Well, that was long

 The three middle boys started school (gr. 6, 5 and 2) at the start of the fall.  (Jacob and Hannah are attending high school on-line and at home.  Outside of having these 7 kids, the decision to school the twins this way has been one of our best decisions in 15 years.)  But, then a funny thing happened.

 Summer came back with a rollicking wave of heat that made up for a cool and soggy summer.  Sort of like a house guest that stays too long, but leaves behind an unexpected and lavish gift thanking you for the hospitality.  It was nice.

 We headed to the beach to bask in the remains of summer leisure.

 Not a stand-up paddle board - just a kayak re-purposed a la Joe.  The funny thing is that the kayak has a weight limit that is one pound less than Jacob's actual weight.  When Jacob uses the kayak, it sinks to water level and he looks like he is sitting atop the waves.

 I almost forgot:  before the end of the real summer, Joe and Ben acted in a play.  A friend of ours wrote a play about the role of the railway in our town.  It starred many locals and was a delightful combination of music, storytelling and rain.  Sigh to the last one.  Anyway, Joe and Ben's official titles were "local scamps" and they were told by the Irish stationmaster to, "Git on with ya, ya little buggers."  This line never failed to delight Isaac and Sarah.  As it turns out, the two local scamps are actually quite fine actors and memorised their lines and delivered them well.  I wish I could say that they put on the Barry's Bay accents, but those are real.

 Back to fake summer and Mariana in her bathing costume.

 "Hey, don't I know you?"  Twins passing on the beach.  This looks staged; it wasn't.

 Dad watching children in water and wondering at his wife and the camera.  The man behind it all.

Grainy - but I can never resist a photo of a big brother holding a much smaller sister.  Plus, the pigtails!