Summer comes back for one more hurrah!

We enjoyed an extended Labor Day weekend full of firsts for our family. The Green family invited us to join them on an excursion to York, Maine, where we would visit the Nubble lighthouse and have the best blueberry pie that Jennie and Adam have EVER had the pleasure of eating. The weather was glorious! A dazzlingly blue sky was peppered with fluffy cotton clouds that dappled the ocean with their shadows and provided brief respites from the sun. The Atlantic lapped against the huge rocks opposite the island on which the lighthouse stands, its pallid red light lazily blinking more than one hundred feet above the surface of the blue-green waves. We were delighted to have the Schultz family surprise us by joining our party, and doubly so when Ben bought a whole blueberry pie for us to share between the eighteen of us.

That's where I'm going to end the narrative of our first family outing in Maine. The obligate photos:

The Green family--so awesome to invite us!

Abigail got her clothes dirty before she was even out of the car

The red shirt and sunglasses is a look that works well for Tamara

I wish I had a red shirt and sunglasses

Natalie took what I think is the best photo of the entire trip

Christmas card material? I guess you'll see...

Don't tell Tamara where Abigail posed for this shot!

What is young Master Green so intent on studying on yonder shore?

...ahhhh.

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Today we went to Quabbin Reservoir, one of the main sources of drinking watah for Boston. The weather was as delightful as it had been in Maine, and this time we coupled the long haul in the car with an arduous bike ride three hundred feet up the slopes of Quabbin Hill. It was quite a feat for some of the cyclists in the group with... less experience, but we made it. I think one of the highlights was a breather at Enfield Lookout, from which point a large portion of the reservoir and surrounding area was laid out in a breathtaking vista lit by a warm September sun.

Couldn't keep the kids from posing for this dam picture

How odd. Trevor looks strangely unfatigued...

The forever of the view still not as forever as the family

Poor Natalie is likely not to take us up on our next offer to join the family on a bike ride. She took a nasty spill, but came out with only a severe abrasion on one leg. Tamara, who was behind her when she went down, was amazed that she got out of it relatively unscathed, the "relative" referring to her bike, which looks like it will need some work.

We finished the weekend with not a first, but still a pleasant meal with our neighbor, Maura. Hot dogs and pasta salad apparently did wonders for Natalie's injuries and everyone (especially children) had a "healthy" appetite.

One more first for tomorrow! Stay tuned...