Opal at 20 Months

Opal discovered tattoos this past month.  She saw her sisters putting them on, and of course, needed to have one too.  Imagine her shock when she realized that it is semi-permanent, and won't come right  off.  She started yelling "OFF!  OFF!  OFF!!!"  

She was even more disappointed when we told her the quickest remedy for tattoo removal was a bath, and she doesn't like baths any more.  She dislikes baths so much that if the girls want her to stay away from something they will tell her - "Opal if you come over here you will have to have a bath."  Mean? Yes.  Effective?  Yes, as well.

Opal's love for Elmo continues to be strong, and she loves to demand Elmo drawings out of whoever will listen whenever there are paper and writing utensils near.  Sometimes I feel like I am her trained monkey, and wonder at what level is her Elmo obsession our fault.  Don't answer that.

 I prefer to leave Elmo at home so that he doesn't get dirty - or lost (gasp).  Sometimes this takes a very skilled negotiator to get Opal to part with her beloved Elmo.  See top left hand picture below, where I came up with the brilliant idea to have Elmo wave goodbye to Opal from the window, and to be the first to wave hello to her from where he was propped when we arrived back home.

 The photos above show the Sesame Street books Opal found at the library.  She saw her sisters asking the librarians for book locations, and so she piped up in her little voice and asked, "Elmo?"  I was super proud of her, and of course we checked out every last Elmo book they had.

Opal loves eating off of our plates, and drinking out of our cups.  She is somewhat picky about the food she eats off of her own plate.  One afternoon I found a plate of cucumber slices with a bite taken out of almost every one.  Opal!

Opal likes to play the piano when her sisters are trying to practice.  In the below photo, Emma gave up on practicing because Opal was being a very persistent musical nuisance.

 Opal has not slept through the night a single night in her life.  She sure is cute and snuggly though, and at least Will and I are not surprised in the least that our fourth daughter sleeps just like the first, second and third did.  The best news though, is that we know there is a light at the end of the sleep deprived tunnel.  The three older girls sleep much better now, thank goodness!

Until this phase has past however, we sleep any which way we can.  We love you Opal, and despite our sleep deprivation, you make our life so much better by being in it!

October, From Sunrise to Sunset

This past month we enjoyed time in the yard as much as possible.  I'm so glad that we have all four seasons where we live, as each new season brings something to renew the outdoor interest of my kids.  Fall brings with it the excitement of playing in leaves.  The girls made mazes out of leaves, jumped and slid into leaf piles, and of course, found ways to fight over the leaves as well.  

 Lucy and Emma are reading so much these days, that I told them to get outside at least, so they are getting some sun and fresh air while they read.  October reminds us that there is little time left for sitting outdoors.  We discovered some interesting insects in our yard this past month...

...and were able to get out to some parks for some fall hikes.

The kids kicked off October with a lingering cough from a cold they had in September, so I took them to a salt cave near our house to see if that would give them the boost they needed to get their lungs healthy again.  They loved it, and so did their lungs as the cough was gone two days later.  While in the cave, the owner gave us sand toys for the kids to play in the salt that was all over the ground.  It was a great way to add some interest to an otherwise ordinary day.

I took the kids the shoe store this past month so they could get their yearly athletic shoes.  We don't buy our kids very many shoes, and I want this one pair they wear on all of our walks, hikes, and playing to fit them well.  We utilize hand me downs for all other shoe needs, and we are lucky that Will's parents buy the kids snow boots every year if the hand me down boots don't fit.  Even still, it was a big price tag when I walk out of that shoe store each fall.  In the photos below from top left in clockwise order:  the girls waiting to be fitted at the shoe store, Opal getting her foot measured (she was the only kid who didn't get new shoes as she is still small enough to utilize hand me downs, but the sales associate humored us so that Opal wouldn't feel left out), Violet at her weekly mouth therapy session, the girls with a friend at a local Children's Garden, and finally, me, meeting a friend of mine's friend at a local rock and gem show.  I've only heard about her, and when we started talking, I had a feeling like I knew her - and sure enough when I asked what her name was, I had to take a selfie of us so that I could send it to our now mutual friend.

