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04 April 2016

we ♡ the beach


We do. Even with the sandy mess of a minivan afterward, the time it takes to get everyone ready, the embarrassing myriad of stuff we need to function for a few hours in the sand, and the never ending sunscreen applications ... we are generally game for a trip. Once we get there everyone is pretty happy and sometimes Simon and I even get to sit and chat while watching the kids splash around, dig in the sand, or paw at their strapped on sunhat (I'm looking at you B) for a few uninterrupted minutes which is golden during the daytime hours.

I'll never be an expert on beach-going with kids but we've learned a few key lessons in our short Floridian tenure. We've found that going in the late afternoon/evening is a great time to go because the sun isn't nearly as intense and we can usually get away with just hats and no umbrella. We pack dinner, and once we get home we give the kids super quick baths and they are asleep before their heads even hit their cribs/beds/pillows. It's awesome.

We were also recently introduced to the Beachmate system which has all but changed our beach tripping lives. As much fun as hauling a wagon through potentially packed parking lots and longish walks through the sand to find an open spot WAS ... the ease of either just toting the Beachmate like a regular old tote ....


or strapping the entire thing onto a chair like Super Simon did here ...


it's easy to get it from point A (minivan trunk) to point B (beach, baby, beach!).

We didn't need the umbrella this trip but it can easily be strapped onto the side of the system as well - which is awesome. I don't know that I'll ever get brave enough to take (even a few) kids to the beach on my own but this would certainly make things a million times easier.

The Beachmate system comes packed with four buckets (two small, two medium) two sturdy shovels (thee sturdiest!), a roomy cooler, and plenty of room to stuff all my other necessities inside.

Simon is a big skeptic and calls every other thing he sees, "gimmicky" and I didn't say much about the Beachmate but set it out while I was getting everyone swimsuited up and he was packing dinner with the (enormous!) help of Phoebe he kept saying how roomy and awesome the cooler was. And then he went on to sing the praises of being able to attach it to the chair he was already going to be carrying on his back. And the umbrella attachment feature ... and on and on.


Theo is our resident digger and leaves most of the swimming to the older kids for now ...


he's also our resident my way or the highway-er.

Don't tell him those shades might be better suited right side up. Don't do it.


Phoebe is always first to start poking around the gear looking for food and drink not long after we arrive ...


... and she's usually successful in convincing Simon to bust out our sandwich dinner no matter the hour.

Probably my favorite use for the Beachmate is ....



... for now. Bosco was so happy in his little nest and it seemed to discourage Phoebe from trying to get him to join in her favorite game, "taste all the sand" ...

And now for the fun part. Y'all wanna party like we do ...


... y'all wanna party like us. I know it.

Beachmate is giving way a Beachmate system to one lucky reader. You know the Rafflecopter road well by now, I hope.

Best of luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

194 comments:

  1. This would be perfect for our upcoming vacation to S.C.

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  2. We have our own beach in our back yard (on a farm pond) and we are planning two trips to actual beaches this summer, this would make it so much easier to get all 6 of us to and from the beach!!!

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  3. This would be perfect for my family of five!

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  4. Family vacation with 2 little guys in July.

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  5. Living it Tampa I have plenty of places to use this. Our favorite has always been Madeira Beach, less crowded than the touristy Clearwater beach.

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  6. this would be perfect for our summers at the beach in NC!

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  7. We live in the Houston area, so the Gulf is just a hop, skip and jump away!

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  8. This is so awesome! This is a greatly needed product - we have tried the carts/totes, etc. etc. and end up sweaty and exhausted.

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  9. I would love to use my beachmate this summer when we take our 2 grandchildren to Bethany Beach, DE. They are 1 and 2 years old and will enjoy the beach so much more this year. It looks like an amazing product. Would love to win from Camp Patton

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  10. I would love to use my beachmate this summer when we take our 2 grandchildren to Bethany Beach, DE. They are 1 and 2 years old and will enjoy the beach so much more this year. It looks like an amazing product. Would love to win from Camp Patton

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  11. So cool!! I would use it at the beach in Galveston, TX!!

