A family visit

My mom and aunt came up to visit from California a few weeks ago. It was a bit of a spontaneous visit but I was able to get a couple of days off to spend some time with them. First I took them on a lovely drive along the McKenzie River to Sisters, OR, with a stop along the way at Sahalie Falls. Then onward to lunch and shopping in Sisters, and a stop at Belknap Springs on the way home. Unfortunately, the week they visited we had an intense heat wave! Oh well, we persevered. We took a break from the heat and took Mateo to the coast later that week. It was very pleasant there. We had lunch at Mo's and did a little browsing in Old Town before hitting the beach. Mateo had a fabulous time digging in the sand, as you can see. A good time was had by all, exept for the laborous hike up the sand dune to get back to the car! Yikes! Need to find a better spot next time...carrying an extra 20+ pounds (Mateo) up a dune is not a good time! Overall we had a very nice visit. Mateo got to spend quality time with grandma and was thoroughly spoiled. Thanks for coming up!

Wet!

It was unusually hot here the past few weeks. Last week we got up to 108, which is really unheard of here and record breaking. And of course that was the week my mom and aunt decided to visit from California (see my next post). Ha, and they thought they were going to escape the heat! We've just been trying to keep cool. Here you can see some pictures from when I took Mateo to the public fountain. At first he didn't know what to make of it, then he had a ball! He's extra cute with his swim trunks falling down...he definitely takes after his slender papa.

Water baby!

Mateo just completed his first swim lesson course. We signed him up for a 4-week water babies class and he must be part fish because he loves the water. We had a lot of fun playing with him and getting him used to being in the pool and getting water in his face. On the last day they opened the water slide and daddy took him down a number of times. You'd think this little kiddo would have been frightened to go down a large twisting and turning slide, but he loved it and kept asking for more! Here are some pictures with daddy.

Mateo's 2nd 4th

It was a warm weekend this Fourth of July. We went to our friends Nick and Alicia's house for an afternoon bbq. My pal Jenn came down from Silverton which as a pleasant surprise. She brought her dog Lou and Mateo had a grand time trying to play horsey with him (the dog is 3 times as big as him). Lou didn't mind! Nick bbq'd pizzas, a specialty of his, and we had a very nice dinner. Mateo was totally preoccupied with climbing up and down their deck stairs, so I think I worked off all the calories chasing him around. Around 9pm we went home and Mateo was still awake so I kept him up to see the fireworks show that you can see from a few of our windows at home. At first he was interested in them, but after a while he just wanted to go play. Oh well, fireworks next year!

Welcome cousin Mia!

Mateo's newest cousin, Mia Rosaleen Duffy, was born on June 24th. As you can see, she is outrageously cute! We want to wish auntie Jennifer and uncle Rob all the best with their new bundle of joy. We can't wait to meet you, Mia!

Elise Claire Hudkins

As you all know, Matt and I were very excited for adding a baby girl to our family. Unfortunately we lost the baby 2 weeks ago when I was 7 months pregnant. There are times in life when you cannot make sense of what happened, and have to rely on faith to pull you through. We know that she is in a peaceful place and she will always be with us, and us with her. We are so thankful for Mateo, and the strength and happiness he brings us. Thank you to everyone for their support and kindness through our difficult time.

Last stop, Stockton, CA!

Our last stop on the Tour de California was northbound to Stockton. While visiting grandma Karen and Robert, Matt's good buddy Dax came to visit. We haven't seen him for a while so it was nice for them to catch up and play with Mateo for a bit.

We also headed to Burlingame to visit with the rest of the family. Mateo got to see all his cousins, aunts and uncles.

Daddy and auntie Jen

Cousin Lucy showing off her kitchen!

Bubbles with grandpa Robert

The next day we already had to go. Boy, we packed in a lot of sights and family in our 9-day trip. It was great to see everyone. Mateo was sure a trooper with all the car and airplane rides. By the end of the trip when we were driving home from the Portland airport we needed to get creative to keep Mateo occupied in the car. Below you see him destroying an old cassette tape!

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh, good to be home. We missed you, Bebe!