Just dance...

A relative lost her battle with breast cancer last week after a long and courageous fight. She leaves behind two young, beautiful girls and her devoted husband. We spent time in NY honoring and remembering Dina.  The ride home was quiet enough to think - rare for our family of 5. And without speaking to one another I could feel Erik and I communicating about our weeks ahead. I knew when we got here we would hug the kids a little tighter, let messes linger a bit longer and focus on really enjoying them and where they are today.

And that meant, I ate a few more wooden brownies....

And built a few more miniature homes.....

We did not rush through lunch.

We played outside until the sun went down. (Yes! It is still sunny here. I am wondering if my kids will O.D. on vitamin D. ) I wish I could bag up some of these crunchy leaves so you can hear what fall sounds like to me and see how kids come alive while rolling around in them. It's like a no-mess version of snow. I often dreamed of looking out the window and seeing some of the below....

We ate Halloween candy 2 weeks early.

And most importantly we did not forget to dance before school.

Our hearts feel enormously full of gratitude for making our east coast move now and for enjoying today  regardless of nonsense out of our control. We plan on enjoying our future here without thinking of housing markets or the size of our home.... And dancing a little more often.

Good intentions....

New England and Fall go together perfectly.  Sunlight hits the big white church steeples in the afternoons in just the right way.  When you step outside those first chilly mornings the smell of wood stoves remind you of the changes in store.

While Cam finishes up his last hours of school, the little ones and I usually take a walk through town and each and almost ever time I end up calling Erik to say "I can't believe we live here!" OK, sometimes I say other stuff too.... Lately, we head to an adorable market in the center of town. Colored local vegetables lay in neat wooden boxes and you get to bring them home in adorable paper sacks. The store warms you up from the breads baked on site, and shelves are lined with bulk grains in neat jars. The clerks always chat with the kids and, well, it just doesn't always seem real! And you start to wonder with stores like these who thought Costco was a good idea?

We were lucky and got more guests this past week! Auntie Monti and Mike traveled up from New York City. Our hearts are full.  Few things are sweeter than watching your childhood friends love up your kiddos....

Right as I found myself cleaning out the crock pot from its first run of the season the weather changed. Summer made a come back for a few days and we headed to the beach. 

I can't believe we moved here nearly 4 months ago! Our lives forever changed when we put aside outside chatter and started listening to only ourselves and our intentions for our family. The gift of that choice is panning out to go far beyond lobster and sunny beaches. Fingers crossed that our adventurous spirit lives on through the chilly months ahead....