Goodbye Summer.

Sad to say...but Summer is over. Here are a couple shots from our last pool party out at the Lyalls on Labor Day Weekend. It was an excellent pool summer and we got some major use of their lovely pool. There can never be enough thank you's for having access to this perfectly hidden, solar heated, gem of a pool. I miss you already.

 

On Labor Day (we took the day off for real) and headed out to a little hike I used to do growing up here. It's called Deer's Leap and looks over the valleys to Rutland. It's just a few miles long but was just enough to get the kids grumpy with us. He was seriously dragging (well refusing) to go any further on the way up after about 15 minutes so we swapped him into the back pack and forged ahead so we could make it to the look out. He enjoyed jumping over each of the ten thousand rocks on the way down though. Not sure where he got the air fist thing but he did it after each jump as you can see in the little video. It was a gorgeous, clear Vermont summer's day and I write this as I wear a wool top in slippers. Crazy how fast the weather changes.

Eleven months.

This is the first month where I couldn't get her to sit still for the picture. She is on the move...well actually she stands a lot but doesn't go anywhere. Just stands and squats and stands. Her balance is excellent so it's a matter of time before she realizes she can do more than stand there. She has quite the personality emerging. She likes to get a reaction out of me but either racing over to the stairs for a climb and then trying to get up as far as she can before I get to her (which is not that far but she laughs and laughs) or biting down on my leg with her little teeth. She thinks it's hilarious when I say "ouch". Good times...

She loves a cuddle and certainly seems to scream a bit more than her brother did at this age but can't really remember. She tries to mimic sounds we make and I like sticking my tongue out and moving it around to see her follow. It's cute. She could eat blueberries til she was blue and she likes Cabot sharp cheddar. She still only has her bottom two teeth and I can't see her top ones coming at this point. 

Her and Lars have been playing together a lot more today. He, of course, likes to try and drag her and "love" her but she lets him know what's what with little screams and grumbles so he never gets that far with her. She stands her ground. He is super sweet with her and has been saying recently, "Rocky is the best ever in the world." which is obviously something he has heard said but still cute. 

He had his first day in the big pre-school class at his school and did great then headed to the Barber shop to get his hair cut and sat in the chair totally still all  by himself. He's flourishing in his independence--it's nuts.

These shots are from a couple walks we've taken this week. That first set was taken right before it started POURING sheets of water. Mike has been mountain biking around the trails by our house but last night we walked his route. We are trying to enjoy these last summer evenings before they are a memory. It's been a great summer. 

Wingaersheek Beach

On Friday, a good portion of the family headed to the Ocean in Massachusetts. Wingaersheek Beach is North of Boston. It's a little cape and when the tide goes out you can walk our for at least half a mile which also make the area perfect for finding fresh clams. I wish I had a picture of our tent set-up because we had 2 big awning tents that we brought and all sorts of stuff. We basically moved to the beach for 7 hours. We had such a great time and my girl loved eating the sand. The kids all go back to school next week so it was a fun last hoo-rah before we all get back into it. 

Summer in Normal

We are gearing up to head east to Windsor. It's been so good spending time with our family here in Normal, Illinois. Our girl is 10 months today but I will do her picture when I get home.