Welcome, Ryle — and Hello, Fall

As another season at Attean Lake Lodge comes to a close, we’re trading the hum of motorboats and chatter for the sound of rustling leaves and school buses. The docks are pulled, the cabins are tucked in for winter, and just like that, the energy of summer gives way to a slower, softer rhythm.

This fall feels especially tender. On August 18th, we welcomed our newest little one — Ryle Barrett. After months of balancing pregnancy with lodge life, greeting guests, and running on little more than adrenaline and iced coffee, his arrival felt like a deep, peaceful exhale.

Now, we’re back home on the mainland — a family of six, settling into a new season of routines. The boys are off to school in the mornings, Barrett’s builing a log cabin and I’m learning the new rhythm of newborn days: slow mornings, cozy naps, and a baby always in my arms— often with Lennon climbing up beside me, eager to help, sing, or sneak in her own snuggles with baby Ryle.

But with every change of season comes the shuffle of moving — something we’ve gotten good at, though it never gets easy. Living between two homes means living in a constant state of packing and unpacking. Twice a year, everything shifts: clothes, toys, and necessities. We joke that we own two of almost everything, and somehow still can’t find what we need in either place.

There’s the summer life — simple, unplugged, surrounded by water and woods — and then there’s the off-season life, filled with school routines, laundry piles, and grocery lists. Each one has its beauty and its chaos.

The challenge is in the in-between — the moving days where you can’t remember if the coffee maker is still on the island or already packed in the truck, when the kids are wearing mismatched socks and you’re down to your last roll of paper towels. It’s messy and exhausting and sometimes overwhelming. But it’s also a reminder of how rich this life is — how full of contrast and change and motion.

This is the beauty of our seasons — never static, always shifting. Every year, we pack up one life to make room for another. It’s chaotic and beautiful and, somehow, exactly right for us.

Welcome to the world, sweet Ryle — and welcome, fall. 🍂