Busy weekend—Saturday morning (at 7:15 AM) the kids all had their overseas physicals and immunizations. Shots were involved. Drama ran high. Everyone survived, and the kids were ok, too. After the doctor office fun, we went down to the Neptune Festival on the boardwalk of Virginia Beach to check out the sand castle competition.

The professional division was on display in a tent with blue boarded walkways so we could see the sculptures from all sides…and so I could hiss at everyone to STAY ON THE WALKWAY through the entire tent. I kept picturing one misstep, and a tumble into one of the sculptures. ACK!

Yes, that is sand. They spray them with a solution of one part glue to ten parts water apparently, but they all had the same amount of time to build from the same sand right there on the beach.

This was my favorite. It was called “Mom Says I Can Save the World.” The little boy’s expression contrasted with the shark was amazing.

Ransom liked this one of Neptune- “Eat or Be Eaten.”

Outside the tent, the amateur divisions were beginning to build, and we got to see some of the tools the sand builders use. It was seriously impressive. I can barely create a bucket shaped sand cone on the beach~ so much time and energy spent creating something so fleeting! I wondered silently what happens to them after the competition. Do the builders go in and crash into them, reducing them back to dust? Do they just slowly blow away? Hmm… I should have asked. I was just afraid the question might sound a little threatening when I had four sand monsters behind me. Maybe I’ll send an email to find out.