just yesterday looking for a bathing suit for my daughter and they had nothing! How can this be? We still have 2 solid months of swimming. It's so frustrating. Luckily she already has 2. I was hoping to score a deal, no such luck!
                          Aloe Aftersun Lotion
I am sure during our beach trip someone will get a sunburn. I've tried the green aloe stuff and it is so dang sticky! So, I have found Banana Boat Aloe aftersun lotion. It smells yummy and really works. It doesn't have the cooling sensation, but it really helps moisturize your burned skin. Another trick to curing a burn is tea. My dad you used to make tea and put it in the fridge and make it real cold. Then he would put a wash cloth soaked in tea on the sunburn. It takes the red & heat out almost immediately.
                          A good book
Bring a good book. If you have older kids you may just be able to finish it! Recently I reread These is My Words. It is amazing. I have a huge list of books I'd like to read, I am hoping I get to read a little while relaxing on the beach.
                          Video Camera
We have a waterproof handheld video camera and we've loved taking it to the beach or in the pool. We will probably upgrade to a Go-pro before our trip. It is so much fun to watch videos from vacations. I don't like to spend my whole vacation videoing or taking pictures, but it is really nice to have some photos and videos from your trip.
    Beach trips have always been my favorite vacations. They are low key and relaxing. The best thing about the beach is it's fun for the whole family & it's free entertainment! Leave a comment below & let me know what you bring to the beach.