The fact that it is already October 2021 is a fact that my brain cannot comprehend. You’re telling me we are almost 19 months into this pandemic?! I don’t believe you. One of these days, I’ll have to face the reality that we are almost to 2022. While this year has flown by, a lot has happened throughout the months.
We loved the snow and are so grateful that we have a great driveway to sled down.
One of our favorite activities as a family this year has been watching the hummingbirds. We are now up to four feeders and we are hopeful one day they will stop fighting and just share already!
We watched some beautiful sunsets.
In March, we took our first real vacation in a very long time. We headed to Lincoln City and got to take the kids to the aquarium for the first time. The weather wasn’t the best, but we were all so happy to be out of our house. And the kids loved the stairs in the house we rented!
While my photo club continued to have monthly meetings, field trips were hit or miss. I couldn’t make it to several, and sometimes I would be the only one to show up. One that I didn’t mind was a trip to Catherine Creek. I had the trail to myself and it was a gorgeous April morning.
In the spring, Enzo and Gemma celebrated 3 1/2 and 7 1/2 respectively.
In May, my husband and I celebrated five years of marriage. Our venue is spectacular and allowed us to come take some anniversary pictures. We spent a beautiful evening at the lake recreating some of my favorite wedding pictures.
The summer flew by and before I knew it, both my kids were starting school. Gemma is in 2nd grade this year and Enzo started his first year of preschool. It was bittersweet sending them off after 18 months of being together every day.
In September, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Casey. She was a rescue that my parents adopted after our puppy was hit by a car. She filled a huge whole in our hearts and truly rescued us.
My husband has been working weekends and lots of overtime since last October so when he got an unexpected Sunday off over Labor Day weekend, we jumped at the chance to head up to Lost Lake. We had a picnic, rented a boat, and caught salamanders in the water. I’m glad we’ve made this a yearly tradition.
September is a busy month for us filled with back to school, birthdays, and anniversaries. Gemma and I have birthdays one day apart, and her birthday also happens to be my parents’ wedding anniversary. While Gemma celebrated eight years, my parents’ would have celebrated 50 years. And at the end of the month, Tony and I celebrated 12 years together.
We closed out September with another trip to the beach, Seaside this time. The weather was amazing when we arrived on Friday and we spent the whole early evening on the beach. We caught a few sand fleas and chased the waves. Saturday morning was foggy and cold, but it burned off by the afternoon and we had another beautiful afternoon by the water.
While the holiday season will always be hard without my dad, I’m looking forward to my favorite time of the year. Expect some gorgeous fall pictures hitting this space soon!