a late summer retreat

After several reminders that we live in Vermont and haven't even gone camping once we decided to pack up and go for a long weekend - leaving all our would-be projects aside and taking a moment to breath.  Luckily we were able to stay at a friends cabin in the woods of Sugar Hill, NH - thereby eliminating the need for half our camping equipment and meaning that we didn't have to strap Adele to the roof of the car...(packing a car for camping was tight before acquiring a dog and a new baby!).  And let me tell you...it was lovely.  We hiked, swam, saw two moose, a bear (well 99% sure a bear) and even had some pancakes at Polly's Pancake Parlor.  Life was good!

perfecting his stair climbing skills

and fast crawl

still laughing...
this is when I noticed Owen was chewing on a huge glob of candle wax....
look at that goofy face

Saturday morning Isabelle had a tough time understanding why on earth we would want to go camping after getting so many sweet little chicks in the mail the day before.  That was until mama came to the rescue with flower crowns and daddy helped build a fairy village in the woods - then...and only then...was she convinced camping was alright.  Later that day we hiked Lonesome Lake trail and took a quick dip in the lake - Isabelle walked all by herself (almost) the whole way up...we were so proud!

a flower crown of wild flowers

a heart healthy breakfast: bacon, eggs and potatoes cooked in bacon fat...

hard at work building a fairy and gnome village

Owen splashing in lonesome lake

enjoying a snack after a long hike

sunrise from the cabin

a tired dog

We had a great mini retreat and are excited to be "retreating" again this weekend (this time down to RI for a much anticipated wedding celebration!).  Thanks so much to the Jarzombek family for letting us use the cabin for the weekend!!

and well i can't leave you without a harvest photo right?

and of course there was good reason to come home...two days away from our garden and this was half the harvest