7 essentials of a beach bum!

We share our 7 essentials for the ultimate beach bum...with kids! Read to find out what we never leave home without!

We are so fortunate to live 15 minutes between 2 great beaches, White Rock Beach and Crescent Beach and about 40 minutes from the beaches in Vancouver. Needless to say, we can't keep up with bathing suit and beach towel laundry as most of our summer is spent at the beach! It is such a fun, easy and free activity to do with our boys! Plus they are so exhausted by the end that we all get a great night sleep.

Over the years we have this beach life down to a bit of a science and we've come up with a list of 7 essential items to bring.

1. Blanket & towels- we love our Skip Hop fold up blankets. They fold up into a small easy to carry bag and they are machine washable for the inevitable watermelon spills. We have tried several knockoff versions but the quality of this Skip Hop one is not comparable! It's lasted numerous beach trips, park dates and picnics and still in awesome condition! Well worth every penny!

2. Native shoes- Kids and parents alike need a pair!! They are easy and comfortable to walk in both on sand and in the water! They dry quickly and look cute!

3. Sunscreen- We have tried numerous natural/ chemical free sunscreens. Some of them are harder to apply leaving a thick white layer and other's weren't quite as clean as we would like. However, this summer we have discovered the ultimate mom sunscreen!! Beaver has released a spray natural sunscreen!! Not aresol....spray! And it can be refilled which is a bonus!! Highly recommend it! along with their after sun balm to help rehydrate their delicate soft skin.

4. Water, water and more water! We go with the rule of thumb of 1 bottle per person and then a few extras! We bring our reusable swell bottles to reduce the waste of plastic bottles.

5. Snacks- seems to be a common theme in our house but we love our food!! We usually do some sandwiches (egg salad is a favorite), watermelon, local berries and some chips. Stay tuned for a link to our favorite on the go snacks we usually bring with too!

6. Life jacket (or wife jacket as Grayson calls it!)- I know it seems like

common sense but it's the peace of mind for us moms if anything were to happen at least they are protected. We've read some articles that were interesting on the puddle jumper style floaties and how they can be dangerous so we decided to go with traditional PFD.

7. Sand toys- we have done the beach with no toys and used the sticks and rocks around but with some pails and shovels the boys tend to play a bit longer! Our sand toy bag has a permanent spot in the trunk as we can't leave home without them!

We hope this helps make your beach experience a little less stressful!

What items are in your beach bag this summer?