The Derderian FOUR take Frye Island!

So we just arrived home from our first official family (of four) trip-- successful! And where else to achieve such a momentous milestone, than the one and only Frye Island. Our weekend consisted of beach-filled days and s'more-filled nights. The weather was perfect-- an Indian summer weekend of sorts. Both kiddos did AMAZING; played hard during the day and slept fantastic at night. We snuggled & told "spooky" stories by the fireplace in the big room, listened to Jeff play lots of guitar, skipped rocks in the cove, and even gave Gav's piggies a formal introduction to Sebago Lake:




Ava swam like the fish that she is,


and, after the tumultuous post-partum 9 weeks that I've had, I was filled with tranquility and peace to just sit at the beach in the sun, feet submerged in hot sand. We grilled hot dogs, baked cookies, and played lots of Scrabble. We did absolutely NOTHING that required an outlet, a plus, or batteries. Cell phones were left in the car and not touched for 3 days. (how liberating!) And we didn't watch TV once-- how incredibly refreshing. And then there was breakfast-- oh, sweet breakfast! Bacon, eggs, english muffins, bagels, pancakes, sausage, and everything else that is completely negligent health-wise, but so tastefully indulgent while on vacation. There was something so full-circle for me personally this weekend, to be at my childhood vacation home, with my (newly) complete family of four. I watched Ava sit with Jeff out on the peninsula, pointing out gigantic tugboats and dragons in the clouds, and picking dandelions for me. The smell of the lake breeze was an immediate sense of sweet, wholesome nostalgia. Instantly brought me back to the barefoot, water-logged, mosquito-bitten, Kool-aid mustache summers that I used to enjoy up here with my own parents. The amazement of the first time I caught a fish in the cove; the s'mores that I used to enjoy in that same gigantic fireplace. Bike rides on dirt roads, ice cream cones that never made it home, and first kisses as an awkward 12 year old. So many, many memories on this tiny, hidden jewel of an island. Amazing & humbling to me that today, 20 years later, I am privileged enough to be able to share this experience with my own kiddos. And although we are now back at home, laundry already sorted & being washed, TV blaring upstairs, coffee percolating in the Keurig, and computers & cell phones back up & running, it is comforting to know that the beautiful, tranquil solitude of Frye Island is just a daydream away.








P.S. CHECK OUT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SUNSET I'VE EVER SEEN ON OUR DRIVE HOME-- THE PICTURES DON'T COME CLOSE TO THE JUSTICE IT DESERVED!