Summer.
Time for vacations.
Time to pack in all the memories and moments that we will reflect upon come winter, this one and future.
I fondly remember my summer vacations as a child. Where we went, what we did, the moments together, the learning and exploring and discovering.
So, what do I want to remember from our time on a grassy pond in New Hampshire?
Watching from the dock as Emilio independently swam to the raft for the first time.
Sitting on the raft and hearing him direct everyone in places for his jumping story creations.
Emilio's wide glassy eyes and silky watery skin emerging from the ponds womb after each jump and seeing light for the first time over and over again.
Ava's squeaky voice saying, "Again!" after each jump in to my arms off the dock, and her counting of "One, Three, Six, Nine!" as she prepared. The feeling in my arms after lifting her over and over again.
The warm sun on my shoulders as I sat for hours on the dock and caught up with an old friend, and the wistful wish that we lived closer as I listened to our children's play.
Watching Ava climb ever surface she could, and then look at me with a sneaky light in her eyes to check that it was okay. It usually wasn't, but I let her anyway.
The sound of the pavement under my feet and Matt's voice next to me as we ran together.
The air swooshing past me as I rode down the hills of my youth on a bike that I finally felt steady on again after 2 years.
The taste of tomatoes, and blueberries, and grilled chicken, on the cooler air of a screened in porch.
The weight of Ava on my back, and the sweaty small hand in my palm as we explored Portland ME.
Watching Ava and Claire dance and interact in the wide open space of a kitschy restaurant in Portland.
The smell of fish as I watched Emilio listen intently to his Tia about choosing the best fish.
The heat of the day, and crunch of dead grass under our feet as Emilio asked for us to read my Dad's gravestone to him and inquired after all the rocks crowding the top of it.
The quiet of the car when both kids slept as Matt drove us towards home when the week came to a close. The mixture of feelings I had to be looking forward to home, but missing my family and my hometown already.
And I could go on, of course.
So I'll let some pictures do some talking for me. Click to see them all...
