We made a visit or two to Fort Rock Park. Ben engaged in quite the photo shoot (this is just one of many photos from the session).
Eliza and Ben in coordinated play:
Monkey see ....
Monkey do:
Just hangin' out:
Cute baby! Blake is such the conversation piece.
Poor Jeff left for the trip with the makings of a cold and within a day or so had a full blown sinus infection. Monday he retrieved antibiotics and other medical treasures and by Wednesday was feeling a little perkier. Bummer to feel so icky while in beautiful Sunriver, but he was a trooper and somehow we all still had a good time.
Again this year our kids all loved the 9 hole putting course at Meadows. Ethan wanted to blast through as fast as possible, Ben wanted to do everything "just so" and Eliza just wanted to be a part of it all. I loved the scenery and the happy (?) togetherness.
Paper mache mess with Grandma
Ben still stuck with the little slide, even though he was technically too tall.
Ethan enjoyed the bigger slide. There are plans to expand the South Pool into a bigger water-play area in the next few years. We look forward to it!
It was tandem bike year for Ben - too big for the trail-a-bike but not safe on his own yet - and I must say, I LOVED it! I thought riding the tandem with Ben was easier than riding my bike by myself. And Ben LOVED it also. Anything unique and he's in!
Ben did get a chance to practice his two-wheeler riding skills, but only in a contained environment. Hopefully next year we can trust him to ride on the trails independently - stopping at stop signs, yielding to cars, staying with the group, etc. It's hard to fathom since he can't even do that on foot, but so much changes in a year that we have hope!
All of the kids beg for time in the bounce house zone. I love this of the Sorensen boys.
Proxy Falls! After noting that our favorite nature photographer (Rodney Lough) said Proxy Falls was on his "get to it, before you die" list, and that it was just a couple hours from Sunriver, we determined to make a day trip to find it. And indeed, it was an easy hike to a breathtaking view. Seriously, I really did gasp when I saw it. Hiking in:
Proxy Falls:
Some of the breathtaking beauty was due to the stark contrast in the terrain of the hike vs. the terrain of the drive to get there. Here's the lava flow wasteland we drove through, framed by the majestic 3 Sisters mountains.
Our family members are the spots of color hiking to the top of the lookout (which sported creatively crafted views of the surrounding peaks).
I've seen this face so many times, I'm glad it got caught on camera. Usually it's with a pencil (during homework time) or a fork (at dinnertime). This time it's a stick. A stick that we still have, by the way.
It was a long drive to Proxy Falls and back, but we enjoyed such remarkable beauty there and back that the memories are good. We stopped for delicious pizza on the way home which Ethan barfed up all over the bathroom that night. Car sick, I guess. It was one of the (many) moments when I thought I needed a vacation from vacation.It seems Minute-to-Win-It was the popular activity for family reunions this year. Our family enjoyed every minute ... to win it ...
The annual river float - it's what every kid wants to do every year, and every adult has to endure. But somehow, in retrospect, everyone loves the memory. Blake is too little for a river trip, so Jeff took the first half and I the second. It made the trip the perfect length for each of us!Note Ben's very happy face and Maddie's very skeeter-eaten shoulder:
Sophie on the rope swing. Jeff was the last to use it from our group. When he let go, the bungee rope snapped back and got caught way up in the tree. He got a raucous boo from a group of approaching rafters.
Grandma Joan brought her homemade marshmallow shooters for an afternoon of fun. She made an admirable effort to encourage shooting at targets and not at people. Ammunition Depot:
Ready, aim, fire!
This is what Blake opted to do during the shootout:
Jeff was finally feeling better so we took an outing to the driving range and hit a couple buckets of balls.
We tried to be incognito as there were some serious golfers there. In case you haven't noticed, our family is not-so-good at incognito, but I think we managed okay. The full Eliza meltdown happened at the exit so that was good enough timing. We shipped her home and she was asleep in minutes.
Our last day at Sunriver was the annual Quilt Show. There were two quilts that I loved enough to take photos of. This one I'd have bought if it were for sale, instead I will (someday) attempt to replicate it from the photos:
This quilt was a true work of art. A-maz-ing.
Here's a picture of me, my siblings and my mom. Once we were small, and now we are tall and have small ones of our own. I can't help but think how much my dad would loooooove being in Sunriver with us all. Perhaps he was there ....
The kids wanted to pose with their favorite things: Ben his blankie, Ethan his lego hero, Eliza her new puppy.
And once again, we ask Maddie, should we come back to Sunriver next year?
It's already booked! See you in July 2011!
1 comment:
Fun pictures Jennie! Makes me want to go. The waterfall was AMAZING! Need to put that on my bucket list.
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