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  12. I NEED one! Upcoming FL vacay with 5 kids in tow.

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  13. I need this for our Destin trip!

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  14. I need this for our Destin trip!

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  15. With our upcoming move to GA, we are going to be thatmuchcloser to beaches, so....NEED!

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  16. oh man! we would so use this at "our beach" in Santa Cruz, CA~!!

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  17. I live at the beach and this would be so, so helpful!

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  18. This would be wonderful. We live 5 minutes from Lake Sunapee in NH and go basically everyday in the summer. It would be wonderful for our family!

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  19. Love! This would be perfect for our family vacation this summer!

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  20. I'd head to our local "beach" - Lake Michigan (if it ever warms up !)

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  21. I would use this ALL summer on our beautiful Michigan beaches!

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  22. The beach! We are in Cali right now but home is St Simons island! We can't wait to go!

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  23. We are planning our first beach outing for right after my husband gets back home, I can't wait!

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  24. I'd use it at the Coralville Res!

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  25. Where was this last week when I needed it? I had to chug a daiquiri just to get a beach pal!

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  26. This looks awesome for our upcoming beach trip!

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  27. My parents just bought a house down the street from a beach in Maine. This would be perfect!

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  28. Wow, this is awesome! We need one out here in northern california!

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  29. At our neighborhood park or at the Oregon Coast.

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  30. I would go to our local beach on Alameda Island, CA. It's one of those more gravely beaches and will be perfect in a month.

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  31. Looks so handy! Love anything that makes beach trips more manageable. Would totally use it this summer in North Carolina!

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  32. Sounds like an awesome solution for a family trip to the beach!

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  33. This would be awesome for a family trip to the beach!

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  34. Planning a San Diego trip and this would be perfect! Also would be nice to have for picnics at the park!

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  35. This is amazing. Id use it at the little reservoir here in my city. It's our own little beach away from the ocean!

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  36. I'd take it all over the Northern California coast line...and also to the parks and outdoor concerts we go to each summer.

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  37. Love this! Seems pretty easy to use and pack up. We would use it on the lake while camping.

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  38. We each every weekend from April to September so...*raises hand*

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  39. I'd use a beach mate at a beach on Lake Michigan, which isn't too far from our home!

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  40. I would love to have the beach mate for our trips down to SoCal to visit family, and for our frequent park trips!

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  41. Trying to leave a comment from my phone is proving difficult. Anyway, we live in Jacksonville Beach and I'm expecting my new baby any day now (due date tomorrow) so we would love to have this!

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  42. I would use it allllll summer as we beach it up in RI!

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  43. I would love this for our trip to South Carolina this summer!

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  44. Silvershell Beach in Marion, MA :)

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  45. This looks the perfect addition to our ocean and lake trips we have planned this summer

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  46. This would be perfect for our frequent Virginia Beach vacations with three kids in tow! Fingers crossed!

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  47. We are hoping to take a beach trip this memorial day and this thingamabob would be the best!

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  48. We love the beach and frequent the (manmade) shores of lake Michigan every time we're in chicago which is definitely the closest thing to the ocean for my poor landlocked littles have

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  49. My husband and I are stationed in Jacksonville! It would be so nice to win and have the beachmate to take to the beach!

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  50. We live in Orlando and are so excited to explore the beaches of our new home this year!

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  51. Ahh, this makes me want to go to the beach! What great memories you all will have.

    www.backwardsnhighheels.com

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  52. Would love to use it at our neighborhood PNW beach! We walk there and this looks very handy to pack everything along!

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  53. I would love this to haul all of our beach goodies around in - I have 4 kids under 9 and we have plenty of stuff to take on every beach trip!!

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  54. We would use it at ocean city MD!

