October

 

We drove down to visit the twins and take them out for lunch

We explored Alton Baker Park in Eugene.  We agreed that next Spring we should bring our bikes down to explore more of this trail

I babysat little Joshy.  I can't believe how much he has grown and how busy he is since I last saw him

Someone misses her big brother...

Went for a great hike up and around Multnomah Falls

Julian stayed by himself while Hyrum and I were in New Orleans but he did bike over to his cousins house for dinner every night and to check in with an adult every day.  I was really proud of him for being so grown up and taking care of everything at home.

I hosted book club for October.  We read "Wuthering Heights"

The twins came up to Hillsboro to help us pull the boat out of the water for the year.

We went to the pumpkin patch while they were in town

Hyrum and Julian went to the Portland zoo while I was in Virginia visiting Paige

They also went to Corvallis to visit the boys and enjoyed a nice sunny walk

The weekend before Halloween the boys came up and we carved our pumpkins

Happy Halloween.  It was super rainy on Halloween night and we only got 5 people trick or treating! 

Virginia to visit the DeShetler's

 My sister Paige and her family moved from Las Vegas to Virginia this last summer.  The very sad part is that Virginia is so much farther away from Oregon so I have not been able to go visit nearly as often as I used to.  I really love visiting these guys and I especially love playing with their cute kids! I helped Paige with her last bits of unpacking and organizing her house.  I had a great time and the week just flew by.

How can you NOT love this cute little face!

Love to just sit and snuggle with these guys:)

Having fun at a park, the weather was just perfect

Bath time for Alistair

Graham and Cecil helped me make some chocolate chip pumpkin cookies...everyone loved them

The boys all decorated the pumpkins and ghosts and then Remy strung them together to decorate the house

On a ferry ride going to the pumpkin patch

The pumpkin patch was selling the BEST home made pumpkin ice cream! Alistair loved it:)

I love spending time with Paige and her family, I am sad she is so far away!

New Orleans

 We went to New Orleans, Louisiana with Hyrum's sister, Katrina, and her husband, Steve.  Ever since I visited a few years ago with my friends, I have wanted to bring Hyrum here.  I love this city and how unique it is.  I love the music and art around every corner.  This time I got to do an alligator tour and it was so much fun!  

On the balcony at the air bnb Hyrum and I stayed in.

You know it's going to be a great trip when you find gelato on your first evening!

Crazy Bourbon Street on a Saturday night

We toured around the WWII museum.

Took a ride on the street car out to Tulane University

Cool sculpture with beads at the University

We took a dinner cruise on the Mississippi River

The live music on the boat was so much fun

Walking around the beautiful French Quarter

Our first alligator sighting at Wetland Trace in Jean Lafit.

We enjoyed a wonderful little trail through the swamps.  It was nice there was a raised boardwalk for most of the trail, it made me feel safer from the alligators:)

Getting ready to go on the swamp tour boat

We got to hold a baby alligator, he was so smooth and soft

We saw lots of alligators on our tour

After a yummy dinner Hyrum and I went to some jazz clubs to enjoy live music.  It is so fun to just step into each club and they all have a live band playing all sorts of music, such a great time

We rented some electric bikes to do a little bike tour of the city.  This was my first time on an electric bike and I can definitely see why people like them.  With very little work you can zoom all over a city!

We went on a cemetery tour but it was a very hot day and our tour guide wasn't that awesome so I think we all got worn out pretty quick:)

Hyrum and I rented electric bikes again for a ride along the Mississippi river. It was a beautiful evening for a bike ride

A wonderful sunset over St. Louis Cathedral

Probably my favorite activity we did all weekend was see a live music concert in the old Preservation Hall. The musicians were amazing but it was also really cool to be in this place that has so much history.

The trombonist was so much fun to watch, what a great experience!

We ended our time in New Orleans the same way we started...with gelato!  I love this city and had so much fun sharing it with Hyrum, Katrina and Steve:)