The day I took the girls to the shoe store, we also hit up the local cider mill and craft store, and then came home and had a crafty afternoon.  Will was working late that night, so it was going to be a long day.  We decided to embrace it and have a girls day.  Behaviors and moods of certain children put a damper on things, but as I always say, there's no free ride!  The photos in clockwise order from top left below: Opal and I making pony bead and pipe cleaner harvest corn for a table decoration, Emma and Violet wearing the blue light blocking glasses I bought for all of us this past month for when we watch TV or use screens after dark, me trying to organize all of the dress up clothes and doll clothes into the closet in Opal's room, and finally, Lucy baking cakes and some delicious caramel apple cookies.  She loves baking, and I love being able to eat homemade baked goods that I didn't have to make.

 Charlie went missing this past month, and had us so worried.  Fortunately, we had him microchipped as a kitten, and so we utilized his microchip membership to send out a notice to all of the local vets and shelters, as well as posted on social media sites for missing pets.  We met a neighbor during our search that we had never really talked to before and she told us that she hadn't seen Charlie either since the last day we had seen him, and that she was worried sick.  Then we found out that she feeds Charlie every single day, and even when she is out of town, the person who takes care of her own pets is instructed to feed Charlie as well.  What a well fed cat we have!  She sent me the photo in the top, right hand photo below of her dog Coco hanging out with Charlie.  Charlie came home four days later, well-fed and no worse for the wear.  We think someone may have taken him inside since he wasn't hungry when he showed back up.  Talk about a happy and tearful reunion though.  We may have never known what had happened to him, and I am just so grateful he is back safe and sound.  He is a one of a kind cat to us, and irreplaceable.  The below pictures were taken moments after he returned home, and I can tell you it was worth every single hive to snuggle him.  I text my neighbor when Charlie returned, and she came over to see him for herself, and imagine Charlie's excitement to have two of his gravy trains together in one place.  We have talked about putting a GoPro camera on him to see where he goes, but not sure if that would be hilarious, or make me even more worried for his safety.

We celebrated Will's birthday this past month - with Will's family one night, and then on Will's actual birthday we spoiled him with all of his favorite foods.  The top left hand photo below are the girls at an Instant Lotto Ticket kiosk, buying their daddy his birthday present.  What else do you get the man who has it all?  Well, the girls and I also bought him his favorite kind of pillow, because one by one, he has given it away to a daughter, and each time it is replaced, another daughter claims it as her own.  Finally, all daughters have the same pillow as their dad, and this pillow is finally his for keeps.

I love the photo in the bottom right hand corner of the girls with all of their cameras, taking photos of Will and his birthday candles, like a regular lot of paparazzi.

I participated in an outdoor craft show at the end of this month and had a lot of fun with my friend who stayed to help me the entire day.  The crowds were minimal and I didn't make much money, but it was a laid back day, hanging with my friend and holding the tent down from the gale-like winds.  I probably will be hard pressed to do another outdoor craft show that late in the season again, but memories were made for sure!

 We had fun trick or treating at our Farmer's Market, which is one of my favorite days of the year.  This year Lucy was Amelia Earhart, Emma was Eleanor Roosevelt, Violet was a dentist, and Opal was the honey bee that each of her sisters were before her at that age.  Lucy and Emma read a book called Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Munroz Ryan that inspired their costumes, and Violet's was inspired by all of the great people who have been working with her at the dentist.

 Opal was old enough this year to understand the concept of saying "trick or treat" and getting candy. She was amazed and delighted and if she could articulate her feelings, I think she would have said, "what a world we live in!!!"  The night of Halloween was freezing cold with sleet and snow, and so we only went to the neighbors that we knew and then headed off to a Halloween party at our friend's house.

 It was a great night, and memories were made yet again.

 Here is a photo of the sunset that Lucy captured in our own backyard.

I am trying to make it a priority to witness more sunrises and sunsets, and I hope that I can continue to find balance in my life to do this.  The days go by so fast, and most of the time I can't even tell you what made my day or my week so busy.  Caring for four darling daughters and finding time to spend with Will, not to mention taking care of my own needs leaves little time left for extras like a missing cat, holidays and projects.  But, as I head into November, the month of thankfulness, I am reminded of my blessings and any day with all of the people and the cat that I love in it is a good day - throw in a sunrise or a sunset or both, and I have everything I could possibly want.

Opal at 19 Months

The older Opal gets, the more integrated her story is with ours.  With that being said, there are only a few photos of just Opal this month!  But, I do believe the few photos I have, sum her up perfectly.

Opal is obsessed with Elmo and Sesame Street.  Obsessed actually is an understatement.  She says Elmo while she is sleeping, and when she is awake.  She is hard pressed to wear clothes if they do not have Elmo on them, and she only likes to read Elmo books.  She can name all of the Sesame Street characters, and most days you will find us with "I've Got a New Way to Walk" on repeat on the TV.