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  55. So cool! I'd love one! Jen in OK

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  56. What a great idea for a gift to my relatives with little kids!

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  57. What a great idea! it would be great for trip to the beach with my niece and nephews

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  58. This would be perfect for our July beach vacation!

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  59. This would be perfect for our trip this summer. Or even an outing into the backyard, bc sometimes that's all I can manage!

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  60. I am the youngest in my family at 22 and this would still be fabulous for our beach house! We wouldn't look quite as cute digging with the shovels. Just curious, what kind of sunscreen do you use for your kids and for yourself?

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  61. Would love to take the Beachmate with us on a weekend visit to the TX Gulf!

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  62. This is so perfect for fun beach trips!!

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  63. Anything to make the beach trip easier.... :)

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  64. one of my best friends lives in St. Pete, and I was just down visiting her five weeks ago. (hi, I'm super sentimental.) I've only been to Florida twice in my entire life, but your posts always make me miss the beautiful weather and palm trees. <3

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  65. At Navarre Beach, FL!!! Thank you for giveaway!

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  66. We live 5 blocks from the beach and this would make our walk so much easier! Even if I don;t win the raffle, THIS is going on my birthday wish list!!!!

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  67. My husband grew up near Anna Maria Island, so we'd use it when we visit his mom.

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  68. Gosh I can't wait until Ohio decides it is beach weather time. I find it hard to pack lightly for myself, I know this would come in handy now that I have a little one.

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  69. I would love to use this all summmer long! Thanks!

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  70. I need this! It seems so handy with kids and the crazy amount of stuff we now need to bring to the beach.

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  71. Can't wait to use this on Lake Michigan this summer

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  72. Would love to have this when we visit Florida in a few months!

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  73. How nice! I would love to have this for our first family beach trip this summer!

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  74. Would love to use this for our trips to visit family at the beach in FL!

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  75. We live 30 min from the beach and don't go nearly enough!! This would make it much more appealing!

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  76. We're headed to the beach for a few weeks this summer and I'd love to have this to take along :)

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  77. I'm that Mom that lugs everything to spot on the beach in one trip...a bag on each shoulder, cooler in one hand and sand toys and chair in the other. The benchmate looks like something I need.

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  78. I'd totally use this for my summer vacation -- west coast livin'!

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  79. We live in Northern California and are about to have our third child. Anything that makes getting to the beach easier with small children is a winner in my book.

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  80. My dad has a house at Bethany Beach in Delaware and he is obsessed with all the latest and greatest beach equipment. This would be thee perfect gift for him!

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  81. We're doing our first family beach vacation this year. With a 9 month old and a 4 year old, I'm thinking this could be my best friend. :)

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  82. Well I WISH I could take it to Lake Michigan this summer, but our neighborhood pool will have to do ;-)

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  83. We had our first beach trip with baby last summer and holy moly at the stuff. This would make it much easier! This year we will be going with a one year old and anew extremely pregnant mana. Also baby powder is great for getting the sand off!

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  84. This looks perfect for beach trips, or even pool trips!

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  85. We would use it every weekend to go visit all of our local beaches (Folly, IOP, Sullivan's Island, Kiawah) and maybe even a beach trip to Florida!

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  86. Anything that frees up hands when taking kids to the beach sounds awesome. :)

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  87. We are going to the beach this summer. This would be perfect.

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  88. We go to the beach not nearly enough! Can't wait for the snow to go away!

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  89. That would be perfect for our trips to OC this summer!

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  90. That looks so fun! This would totally make me coolest older sister ever. Also I am now dying to move to Florida and enjoy April beach fun!

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  91. Seabrook Beach, NH! That's our summer beach of choice :)

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  92. I needs this!!! Living the Florida life with my two littles and my husband the beach Sherpa ;)

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  93. Living as close as we do to the beach is really the best :) We're about a mile from Pawleys Island

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  94. With 3 year old twins who love the pool/beach, this would be great! As a nanny, I'm always on my own, so anything that frees up my hands is a lifesaver!

