Blog a la Cart

Bright and early tomorrow morning I’m headed south to Virginia for the weekend. Solo. I’ll be spending the days huddled up with Sunny’s Fairy Godparents, getting in some quality face time that hasn’t happened since their visit north last November. Think a weekend filled with spandex, pedicures, Zumba, home cooked meals, and couch spooning.

Last weekend, we headed west to the Poconos with one of my childhood friends and her family. We swam in the lake. Walked in the woods. Cooked dinner by the stream. Lounged by the fire. And generally enjoyed a relaxed weekend in James’ favorite place on earth.

On Sunday, after our friends had departed, we took the kids down to the lake for one last swim before our (eventful) car ride home. As I stood on the dock, I noticed the change in the light, the golden tones stretching across the lake. The shift in the air, cool and crisp. Even the sound of the leaves moving through the trees was different, signaling the waning summer days and the onset of autumn.

Fall is positively my favorite season, but it brings with it such nostalgia. I’m still filled with those back-to-school butterflies despite years of distance from such an occasion. A mixture of excitement and uncertainty for the cooler months ahead, and a childlike yearning and sadness for the end of the carefree summer days. But if the fall and holiday season are anything like the past three months, I’d say that the Cart family is in for some fun.

And we’ve still got a Labor Day filled with tomato throwing on the horizon. Summer’s not over yet!

1. Floating in the deep. Big progress this summer.
2. & 3. Tugboat in the lake. Alert! Tugboat in the lake!
4. Playing with Ah-lydia
5. Sweet Baby Alison
6. James build fire. James wear Tevas and cargo pants. James make wife swoon and cringe, simultaneously.
7. Nothing like a pre-dinner roasted marshmallow
8. Cooking dinner stream side
9. James’ fly fishing jacket. Ready for action.
10. The Shohola River
11. Fly fishing and serving as the Poster Papa for Ergo. The man can multitask. Sometimes.
12. Baby by the fireplace
13. Alison’s “surprise” face is pure magic. Note the fish/bird clothing combo. Aptly themed for the hunting and fishing club.
14. Our little woodland gnome
15. Forest walk
16. Ergo ad x 2
17. Lake gazing, Sunday lazing