Late this afternoon we went to the beach where the kids (mostly Gigs)
discovered critters and creatures hidden in the ocean rocks.
He has amazing eyes and can see things most normal people cannot.
He's going to be an entomologist or biologist.
It's fascinating to watch him discover and learn. It seems like EVERYWHERE
we go he finds something with eight legs or five eyes or has a poisonous something or other,
and shows it to me like he's a mini Steve Irwin.
At the beach, he had all the kids following
him around from one rocky area to the next
exploring and examining areas for little crabs, small fish, and other critters.
He's like the Pied Piper with all the little kids
following him around and mimicking his methods. He's a genius.
Near the condo, there are slugs that invade the sidewalks and
of course, Nicholas (and his gang) captured an army of them and put them in
water bottle containers.
We had at least 10 water bottles full of snails out on the condo balcony
and when I dumped one of the bottles out he was genuinely
upset that I would do that.
"MOOOOOOOOM!? What are you doing?"
"Honey," I said, "it's kind of gross to come out here to eat and see these
snails everywhere."
"But you didn't have to do that, mom."
He was very disappointed.
"I could have taken them downstairs instead."
I felt really bad. I really SHOULD have known better, if for any other
reason than because these critters really have Nicholas's heart.
(Even though every morning the groundskeepers spray the sidewalks to kill them.
To be fair, they are kind of a nuisance).
This evening we had dinner on the beach as the sun sank below the horizon.
The kids played football on the beach and we stayed until it got dark and
we found our way back to the parking lot under the moonlight.
I miss Christian. A lot.
And Claire. Nothing is the same without her!
