Well, the weekend that almost wasn't is a memory. A fairly good one actually.

I've come to realize something...

Being alone in the middle of the woods with your kids is kind of scary. Scared of bears and moose and such? Not so much. It was the sound of ATV's riding past our driveway and a large barking dog, well after dark, that kind of freaked me out. We are far off the beaten path, a mile from our nearest neighbor. If we head down this road in the other direction there is no one for miles and miles. No one with good intentions would come up our driveway at night and sound travels far and is very deceiving in this type of quiet. It's really kind of eerie. A friend of ours came out to visit on Saturday. He said he would've come up to check on us Thursday night if he knew we were here. I would've positively (and quietly so the kids won't notice) freaked if I heard some one pull up the driveway and come walking down the path to our site.

My son is in love with birds of prey, at least for now. There's an owl that lives on the property and the boy talks to him every night. We spent Thursday night post-campfire in the tent while my boy read to us from a Raptor book. I was reading this same book on Friday when my daughter fell asleep on my shoulder, something she hasn't done in years. I miss that.

There were deer flies galore, attacking us whenever we decided to do something silly, like breathe. Funnily enough they weren't at spot my parent's cabin is, just where we plan on building ours. Which is naturally where we set up camp. It was horrible and after night one we were sleeping in the cabin.


My stepfather bestowed my son with a gift last time they were in Maine. His old bb gun. It's used under the strictest of adult supervision. The look on his face when he hits the target is priceless. My boy fancies himself as a survival guide trainee. He dreams of trapping birds and hunting and fishing and living off the prey he catches. He designs lean-tos and cabins and wants to hear about the ways you can collect rainwater and such. I'm sure he will be hunting with his grandfather and cousins in a few years. He listens to stories of moose and deer and partridge with a unshakeable grin on his face and eyes like saucers.
I enjoy the woods but not like my boy. He's asked to spend the summers up there once our cabin is done. My daughter loves it too, but after four days was ready for home and all it entails. Me too. Hello? No internet for an entire summer? No netflix? I'm having the D.T.s already.







While I was gone I missed birthdays and totally horrible injuries and orthodontics, *fingers crossed* good luck and lazy summer days, a dog that *cough*fell*cough* into the ocean and a visit from a travelling friend.