The Eagan-Heffernan Chronicles

Hawaii!

We went to the North Shore of O'ahu, Hawaii for 10 days in October. We stayed in Hale'iwa and had a great time. A laid back blog post in honor of the laid back Hawaii vibe -- just photos.

Both my dad and Ryan's parents did trips to Seattle this fall. It is always so great to see family and Owen is at that age where grandparents are the most exciting people ever.

With Grandpa Gary we had many adventures. Parks, and hikes, and fun times (oh my!). The Heffernan's visit was also excellent and fell during the annual Harvest Party at Oxbow Farm (best organic produce in the northwest!), where Owen got to pick his Halloween pumpkins and walk in the children's parade. Fun times!

ALSO! We found out that we are having a baby girl in September. We are so excited.

Below is a quick little picture re-cap:

Visit with Grandpa Gary

Visit with the Heffernans

Camping!

Last weekend Ryan and I took Owen and Gus camping at Mt. Rainer National Forest. Overall, we had a great time despite the perpetual torrential downpour that began a mere minutes after we arrived.

The wet Eagan-Heffernan crew at the end of the trip.

Before we headed toward the mountains, we broke down and bought a car camping 6-person tent. It is freaking huge. It's not even the Cadillac of tents, it's the Hummer of tents, but it beats trying to cram our growing family in our 4-person mountaineering tent.

The Tent

We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and did some exploring. Owen loved it, as always, and we wish it weren't the end of the good weather season here in the Pacific Northwest! No more camping in the rain this year I say!

Happy Birthday Baby Cash!

Lake Quinault

Last weekend we headed up to Lake Quinault with my mom to celebrate her birthday. We had a great time hiking and swimming in the lake. Owen took to lake swimming like a fish to water despite the fact that the water was brrrrrr. freezing. ass. cold. We had such an amazing time relaxing and chatting and playing. All in all a perfect weekend!

Lake Quinault is a nostalgic place for me as I spent time over many summers there as a young girl. When my mom and I flew to Seattle and drove over to the lake for our pioneering journey to the peninsula it was the first time that I had ever seen a clear-cut section of forest. I remember it being so impactful to me as a young girl (I think I was around 12 at the time), and I realized on our drive this weekend how stirring the image still is.

It was totally news to me, but there is a lot going on politically when it comes to the Olympic National Forest. Not sure if people have heard about the Wild Olympics Campaign and/or its opponent the Working Wild Olympics Campaign. I won't bore you with the details here, but if you're connected to and love the Olympic wilderness, it's worth a little investigating.

Also, as an aside, three cheers for going someplace without cell reception!!!

We Are Family!

We've had some great visits from family this last month here at the Eagan-Heffernan household. First, Owen's cousin Annie came up to Seattle for a long weekend and took in some of the sights. Owen was beside himself pretty much the whole time she was here, and when we took her to the airport he asked what one of her siblings we were picking up at the airport to take her place. Needless to say he was a little devastated that we only dropped her off.

Annie and Owen!

Annie and I at the Experience Music Project. (Photo by Aimee)

After his visit with Annie, Owen got a lot of love time from his Aunties Emilie and Hannah and their one-year-old Arlo. It was the first time Owen had met Arlo, and he loved, loved, loved him. We were pleased that Ms. Irene was hitting the east coast because Emilie and Hannah got to extend their stay for an extra four days. We win!