......just before the weather turned sporadically chilly, as it usually does in September; we crammed in one more hot beach day......this wasn't your ordinary beach day......our beloved William made the drive up from the city and joined the rest of us NYC transplants for suburban, long live summer fun.......
....this picture slays me, as the entire day was full of sweet moments like this....
......inherently, the children may have known this would be one of the last full days to frolic on the beach before we are geared up in our wool and hoodies to pick apples and pumpkins......they savored it and they savored it real good......
....and it truly amazes me every year how September can hold a beach day and a boot day all within the same week, when August had us melting......the week before our family trip to the Hamptons this year, we shook down the end of summer with several friends who made special trips to see us......
....eleven years ago when Stefan was just beginning to become important in my life, Becky and I shared a cottage in downtown Austin, Texas.....there were five of us in that little house and we laughed, threw parties, danced and laughed some more.....there was never a dull moment and I am truly thankful for that phase in my life that was free, fun and easy......fewer and farther between, our visits are not as frequent as we'd like, but we make the most of the time we can get.....
....love your little finger in the bottom left hand corner, Elsie.....
....and our four girls, virtually the same age, play and laugh and sing and share and make believe just as you would image ten years prior that you and a best friend's children would someday do.......
.....and Brody fully in the mix this visit, made for a new dynamic.....the girls adoringly included him in everything and he relished in the attention......
.....so before fall arrives in its radiant and warm glory and I declare that it is my favorite time of year, I need to repeat for one last time during this season that summer is fabulous, too.....
.....the lazy, easy and slow days are long and they linger; but I welcome the longevity of them......friends drive and fly and pop in off trains for spontaneous visits and we hardly sleep when they're here and use the time to its fullest.....we eat well thought out meals that we cook together, drink cold beverages with splashes of fresh fruit and spend endless time outside.....and just before we start to take for granted the freedom of the season, fall is upon us begging us for structure and school routines and we welcome those too.......
.....but not before we honor one last sweet, summer day......