When we go to the library, she MUST find Elmo books and DVDs.  Imagine her excitement when she found a Grover puppet.

When we go to any store, she rides in the cart while repeatedly yelling, "Elmooooo!  ELMOOOO!  ELMOOOOOOO!"  People look at us, but obviously Opal doesn't care.  And you would be surprised to know that Elmo is EVERYWHERE.  Even when I'm certain there will be no Elmos to spot, Opal finds them.  And just when Will or I have convinced ourselves that we would not leave the store with yet another Sesame Street item, out we come with a happy Opal and a sheepish look on our face.  The best was when I dropped Will and the girls off at the store one day while I ran another errand near by.  When I pulled up at the curb to pick them up and saw Opal in the cart, squeezing a brand new Grover stuffed animal, all I could do was laugh and assure Will that I was not judging, but happy to know that he also struggled with telling Opal no.

Even when Opal is playing with her next favorite thing, water, she must do it while wearing Abby Cadabby shoes and Elmo pants.

Opal, your obsession with Elmo, and the sweet love you show as you care for him, and kiss his nose a hundred times a day, shows how loyal and full of love your heart is.  Our family is so lucky to have you show us such devoted love each and every day!

September

Sweet September seems so far away as I type this on the first day of November.  We had a busy and fun September, and the highlight was a visit from my brother and niece from Florida.  Here we are below, apple and flower picking with my family - it was great to have all of the cousins together after almost a year apart!

We loved watching Opal and my niece interact together, and hope that as they grow older they form a lasting bond since they are only three months apart.  

Another highlight was meeting our neighbor's newest little one, and getting to have all the newborn snuggles.  Sadly, our first meeting was also a goodbye, as they have since moved out of state and we aren't sure when we will see them again.  Thank goodness for FaceTime and videos for keeping the love alive and well with both my niece and our old neighbors!

We also visited the local art museum with a friend of mine in September, and my favorite part was watching my kids use their own digital cameras to capture their favorite pieces of art as well as at the end of our trip when we got to make our own watercolor postcards.

Opal wasn't as much of a handful as I thought she would be, but she still sapped a large amount of Will's and my energy.  She does not want to be restrained in a stroller but instead wants to explore on her own two feet and run the opposite way we are trying to go.

 Lucy and Emma have really developed a love for reading this past summer, and are finding new ways to fit it in now that school has started back up.  Here Emma is below, reading her book and exercising at the same time.  Violet is feeling a bit lonely, since she cannot read on her own yet and her two best playmates are constantly answering her requests to play with her by saying "after I finish this chapter."  My heart hurts to see Violet left behind on this new milestone, however I am trying to remind myself that for every new challenge or phase, there is also a silver lining.  Sweet Violet is still trying to figure out what that might be, and in the meantime, I am wishing that Opal was a tad older and could play with Violet more.  Opal does love to play with Violet, but it usually ends with her getting hurt, or the two of them fighting.  I am proud of Violet for being the only family member who does not give in to Opal's demands, however it doesn't make for very harmonious play.

The center photo above shows a praying mantis that Will found on his car one afternoon after work.  Will worked super hard this past month, not only with all of the stress that comes with back to school, but also with landscaping our backyard when he was home from work.  He worked so hard, and so efficiently - and saved us about $8,000 with his own manual labor and finding a wholesale source for the trees.  He planted about 26 arborvitaes and 2 white pine trees, to give our backyard a more private, up north feel.

Living on a corner, our backyard is not very private.  Lately, it seems like the cars going down our side road are speeding at 100 miles an hour, and it really does make our backyard feel more like a front yard.  I hope that these trees will help promote a more peaceful feel, and I think as they grow bigger that they will.  I only wish that we had planted them ten years ago when we first moved in, but the truth of the matter is we were broke back then!

Next up on our landscape goals is to convert the strip of land along our driveway into a native meadow.  Again, trying to bring the up north feel that we love so much to our own property.  The first step was cleaning out the plants that were already there and the second step was putting down a roll of landscape tarp to smother the grass and weeds without using chemicals.  In the spring, our hope is that the soil will be ready for planting our meadow!

