"Comfy, girls?" Dinah checks after tightening the straps on Camila's car seat.
"Yep. Is Mama coming?" The tiny brunette asks, watching as her little sister pulls at her shoelaces in an attempt to get her shoes off again.
"Not this time, butterfly. Mama's gotta work so it's just gonna be us today." She smiles softly, tugging the laces from Lauren's hands before pulling off the tiny yellow sneakers and dropping them to the floor of the car.
"Mommy?" Normani calls from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, babe?"
"Can we get ice cream?"
"I don't see why not." She shrugs, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car.
"Lolo!" Camila giggles at Lauren as she tries to get out of her denim shorts even though she is strapped in her car seat. "You can't take them off, silly! You gotta wear them!"
Lauren huffs, reaching down to pull her socks off before squeezing her arms out of the straps and shrugging out of her t-shirt as well, leaving her in just her bathing suit, a pull up and her shorts.
"We're not going anywhere if those arms aren't back in those straps in the next three seconds." Dinah warns, sending a stern look in her youngest daughter's direction.
"Off, Mommy." She pouts, tugging at her shorts after putting her arms back in the straps.
"You can take them off when we get to the beach, Lo."
"Nooo!"
"Do not start with me, Lauren, you need to leave your shorts on until we get there."
"Mommyyyy!"
"If you yell one more time, you will be going back inside and straight to the corner. I mean it, Lauren."
"Hmph."
"Drop the attitude."
————
"Alright babes, you all need sunscreen before you play. Mani, can you manage or do you want some help?" The blonde offers, spraying some onto Camila's arms and starting to rub it in.
"I can do it."
"Okay, love," she smiles as she rubs sunscreen into tanned little legs. "Lo, stay there and I'll do you in a minute."
After making sure all three girls are covered, Dinah lays out a blanket and sits herself down facing the water, telling the girls not to go too far. She watches with a smile as her two eldest daughters run off to play, her youngest choosing to instead, sit on the edge of the blanket with a bucket and spade.
"Come an' play, Lolo!" Camila giggles loudly as Normani chases her across the sand.
"'M busy." Lauren mumbles, an adorable look of concentration clear on her face. Spotting a pretty looking shell, she pushes herself up onto her knees and leans over her sandcastle to get it. A soft thud is heard and the small girl lets out a whine at the feeling of her creation being flattened by her tummy. Pushing herself up again, a grumpy expression on her face, Lauren dusts the sand from her stomach with her hand, ignoring the sound of her mother laughing at her as she starts to fill her bucket again.
This time, after building her castle, she stands from her place on the blanket and heads off to find more shells and pebbles to decorate with.
"Mommy?" Raising her head, Dinah pushes her sunglasses up so she can look at her daughter while she speaks.
"Yeah, Lo?"
"Pi'ture for Mama?"
"Yeah, we can do that. Sit next to it, okay?"
