Quick Tour

Summer isn't over, but once it gets close to August, I get a little bit of the "Sunday Blues".  I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I always think of June as my Friday, July as my Saturday, and August as my Sunday...... And so, we did make the most of the rest of my Saturday upon our return from our "Out West" trip (as the kids are referring to it).  

The kids did a week of Forest Camp.  It is the only camp I signed them up for all summer (because it was one of the only full weeks we were around).  It was a sort of primitive skills camp with days spent walking in the woods, whittling, swimming in a stream, cooking over a fire, and making forts.  The kids loved it!  I don't have a single picture of their experience, but I do have a photo of the hair weaves they got:

I was skeptical about the whittling, as I was a victim of a whittling accident in high school (six stitches later), but the counselors had many expectations and whittling privileges could be taken away (as was the case with Hazey).  In any case, the kids had an amazing week.  They learned a lot, used their imagination, and made cool "agreements" like getting along with everyone and not leaving anyone out. 

Meanwhile, I put a day in at the "office" and got a little time to do some things for myself.  I went to a doctors appointment, caught up with friends, went running, got out for several mountain bike rides, cleaned the house, and did a little soul searching about potentially living abroad (more on that later).  Having a little time to myself was exactly what I needed. 

enjoying a little "me" time at a waterfall

On Friday, we picked the kids up a little early from camp and headed to Whitton  Pond in New Hampshire.  We met up with the Clarke/Munson crew and had a lovely evening up there.

Dinner with Finn, Avery, Ander, and Cleo

Saturday morning, we headed to Hermit Island in Maine.  We booked campsites here months ago because I'd heard it was a great place to visit.  It lived up to it's reputation!

There are only campsites on the "island" and four beaches, hiking trails, and biking all around. Aunt Nif, Uncle Rob, and Will met us after their week in New Hampshire.  And, our friends, the Dormer's from Boston also got a last minute reservation and joined us. We had great beach weather and the kids had a ball together.

Sand kids

Hikers

        

Ping Pong

        

Family

We left Hermit Island on Monday morning.  We "swung" through Boston to drop off so he could grab a bus back to Burlington.  The kids and I continued on to Connecicut so we could get some time in with the grandparents.  First stop was Darien:

Next stop was Farmington to see Nana and Grandpa.  We also got to have dinner with Lynn, Mark, and Chris.

Uncle Mark and Cally

Hazey and his playmate

Goofballs

Family!

Biking on one of the Farmington  Bike Paths

Biker Dude

And we rounded out the week with an impromptu visit to the Krull's house on Lake Champlain.  We had a lovely dinner and even spent the night.

Dylan and Hazey

Future prom dates

Piper and Cally

Swimming on the lake