A Night On the Town with our Princess!

My mom bought Sabrina tickets to a very special evening out with some of Sabrina's favorite characters!  I have never seen our little lady so excited!  She couldn't wait and was bouncing around the house waiting for the time to come.  She was mesmerized from start to finish!

Being so close, we got snowed on, a lot! 

It was a special and fun evening with our girl!  Such a fun age and phase we are in right now! 

Malachi's Soccer Season

We are in the midst of soccer season over here. This is Malachi's 3rd year of soccer but his first year on a "real" team with "real" games.  He is on a kindergarten team this year and his team is pretty darn good.  Malachi has definitely earned the title of most improved on his team this year!  He was so clueless at first on what he should be doing but got the hang of it and is a lot of fun to watch now!  

Scoring!

Celebrating as calmly as he can :)

Half Birthday's Abound!

In the hustle and bustle, we couldn't forget two of our favorite people and celebrating their half birthdays!  

Malachi was first up and he has been on the countdown to get to call himself a 5 1/2 year old!  I'm in complete awe of how fast this little boy has grown up in front of my eyes.  He's a born leader and a smart cookie!  We are really enjoying all the aspects of his life that keep us busy - soccer, taekwondo, swimming, school.  It takes a lot of activities to wear this kid out!  

And then of course we had our little princess who had her half birthday two days later.  She's a character.  Strong willed, sweet, funny, shy.  She's a hoot!  

Malachi requested peanut butter cheesecake for his special half birthday treat! We also enjoyed a fun movie night! 

And then our princess requested her favorite, a box full of donuts! 

I adore these babies so much and can't believe how quickly time is going. It is so fun watching them grow and start to develop into their own unique people!  

A Weekend in the Gorge

This weekend Peter and I had the privilege to get away for a night and go enjoy the beauty of fall in Hood River.  I really don't think there can be a much prettier place in this country to enjoy fall!

We enjoyed the weekend celebrating the fact that Peter was starting a new job this week!  A new job wasn't part of the plans this year, but a good opportunity was presented to him, and after much thought and prayer we felt it was something worth pursuing.  Since it wasn't something we were really seeking out, it did come with some bittersweet feelings.  Having met all of Peter's coworkers in Ireland, he had a great bunch of people he was working with so I know that was hard for him. But I am sure glad I went with him on his last trip to Ireland!

We are excited for what is to come. This new job offers more opportunity for career growth and is a bit of a better fit putting him back on the track of work that he enjoys doing most.  And it is literally right next door to his old job so his commute will stay about as good as it can get.  We're excited for him to get started!

So back to the trip, we spent the night in the gorge and it was pouring down rain. Fortunately the next morning was gorgeous weather and the sun was shining on us!  We had fun doing "The Fruit Loop" of which we've shared pictures of several years in the past. As much as I enjoy touring it with the family, it was kind of fun to tour it just as a couple this year!  Unfortunately the farm that was the most fun for the kids closed down last season, so I'm not sure they would have enjoyed it anyway (How's that for justification?).

We left the apple valley with a trunk load of apples to make into sauce for the kids.  Then we decided to stop at Multnomah Falls on the way home.  This is someplace I have not stopped at in many years and we've never been there together as a couple.  It was a fun little stop. 

This next picture is of the view from the bridge.  This is as far up as we normally go.  But this time I really wanted to make it up to the top.  So up we went! 

To get to the top it is a nice little probably 1 1/2 mile hike.  My phone says it ended up being about 74 flights of stairs. so it was a nice little hike.  I think for tourists visiting the area, it is a perfect description of Oregon.  Almost anywhere in Oregon, you could find a hike like this.  Moss everywhere, trees, damp trails.  Pretty views. It just smells and feels like Oregon.  

And then we made it to the top!  It was kind of cool, even though we couldn't quite see over the edge ;)  I'm glad to say I've done it. And we'd love to stop in there again and do some of the other trails that lead to waterfalls in the area. 

There were some pretty little falls that lead to the big drop. 

It was a great weekend away together. We enjoy every minute of the time we get alone together as it is quite rare. We are excited for all that is to come and feel blessed for new opportunities!