As if the outside home improvements weren't enough, we also tackled some things in our bedroom that I have been wanting to do for a long time.  I bought a refinished desk this past summer and finally made a space for it in our bedroom.  I am calling it my happy place and I love it so much.  I also found a cute little shelf on Etsy and added a fabric backing to it and a coat of fresh mint colored paint to hang by my new-to-me desk as well.  While Will was helping me hang some other items in our room, and touch up some paint on our walls, Opal quietly tackled her own project of finding a wet paint brush and painting our bathroom counter.  And thus goes home improvement projects with toddlers...one step forward and another step or two back.  Fortunately, most of the paint came off of the counter and her hands.

The kids are motivated to continue the four day school week that we started last year, and so we work extra hard to have an extra day off.  It works well, because there is always something that comes up during the week that makes it difficult to do school at home that day.  This flex day has helped us to stay motivated on the four days we do school, and to not let us fall behind when life happens since we have it built into our schedule.  In the below photos, clockwise from top left: the three oldest doing school in their rooms right when they wake up (that was September, and now at the start of November they are no longer doing this! Ha!) Violet overjoyed to have her friend and neighbor in her dance class this year, a drawing Lucy did that makes me so happy every time I see it, and finally, Violet on her first day of dance class for the year.

Here we all are at the dentist, one morning this past month.  Homeschooling gives us great flexibility for doctor appointments since we don't have to wait until after school when everyone else is trying to get in. 

Lucy has really upped her baking game this past month, and we are going through butter faster than I thought possible (and that is crazy, because I use a lot of butter).  She made a fancy brownie cupcake for her first solo attempt at baking and they looked picture perfect.  One bite though almost choked me, and after spitting it out, we determined that she mixed up the salt and sugar proportions in the recipe.  Will made the comment that you could die from too much salt as he too started choking on his first bite, and I realized that the mistake was only in the fancy coconut topping and that by scraping off the tops, we could still eat the brownie below.  She was so bummed though, and redid the recipe a few days later, at which point we all declared them a yummy, baking success!  Below in clockwise order from top left: Lucy's first attempt at brownie cupcakes, her well-received second attempt, a buttermilk pie that she made from a recipe in a book she read, and some oatmeal apple rhubarb bars that she made.  The center photos are of my first attempt at chicken and dumplings which was a huge hit with everyone except Emma and Violet, and finally, some beautiful eggs from our chickens.

With all of the baked treats we've been having, you would think the kids would be immune to the song of the ice cream truck.  Yet another reason why we are looking forward to our more private yard.  I swear that truck drives by extra slow by our yard because of all of the kid toys strewn about.  The top photo below is of all four kids, looking sadly and longingly as the ice cream truck drove torturously slow by them.  The bottom photo below is of the one time I did let them get a treat from the ice cream truck.  Even Charlie hung around to see if there would be any treats for him too.

Below are photos of fun times this past month, found in just ordinary days.  From top left in clockwise order:  Emma reading a Berenstain Bear book to Violet, Violet tying scarves and handkerchiefs on her and her dolls heads to all match, all four girls playing with Opal, Lucy paying me some money that she owed me, but doing it in a creative and beautifully tied handkerchief, and finally, mealtime.  My favorite meals are when everyone likes the food we've made, and Will is home.  This doesn't happen nearly as much as I would like, but when it does, I am happy.

This photo below made my heart happy.  The kids realized they were all together on the couch and so ran to get "Luke's teddy bear" so he could be there with them too.  The teddy bear was given to us at Luke's baby shower by Will's grandma.  Who knew that it would become so very loved by everyone but Luke, but that when the kids hug and hold this teddy bear, they feel that Luke is near.

The above photo is of our first cold of the season.  September seemed way too early to already be sick, but with Opal in the house, she is for sure the germ carrier.  I know this not only because she is always putting her hands in her mouth when we are out and about, but because she is always the first one sick.  And since the rest of us can't resist kissing her or eating the leftovers on her plate, it is just a matter of time before the rest of us have whatever contagious thing she has.

Here I am below with my girls.  Opal fell on the driveway this past month, and had a swollen upper lip.  When we realized that she couldn't smile in our selfie, we decided to all make "duck lips" so that she "matched". 

May we all be so lucky to have friends and family who share "duck lips" with us when our upper lips are swollen.

Opal at 18 Months

Opal had a growth spurt this past month, and is now able to reach things she couldn't reach before.  Like the counter.  Or should I say chocolate cake.

Even if I hadn't caught her chocolate-handed, her face would have told me what she had found.  This little lady leaves a path of destruction wherever she goes, but has no problem singing the "Clean Up" song while the rest of us clean up after her.  

