End of summer pics!

Just a quick update! Here are a few random pictures from this summer. We had a visit from grandma Karen (a.k.a. Nona) and grandpa Robert last weekend which is always fun. The boys went to the Ducks game and the girls (and Mateo) did some shopping. Doesn't get much better than that! Also Matt & I celebrated birthdays this month. Yipee! Here's to the start of a new season...the weather has already began to change here. Good-bye sun, see you next year!Mateo LOVES trucks, buses, cars, trains...such a boy. All his dreams came true when he got to stand by this truck!

Badminton anyone?

Mateo mastering his culinary skills. Salad for one?

At Mt. Pisgah, happy as can be.

At Mo's in Florence. This kind of reminds me of a 50's magazine ad for some reason.

At the dog park with Hanai. Both were battling for the tennis ball. I think Hanai always won.

Labor Day at the Coast

We headed back to Florence for Labor Day weekend. Matt and I were really looking forward to getting out of town for a couple of days. We headed out on Sunday and the weather was gray and misty. So...we thought it'd be appropriate to hit the Hobbit trail. This trail is just north of the city and we've heard great things about it. It's supposed to be a hidden gem that only locals mostly know about, but it was just mentioned in the latest Sunset magazine. Oh well! It did, however, live up to expectations. The trail is about a mile and a half of gorgeous mossy trees that overhang. We could see why it was called the Hobbit trail!At the very end of this half mile trek you approach this cute little tunnel...

Then you see this...

The picture doesn't do it justice, but the path opens up to a beautiful, quiet (we only saw 2 other people) beach where you feel you have the place to yourself. Mateo took advantage...






After exploring the beach we checked into our hotel, which just happened to also have a casino (wow, what a coincidence!) The room was large and Mateo had so much fun playing on the bed and with the pillows. Matt also had a fantasy football draft, so he was distracted with the free wifi...

After playing around in the room and going out to dinner, Mateo conked out! :)

The next day we headed back out to the beach. The weather cleared up and it was a gorgeous day. We went to the Heceta Lighthouse which is just a short drive from the hotel. It was a small hike to the lighthouse, which was pretty neat and had such a beautiful view.







We then hiked back down and let Mateo roam free on the beach. We saw a sea lion basking on the shore. I had never been so close to one before. He was so cute! Mateo was busy digging sand castles with other kids that were there.




Once we were done playing in the sand we headed into town for lunch. We found a nice spot outside overlooking the boats. Then, alas, it was time to head back home. It was such a nice getaway, and a sort of goodbye to summer. Already looking forward to next year!