Enjoying the Autumn

 New England falls are famous and for good reason! It truly is as magnificent as everyone says. And luckily, we were able to enjoy the beauty outside before Sandy came and blew all the leaves away. So far, my favorite place to enjoy this season has been our backyard! Our sweet neighbors let the kids play on their swing set, and I find the tree-enclosed yard just lovely. Vyla has especially been excited about swinging each afternoon. The pictures don't show just how fast her little legs are running as they dangle.

Miss V is finally old enough to be more of a playmate to Hinder. He enjoys being older and in charge (or so he thinks) or someone else. She lets him feel in charge as long as he pushes her around. I think they've got a good thing going.

 This is so Hinder.

 Downtown Portland is a totally different feeling. We finally had a few hours to walk around. There's so much to do/see but not a lot of it is kid-friendly.

The Wadsworth-Longfellow Gardens.

V was desperate to escape this photo op.

The Wadsworth-Longfellow House. The original house still stand in the middle of downtown, surrounded by modern buildings. Feels like we stepped back into time.

The constant breeze by the ocean is really ideal for these kite-obsessed boys. This particular afternoon, they warmed up their flying with a dollar store kite.

 H is really talented in the kite-flying department! He has more gut-intuition about how to fly that thing than I do. Best part of motherhood= Watching your kids develop their natural talents. It amazes me.

After the warm up session, it was time to pull out the real-deal.

 A impossibly perfect afternoon in the sunshine, lazing about, flying kites by a lighthouse. This is the stuff classic novels are made of.

And the stuff my sanity will cling to as we head into winter!