Swamp Crack.

While in Louisiana, Steve and I went on an airboat ride through the swamps in search of gators. Little did we know, we came at the perfect time, because the day we went was the day before alligator hunting season started. Which means the gator were plentiful!

Can't say that we have this in California....

Notice the lack of insects buzzing around? We expected there to be bugs everywhere, but we only saw dragonflies.

Billy keeping his distance.

Nom nom nom.

Whenever someone found a gator (usually Steve), our tour guide would stop the airboat and pull up right next to it so we could get a closer look.

[SOMEONE IN THE BOAT]: "What are you throwing at them?"

[GUIDE]: "Marshmallows."

[SOMEONE]: "......Marshmallows?"

[GUIDE]: " Yeah. Everything in the swamp eats marshmallows. That's why we call it swamp crack."

RibbFest

DISCLAIMER: I stole all these photos from Iris' Facebook. :P

The last week of August was a busy one for Steve and me. We started off with a drive down to Sac to visit our friend Korea (and eat at Gunther's Ice Cream, delicious), spent the night, then woke up early to get to So Cal in time for RibbFest/friends reunion.

The proper way to drink beer during RibbFest

Rib toast

Reunited with our college friends for a pre-RibbFest soccer match

Nomming with Lindsey, one of the RibbFest hosts

The bone pile

In short: we played some soccer, swam a little bit, ate lots of ribs, drank lots of beer, and hung out with lots of friends. The following day found us at an awesome gourmet bratwurst place in Orange County with Greek Matt and Jessica for brunch and at the movies + Dave & Buster's for a double date with Steve's brother David and his girlfriend Jackie before heading out to see Steve's mom that evening.

The following day (Monday morning), we hopped on a plane heading out to The Big Easy - New Orleans, Louisiana!

Beertown USA

This post has been a long time coming, since we visited Bend back at the beginning of August.

Bend, Oregon has the most breweries per capita than anywhere else in the United States - approximately one for every 9,000 people. I also happen to have an aunt who lives there, and the girls soccer team that Steve and I coach happened to have a soccer tournament there at the beginning of August. So, Beertown USA, here we come! (Or came, since that was over a month ago.)

Our girls were put in the Gold division at the tournament, and unfortunately did not move on to the championship game. But they played hard, scored some goals, and have definitely improved from the first tournament back in May - so we are very much looking forward to the rest of the season. (More on coaching in another post, I promise.)

Since I've got a lot of catching up to do on this blog, here's our Bend trip in pictures:

Look at all the pretty colors!

Chickens at my aunt's house :D

Billy relaxing on my aunt's back porch during the sunset.

Since my aunt lives in the boonies, with beautifully clear skies and absolute quiet, I wanted to see the sunrise. So Steve and I got up at 6am, only to find too many clouds to really see it. Oh well...

Brew Werks was probably my favorite of the 7 breweries we visited in the four days we were up there.

Billy wanted to come rafting with us. Despite his little plastic bag poncho and my semi-waterproof shirt, he still got soaked! The first time he's had a bath... ever. :P

                      

We went rafting on the Deschutes River - Before picture of Steve and my aunt Leslie.

Before picture of my dad and me. Neither of us had ever been rafting before.

About five minutes after we set out, it started HAILING.

The raft behind us.

After picture of Steve and Aunt Leslie - soaked to the bone.

After picture of my dad and me. A wave knocked me off my seat! Luckily I ended up in the middle of the raft two people back, instead of in the river.... (Also, my waterproof camera had water on the lens, which is why my dad's face is blurry - he is not a ghost, I promise.)

Billy met some friends while strolling along the banks of the Deschutes as it ran through the town.

There was a car show going on downtown while we were there.

In case you can't tell: this police car has been turned into A GIANT BARBEQUE! They are grilling in the front, smoking meat in the middle, and adding wood in the trunk.

And yet more beer.