#beach napping

“You got room for the lunches I made in the bag?” Megan said, holding up a large bag of sandwiches.

“Ella go grab the bag of sandwiches from Nana and put them in our beach bag,” Olivia said letting her daughter down, “I’ll go get your shoes, and then we can go.”

Ella rushed over to Megan grabbing the bag. Megan stifled a laugh as Ella held the sandwiches close to her chest as she went over to the beach bag. Ella let out a large sigh as she set down the sandwiches. Once she was done Megan reached down, slinging the blue striped bag over her shoulder. Olivia helped Ella slip on her sandals and then tossed her in the air before giving her a kiss on the forehead.

When they made it to the beach Olivia set up a large umbrella that would shade their chairs from the sun. Megan and Olivia each had a beach chair with Ella’s tiny red one tucked between them. Megan sat in her chair pulling out her knitting into her lap. She watched as Olivia ran around the beach with Ella. They splashed around in the water, laughter erupting from both of them. Olivia even convinced Ella to come out to the water past her ankles. By the time Ella had begun to tread water gracefully Megan was beckoning the Bensons back to eat lunch.

Ella quickly ate three peanut butter sandwiches before rushing off to build a sandcastle. Olivia laid back in her chair pulling a book onto her lap as she watched Ella dig through the sand.

“You know the crash is going to hit in about 15 minutes right?” Olivia giggled as Ella yawned yet again.

Megan merely nodded her head and picked up her book, “The meltdown is about to hit in 3...2...1…”

Just as Megan finished counting Ella rushed back over to their chairs. Tears were slowly streaming down her face. Olivia tried to keep a concerned look on her face, “What’s wrong sweet baby girl?”

“I... I so tired,” Ella cried and flopped down on the blanket, “I gonna take a nap. I take a nap right here.”

“Okay, Ella Bean. Go ahead and take a nap,” Olivia responded as Ella curled into a tight ball.

After a couple of minutes when Megan was sure Ella was asleep she looked over at Olivia, “Do you want to grab her and we can start heading home?”

Olivia pondered the thought for a moment, “Let’s enjoy the sunshine for a little bit longer but I will move her.”

Olivia rose from her chair picking up Ella into her arms. Ella shifted for a moment putting her fingers gently on Olivia’s earlobe. She always rubbed Olivia’s ear gently when she wanted to sleep. With a gentle sigh, Olivia sat back down in her chair Ella pressed against her chest. She reached to the side, grabbing her book from the ground. Olivia opened the book to the page she left off on propping the book in one hand. With the other, she gently rubbed small circles on Ella’s back in between flipping pages.

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