A Minute With Us: Something Special

October 2025 will be one to look back on as something special for sure. It is undoubtedly our favorite time of year at home, the cool weather, the crisp feel of the air, having moved into a good routine and no longer mourning the freedom of summer. We got to take a little break from the school schedule for a day or two and attend Gage and Ashleigh's wedding in Colorado. Really, only Katelee and I went.

We stayed in a nearby hotel and met everyone the morning of the ceremony on a beautiful fall morning in a stunning garden.

It was so fun to see Haley and Devin and Brad and Angelique and especially the bride and groom!!!

Everything turned out lovely and we had a fun dance party afterwards. My zumba classes are paying off-I had some secret moves no one knew about and probably hope to never see again. We are so excited for the newlyweds and were happy to spend time with fam. After the ceremony and reception, we parted ways so Katelee to meet up with a friend from her HXP trip to Tonga.

She had a great time until they were longboarding behind a car and her friend fell and got super hurt. He brought Katelee back to the hotel (a friend of his driving) and the next day following up with the x-rays of his broken clavicle.

The month continued on with seasonal delights-our annual walk about at the Witches, which has dwindled to 3 of us attending this year.

One day it will be just me and I will still have a fabulous time. But, we are loving these days while they last.

The highlight of the month was our fall break trip. I have been longing to go to the Oregon Coast for ages and I got my wish this year. Katelee had her opt out of vacation last time with South Dakota, so she was required to attend...luckily it was a destination no one would refuse.

We flew into Portland and drove to an AirBnB in Depoe Bay. It was a little condo off the ocean with a little hot tub outlooking the crashing waves.

We spent each freezing evening in the warm tub watching/listening to the ocean.

It was fabulous. I did wake up one night scared we were being attacked-the wind and waves were so violent with a storm, but I guess that's part of the experience!

The first day we explored a few beaches, went in the tide pools-seeing starfish and anenomes, looking for sea lions.

One of our stops was Secret Beach- see that little tiny carved out doorway in the rock? We entered one side and came out to a pretty isolated area.

We hit up the Tillamook Cheese Factory, a destination I fondly remembered from a childhood excursion. These guys sampled the fresh ice cream while I blissfully chomped on my cheese curds. It was delightful. A bigger smile was brought to our faces when we passed the local high school advertising their Friday Night Lights- go Tillamook Cheese Makers! hahahaha

Our drive was to the north this day all the way to the iconic Canon Beach where we had a photo shoot.

Lets be honest...with these two gals, every place was a photo shoot.. Take one here, take one like this,

usually including someone saying, 'mom can you just be real.' or 'mom, just have a normal face.' The struggle is real for me, I just can't take these posing sessions seriously.

After a good nights rest, we headed out to hike God's Thumb. Caleb had told us it is one of his favorite hikes of all time, but there is a short cut in getting there that would cut the hike by at least an hour.

We thought we had the directions down, but alas, we did not. It was a long hike but it was totally worth it-even when Harrison thought he would perish because we were rationing water, even when Dave squealed 'sssssss SNAKE' for the little guy across our path. We didn't want to point out the ones in the grasses as we scaled up the hill.

The route there was lush and beautiful but the top was absolutely stunning.

We saw a bald eagle soaring, deer frolicking, it was like we were literally at the end of the world.

Pictures don't do justice, but it was pure magic. It was a big hike and it tuckered some of us right out.

Dave got a good little snooze while the girls did some thrifting.

We had two sunny/warmish days and then the storms came drizzling in, which we actually helped us get the full Pacific Northwest vibe. It drizzled while we explored Devil's Churn...

but that was nothing, compared to the spray Brenna was caught off guard with.

She was busy...you know..posing.

We drove to Heceta Head lighthouse and trudged up through the rain to the building. Across the way is a cool bridge as well. We were loving the whole feel.

One of my favorite stops was the hike to Hobbit's Beach. It was a short walk through the forest to this incredible beach.

We were the only ones there for awhile (so plenty of photos sessions commenced)

as did exploring and standing in awe of the nature around us.

After we were all feeling pretty soggy, we went back to the condo to dry off and play games where things got heated and I had to take a time out. But don't worry, things got back on track the next day. It was really pouring the next day, so it worked out that we were going to see the Aquarium.

We thought...but it is mostly outside and we thought it was meh.

Especially when we got to see sea life au natural just down the road...

These guys were going crazy. We had the best time watching them fight for space on the planks. They were yelling and squirming and the stinkiest things, but we loved every minute.

It really was the best trip. We are so blessed to live in such an incredible world- to get to see things that are spectacular and don't even feel real because their beauty takes your breath away. But, we had to wrap up and get back to real life so we could participate in all the Halloween fun.

Harrison was supposed to pick out a costume while Katelee and I were in Colorado, which he did. Katelee got a text from a friend who worked at the Halloween store saying 'your family just came in to buy a costume. Bro wants to be skibidi toilet.' Words we never expected. We kind of game him a hard time and were laughing so it was up in the air if the kid would actually get into his costume. He happily did for his school parade, but trick or treating took tears and bribery. Well, it is a costume we will never forget...