Beach Bound!

We are heading to the BEACH in a few short days!! WOOHOO.

We're actually heading to visit my mom's family for a long weekend, but they live within 20 minutes of the beach, so we're pitching it to the kids as a beach trip. ;) In planning for the trip, B Daddy realized he has never been to the beach with the kids. (Save a long-weekend when Squirt was 6 weeks old.) Tragic, no?

You guys know how much a trip to the pool intimidates me, so you can imagine how I feel about the beach. The interminable sun. The SAND. The waves that will topple my tiny children and make swimming a farcical affair.

The picture above is from the last time I went to the beach (with my mom over 2 years ago.) We drove for 20 minutes to get there, spent 15 minutes finding a parking spot, 10 more minutes trekking over hot sand while dragging the children and all manner of bags with us - only to "enjoy the beach" aka hold the children in waist-deep water for 30 minutes before the combination of sun and sand defeated us. After which there was the 10 minute trek back to the car over hot sand which was now stuck to me in places I can't mention on a family blog, a 10 minute rinse off, 5 minutes of wrestling the sticky, wet kids into regular clothes and the 20 minute drive home.

This is where y'all come in. I need your help - surely you've been the beach with your kids? You know what works, what little things will mean the difference between a pleasant trip and one that will make me swear off salt water forever. I mean, I hear that people really ENJOY taking their families to the beach, so there must be something to it.

What are your best tips for surviving a fun day in the sand and sun with toddlers? I need everything you've got, pronto.