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  95. wow that is cool! We have a place on the gulf coast and this would make things easier for sure. One year we took the wagon. Don't ever do that. Ever.

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  96. We have beach trips planned for CA and TX this summer and we would love to bring the Beachmate along! And just found out we're expecting #5!

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  97. This would also be great for the water park!

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  98. We will use this with our two boys - 2 years and 10 months. We are going to Traverse City, MI this June. This will be our first vacation as a family!

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  99. okay. Bosco has to stop. he. is so. CUTE.

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  100. We live in MD and have a couple small, local beaches, but would use the beach mate when we go to our favorite 'real' beach, Cape Henlopen in Delaware.

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  101. Well, I am a Jersey girl- so you know I'd have to take it to the shore. And we like Manasquan!

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  102. Perfect for our annual summer beach vacation.

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  103. This would be perfect for our frequent trips to Florida to visit family!

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  104. With the in-laws on the Chesapeake bay this summer!

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  105. Cape Cod!!! I'm always running to the Cape on days when the kids aren't wrapped up in sports/camp. We all love the beach.

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  106. We are hoping to make a beach vacation trip this summer with our dig loving daughter, this would be awesome!

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  107. Would be great for our daily trips to the pool this summer!

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  108. This looks like just the thing I need! Crazy how many things we need to take to the beach to keep the kids entertained. Beachmate looks awesome!

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  109. We love Huntington Beach in CA. We've also got a Cape Cod visit planned for June.

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  110. Our family would love this for our frequent beach trips!!

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  111. This would be perfect to help me coral my 6 month old and 5 year old to Coney Island this summer!!!

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  112. We live outside of Seattle and there is the most perfect sandy beach (Point No Point) about 30 minutes from our house. This would be the perfect addition to our beach adventures this summer!

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  113. Jersey girl here as well. This will be great for our trips to Avalon!

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  114. York Beach ME and the Rockaways 😊

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  115. My husband and I love going to Jones Beach in NYC...this would be great now that we have a baby in tow!

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  116. We'd use it when we visit my hometown beaches this summer!

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  117. love this! Great for gifts, too.

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  118. I'd be taking the Beachmate along with us to Lake Michigan - Saugatuck and Holland. We're about to be a family of 6 so it'd make things way easier!

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  119. We go to the beach all summer long in CT and this would really make things more convenient. Our cooler is gross and we have a real mish mosh of broken buckets and shovels.

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  120. We would use it at Lake Ontario this summer! :)

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  121. We live in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and my kids and I spend our summers at local beaches. Would love a system like this as I'll be adding a newborn to the mix mid-summer, and there is no end to what needs to be brought to the beach with three kids under 4.

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  122. I'd bring it to Rockport! Enough pieces, so the kids won't fight!

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  123. This would hold all. the. things. for our 3 year old and 1 year old to take along to beautiful northern Michigan :)

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  124. This looks super helpful! And oh my gosh, Bosco in his nest... too. cute.

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  125. We live 5 minutes from Lake Michigan and love beachin' in the summer! This would make our hikes to and from the beach much easier!!!

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  126. To the beach, of course, here in southern California. I'm usually hauling my four by my lonesome so this looks awesome!!!

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  127. We would use it in the beautiful Puget Sound, just north of Seattle!

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  128. I miss the beach - it snowed here yesterday :(

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  129. looks like a must-have for this beach-going mom of twins in NJ :)

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  130. would love to have this on our next trip to gulf breeze!

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  131. ooh. yes. two weeks a summer at the beach. much needed.

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  132. Oooh - I've been putting off taking the kids to the local beach for the past 3 years. Partly because water worries me. But mostly because traveling to the beach with 2-3 young kids AND their gear terrifies me. Mama only has 2 hands...

