Visiting Family in Central Oregon

We enjoyed the most wonderful visit with Isaac’s sister, Rachel, and her family at their beautiful new home in Redmond last month! There was lots of quality family time (the girls were literally playing from the minute their eyes opened in the morning to the minute their heads hit their pillows at night), and plenty of exploring around Central Oregon.

We spent one stunning evening biking around Sunriver. Isla and I shared a tandem bicycle and we LOVED it! Cole was happy as a clam, perched in his bike trailer- so happy in fact, we have already purchased one at home! We followed up the ride with a tasty dinner at a food cart pod in Bend, and then went for a well-deserved ice cream at another food cart pod. There is no shortage of good food when we are together!

Biking was definitely a theme during our weekend, and Isla spent lots of time practicing her skills on Mia’s little bike in their cul-de-sac.

Isla Grace Marshall, critter whisperer. She was absolutely thrilled to see her first real-life praying mantis, and patiently coaxed it onto her hand. I absolutely love how fascinated Isla is with the natural world! Her curious spirit drives everything she does. She loves every creature she comes into contact with, and wants nothing more than to befriend each and every one of them.

We ventured over to Smith Rock on our last evening to take some family photos of the vanBaggen family to commemorate all of the exciting milestones (new city, new home, new jobs, new pup!) they had been experiencing in the past month. It was a perfect evening, and everyone was absolutely captivated by the breathtaking landscape.

We are so grateful for our happy family time in Redmond, and cannot wait to return for another weekend of adventures together in November! I’m wondering how much we’ll need to bundle up for those bike rides…