 Opal loves water... here she is below with a dish of water and a paint brush, painting the driveway.

Opal loves trees - she will hug them, and if we are on a walk and she is in her stroller, she will demand that we let her touch the bark of any tree that we pass.  In the photo below she was hugging a tree when a squirrel caught her attention above her.

 Opal loves music, and the better the beat, the more she likes it.  Here she is below playing the piano - she can now climb up on the bench all by herself.

 She loves Elmo, and we have an Elmo CD in the car that we burned when Lucy was a baby.  Yes, burned onto a CD - this was ten years ago!  We have literally spent HOURS listening to the same two songs on repeat as it keeps her from screaming.  She will demand "Walk walk" and "Elmo" if any other music without a good enough beat is on.  We were at the library the other day, and Opal discovered a sesame street lunch box in a display case that she was so excited to see.

 Opal loves her sisters, and loves being with them.  She is so proud when she can do what they are doing.

 Opal got a big girl bed this past month, and she wasn't too happy about it, as this is our attempt to get her out of our bed.  As I type this, she has resigned herself to naps and starting the night in her own bed, but we have yet to get her to stay in it the entire night.  Frankly, her three older sisters rode us hard and now we will pretty much do whatever we can to get the most sleep, even at the cost of long term bad habits.  If that doesn't sum up my fourth daughter, I don't know what does!

Opal is a feisty one, and has a very high-pitched scream.  She will scream to tell us she wants something or is unhappy, or if a sister is in her space.  Whoever is making her scream gets attacked by every other member of the family who sometimes at the same time yells "give that baby what she wants!!!" just to make the screaming stop.  Again, not great habits here folks, but we are tired.  Opal is so lucky she is cute, and if that isn't for her own survival, I don't know what is!

August Critters and Comrarderie

We saw so much wildlife in our backyard this past month.  One of the most amazing was a red-spotted purple admiral butterfly that we found in our yard - see top left photo below.  We have never seen one of these in real life before!  We also raised eleven black swallow tail butterflies from caterpillars we found on the dill in our garden.  It was exciting to release them.  Will caught a vole in our garden, and Lucy found some really big grasshoppers as well.  Emma's bare foot unfortunately found a honey bee in our grass, and was promptly stung - see center photo below with her sting slathered with a baking soda paste to help draw the poison out.  

Charlie also enjoys the wildlife in our yard, and in the photo below, we found a chipmunk hiding from his advances.  We were able to rescue the chipmunk and lock Charlie up.  I continue to be so torn about Charlie's role in our local ecosystem.  He serves a useful purpose for us, as we haven't had a problem with mice since Charlie moved in, however despite the high quality food we serve Charlie, he still prefers fresh catches over kibble and wet cat food.  Here Charlie is below, sleeping on our living room window air conditioner - you better believe we sweat that nap out, as heaven forbid we turn on the air conditioner and wake him up.  

After going through all of my photos from August, I realized we spent much of our time outside, which makes me happy.  Here the girls are below, enjoying the beautiful weather in our own backyard.

August definitely reminds us of the impermanence of summer, and we became focused on achieving the last of our summer goals this past month.  Lucy and I went on a date together, clothes shopping and then we dined at Chipotle, which Lucy and I both love, but the rest of the family could take or leave.  Will took the three oldest girls to the local baseball diamond, where they enjoyed stadium food and some special daddy time.  They went back again with Will and his parents, after receiving free tickets to the ballgame from the library's summer reading program.  In the center photo below, Violet is smiling in the dentist chair.  We have finally begun Violet's dental journey, and are looking forward to watching her smile evolve.  It's a fine line, as Violet has told us that she loves her smile, but also that she wants her teeth to look like ours.  She has experienced several different occasions of curious kids hurting her feelings in regards to her teeth, and I think that the dentist that we have decided to go with understands our wishes of function first and cosmetics second.  The dentist told us that if at any time Violet decides that she wishes cosmetics to be first, that we will make the necessary adjustments.  We are trying a relatively new procedure for fixing Violet's mouth, and our hope is if this is successful, she will avoid jaw surgery down the road.  For the price of a luxury car payment, we are taking the chance.  Will and I both feel very grateful for this opportunity/advancement in dental care, and that we have the ability to invest in a person we love.  And maybe someday, medically necessary dental care will be covered by health insurance.  The National Foundation of Ectodermal Dysplasia is tirelessly working to make that dream a reality.

