Bike Ride in Nahant

Are most beaches in the world as rocky as those in New England, or are smooth sands more common? Not a shell to be seen among the all the stones. 

The Nahant bike trail is over 10 miles long. We started past the long beach that connects this almost island to the mainland. Taking one other shortcut we likely cut our ride in half. Five miles is a lot for little legs, especially on little bikes with littler wheels. And our little kids did that trail with us, with about as little complaining as they ever have.  

And we ended with a soft sunset and sprinkled donuts. 

Beautiful Boy; Blue Sky

"Move over so I can get in" and my little boy climbed into the hammock with me just as he does in the middle of every night climb into our bed. We snuggled together; I looked up into the trees and saw a beautiful Autumn sky.
A bright spot in dark November.
A warm day after a series of cold ones.
I know which side of those trees is ours. It's clear from this angle. Our branches hang heavy over us, our neighbors side is shaved to the trunk.
We hear the whispering leaves rise and fall around us. Max hugs my neck and climbs over me. The hammock is a toy, a game, a momentary thrill. He tosses, and rolls. He almost falls out. He squeals and hides, and poses for me.
I take a picture of this beautiful boy.

Last Day of Soccer

Impressive how some of these girl's play now. Intentionally competitive. Amira's last day of soccer for the season, and maybe forever, was this morning. Despite enjoying the time with her friends and being an excellent runner...this is not her passion. Perhaps after winter she'll feel differently.

August in New England

Walks, hikes, drives. We camped in the White Mountains, first time as a family. It poured, soaking us through the walls of the tent. The brook next to the campsite became a raging river, the noise making it hard to sleep the night after the rain. The top of Mount Washington is other worldly, cold and windy not accurately depicting what it's like to stand on top of the world in a cloud dressed for summer. Amira and Adrian braved the weather, Max and I jumped back in the car. The kids caught fish, and fed birds from their palms. We spotted turtles, but missed seeing moose. Around home, we grew better vegetables and flowers than last year. The sun scorched the plants for a few weeks, but they survived, some barely, some incredibly. No more training wheels. Max lives in goggles, jumping from the pool, to the beach, to the bathtub. Batman persists. Amira runs back and forth between our house and her friend's. Family visits. Birthday parties. And now we are in September. A couple of the best weeks of the year happen this month, a sweet way to part with summer.