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  133. Since we live a little closer to the East Coast, we'd probably use it at New Smyrna or Ponce Inlet. But I remember growing up going to the Clearwater beaches - just beautiful!

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  134. We just bought a little camping trailer, and we love camping at the beach. I expect many adventures to come, and this would be perfect!

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  135. Since my husband and I live in the caribbean now I would use it with my son the next time we get to the beach. :)

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  136. I live in southern California and very close to the coast so I frequent many beaches, this would be put to great use!!

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  137. I'd use the Beachmate for our annual (or biannual) trip to Santa Barbara, CA!

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  138. Would take this to So. CA beaches!

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  139. We would use it at our favorite Jacksonville Beaches!

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  140. This looks great! We live in California, so there are plenty of beach choices for us!

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  141. My parents have a home in Florida - would be perfect for our family getaways to visit them.

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  142. This looks amazing! Always trying to find easier ways to haul our gear to the beach. We're heading to Newport Beach, CA and Lake Tahoe this summer so we'll be spending lots of time in the sand :)

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  143. Looks great for our upcoming trip to the Outer Banks!

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  144. So fun! I purposely pick beaches where I can drive on with all my gear but I know that is becoming a rarity! This would be great.

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  145. so where do I get Julia's outfit in adult sizes?


    also. it's warm out today... a whopping 50deg. beach pics. ugh. ;)

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  146. What a great product! We are about 90 min from the Oregon Coast. Perfect for our daytrips over there!!

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  147. I would love to give one of these to my parents to keep at their beach house in Vero!

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  148. Where did you get Julia's swim suit??! I love it!!

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  149. We live an hour from the coast and about 25 minutes from our favorite lake. We would definitely use it on our trips to either place!

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  150. This would be so perfect for our vacation to Rosemary Beach! Lugging a 1 year old and all the accoutrements down the dune stairs to the beach is no easy feat!

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  151. This is genius! Would love this for my in-laws' annual trip to the Outer Banks!

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  152. Me and my Husband grew up on the Jersey shore with arcade games, boardwalk fries and salty waves... we are taking the kids for a TRUE Jersey shore vaca this year, sticky cotton candy and 50's retro motels in all!

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  153. Would be great for trips to Grammy and Pop's down the shore!

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  154. We go to the beach all the time and this looks awesome!!! hope to try it out ; ) thanks!

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  155. This is great! I live about a mile from the beach so we walk there a LOT, and carrying a cooler, beach bag, umbrella, etc is a huuuuuge pain! We could drive there but #parking and then we end up walking from our spot anyway haha. Our California beach hearts would use this in a heartbeat!

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  156. we'd love to use it on our trip to SAINT THOMAS next month with all the cousins!! ����☀️

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  157. We are taking our 6, 4, 2 year olds plus an (about) an 8 week old to new Smyrna beach in August. Holy moly. What were we thinking!!! This giveaway would be a deal maker for sure!! 💙

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  158. We make regular trips to Birch Bay, WA... This would be perfect! 😊

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  159. love this! I didn't know I needed this until I saw it and fell in love! I could never not love the beach. But I could love it more with a little convenient packing/hauling! Thanks for the info! 🙏

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  160. Topsail this summer . . . Trying to prevent twins fighting over toys, beach and not, since 2013

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  161. Love the baby nest 😊 I would use it at Clearwater beach and probably our community pool 😊

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  162. I can see it being awesome for the community pool and the park too 😊

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  163. I packed one day for several hours to go to the beach when my son was 8ish...and he looked and me and said "mom..were going to the beach..all you need is sand and water"

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  164. This is impressive and also great information. I personally liked going through your solid points on this topic. Many thanks for creating such excellent material. This is excellent. protection automate programmable

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  165. Graaaaace - WHERE did you get the girls' tankinis from? I've been trying and trying to find something like that!

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    Replies
    1. from Kortni Jean :)

      http://www.kortnijeane.com/

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