We celebrated my mom's birthday this past month, spent time with friends who are like family: small, inset photo on the right is of Lucy and friend, whose mom grew up with me!  And the bottom, left hand picture below are friends whose dad grew up with Will!  In the bottom right hand picture below, the girls are making memories with Will's aunt and uncle who specialize in making our kids feel special.

Will and the kids joined me for the annual Bee Fest at the Belle Isle Nature Center in Detroit this past month.  I have no photos of me, as I was mostly busy talking about bees, and Will was mostly busy keeping the girls happy.

We have decided to transform our backyard into a native ecosystem.  I have been researching native plants and their importance in saving insects and animals.  I hope to teach a class on native ecosystems once our yard is complete.  Below is the first of several projects to transform our yard to mostly native plants - Will buried our downspout and had it feed into a culvert that our sump pump already feeds into.

We then planted native plants that thrive in wet conditions.  Imagine our excitement the first time it rained after our project was complete!  It works like a charm, and area is already abuzz with insects and we've even seen a frog!  We are hoping (especially Lucy) that in time, more frogs will make their home here.

August also marks the time for Will to head back to work.  Here we are below, enjoying ice cream cones downtown on Will's last night of summer vacation.

 We had a great summer, and I wish I knew how to slow down time.  Summer goes by so fast for us, and I have to say that we are all at our happiest when Will is home.  Does happiness equal time going faster?  I had a few projects I wanted to accomplish before Will went back - organizing some things at home, as well as making a self care area in my bedroom.  In the photos below in clockwise order from top left: Lucy with a comic strip she created for the library's summer reading program, the girls dress up clothes now hanging in Opal's closet since all of Opal's clothes minus a few dresses fit in her dresser, some roller bottles of essential oil scents as part of my self care corner, and a peach blueberry coffee cake I made on Will's last morning before he went back to work.  Those dress up clothes have been the bane of my existence for several years now, so I am excited to see if this solves the problem that a clothes rack and a bin couldn't solve before.

Some of the motivation for the organizing was to have more space in our house which is starting to feel quite cramped.  Six people in a three bedroom house is totally doable, and so we need to just pare down our stuff.  Will and I have been dabbling on realtor.com, trying to decide if we need more space or if we can make it in our current house that we love so much.  All arrows are still pointing to staying, and so now the effort of paring down so that we can freely move about in the house that we love is in fully swing.  We've also looked into getting an addition put on the house, but for now, we think our money will be better spent investing in our kids than in our space.  Speaking of investing in our kids, here we are in the photos below kicking off our eighth year of homeschooling.

We started back to school a little earlier than the schools around us, which was fine by all of us as it gives us more flexibility during the school year.  So, when we went up north for our final trip this summer over Labor Day weekend, we already had a few weeks of school under our belt and it felt like a welcome break.  In the below photos - Will's aunt and uncle sent us cookies in the mail from our favorite cookie place that we visited back in July.  What a wonderful surprise that was, especially since we were going up north the very next day and got to bring them with us to be enjoyed on beaches several hours away from the shores of where these cookies were from.  It was like our two favorite up north places got together, creating the ultimate in flavor and scenery.  

Our first night up north, we caught the sunset at the beach, while nibbling on our favorite cookies.  It was the highlight of our trip.  Such peace and beauty and yumminess.

 This is the same place we have been going for three years now, twice a year.  It feels like our home away from home, and for this four day weekend, we had a bucket list of places to go and food to eat.

 Opal is now old enough to do some hiking on her own two feet.  It was a joy for me to see all four of my girls with their feet on our favorite trails.  Although Opal outgrowing her hiking carrier definitely slowed us down!

 We climbed a big sand dune and realized halfway up that we forgot to bring our waters.  We asked a dad carrying a baby back down the sand dune how much farther until the beach and he responded in a defeated kind of way, "there are hills and hills to go and once you think you climbed the last hill, there will be even more hills."  Will and I looked at each other and decided that we had climbed enough, and would travel back down as well.  There were still some spectacular views and we had hiked for over two hours.

We shopped at some of our favorite farm stands, and had the best blueberries, corn, green beans, donuts and pizza bread (that we put pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese on and toasted in the oven).

 We enjoyed some cozy campfires and tasty s'mores, snuggling with storybooks on the couch and Violet even decorated our table with flowers floating in a bowl of water.

 Memories were made, and rest, relaxation and fun was had.  It was a great way to end our summer, and I am looking forward to enjoying the next three seasons, and then going back up north again!