We all have a small obsession with my brother's son, Hudson. He's so cute! Conor hadn't met him in the flesh until this trip - crazy right?! We loved loving him! It was so much fun making him laugh and tickling him. And it was always sad when it was one of his naptimes. We got a hoot out of his funny faces and sweet noises. I wish I could see Hudson a lot more. I sure do love that little guy!

I took a lot of photos while we were in Yahk! I won't share them all here - I plan on compiling the photos into a book though. One of the first days we were there, we went to play in the river before the rain came. My girls were crazy about the blow-up dragon. It was my sister's and was originally purchased something like 10 years ago. The river was nippy, but the girls were still happy to float around!

We've been home for almost a week from our trip North, and I feel like I'm still trying to process it. The fact that we're in full pack mode doesn't help. It was a beautiful trip. Full of early mornings, sun, beaches and family. I feel like I learned a lot.

I just finished the photos I took (there are so many!) and I feel so grateful for these photos. I often find it hard to live in the moment because I'm stressing over one thing or another. Sometimes I can let go and take it all in and those moments are precious. Photos allow me to go back, remember and savor. Looking back at this trip is bittersweet. So much fun playing with family and being outdoors. And now we're back to our completely urban life with no nearby family. And we have two little girls who really miss their family. Holly is old enough to begin to understand and she is sensitive about it. It's heartbreaking. 

So while I still process and sort and cherish, here are two photos of my beauties on the beach. To me, Holly and Greta are the most gorgeous creatures on this earth and I'm still in awe that my body created them. They are beautiful on the inside and the outside. And I adore them.

We did as much as we could with our two littles in Portland as we could. We went to the World Forestry Center, visited Powell's Books (could've spent days in there!), and we ate. I wish we could've fit in more, but Greta needed a nap, and there were bedtimes, etc. Hopefully we'll go back to Portland soon. One funny thing we noticed was that we kept returning to the Pearl District. Most of what we wanted to see/do/eat seemed to be there! I would love to look at all the shops (very difficult to do with small, tactile children). Portland is a beautiful city. I left enamoured and wanting more! 

Our last stop, was the Portland temple. It was closed for some big renos, but I'm glad we stopped. It's a beautiful temple! I love the geometric pattern on it's spires. So inspiring!