end of summer

This past weekend marked the end of our long summer vacation that had been filled with packing, unpacking, repacking, organizing, reorganizing, flying, driving, unpacking again and finally settling into our home, our little blue house. It was a good summer despite the upheaval of living out of our suitcases and then later, half-emptied boxes. This past weekend was a good end to our good summer. We spent it at Otter House.

The shed pictured above contains most of the tools needed for a weekend of exploring at Otter House. Crab pots, fishing poles, buckets, nets, shovels, boots, a kayak or two, paddles for a rowboat - rope. If these tools fail to entertain one or all of us, there are always clamshells, driftwood, low tides, rocks, streams to mess around with or in. My favorite activity of the weekend was a ride on my dad's skiff. Calm waters, warm air, happy kids (for the most part - as there is always one that you feel like throwing overboard) We stayed an extra night just to squeeze the most out of these waning days of summer. Today we are back home, hopefully recharged and eagerly awaiting the first day of school - at a new school.