Sunriver (Thursday-Saturday)

Thursday:  Thursday morning we headed to the High Dessert Museum that had animals native to the area and the history of the high desert.  I love museums, so I knew it would be an enjoyable morning, but I think it exceeded everyones expectations.  There was something for every age and the time passed quickly.  

My little pioneers. 

No, Mason is not wearing a bonnet.  It's a hip do rag sort of thing (all the rage in the mid 1800s).  It has nothing to do with the fact that there were no more hats and he was the one most easily persuaded to not wear one.  

Grandma and Grandpa.

Practicing their penmanship on a chalkboard. 

     Right in the middle of the museum they had a cool playground with an eagles nest, fake rocks, and everything you need to pretend like you are a desert animals.  The kids loved it.

This exhibit taught about forest fires; Mason and Elliot pretended to be firefighters and put out the fires they saw in pictures. 

There were several outdoor exhibits including a little interactive farm where people were dressed up like pioneers and answered questions about what it was like to live on a farm in the 1800s.

There was a cabin that was a replica of a cabin that a family of seven lived in.  This was the parents' bed and then all five kids slept in a little loft area.  The whole thing was probably about 200 square feet.  I kept trying to picture the six of us living in it.

I wonder how long it would take before doing these chores for real would lose their novelty...I'm guessing about twenty minutes. 

    We also watched a reptile exhibit where we got to learn about and touch a snake and a turtle.  After the turtle was pulled out of the first tub, Elliot pointed to the next one and kept insisting that a tiger was going to come out of that one. 

Friday: 

      After booking our trip, we saw that the weekend we were leaving is a big sports festival weekend with several different races.  The adult races didn't work with our schedule (they were on Saturday and we had to be checked out that morning), but we were excited to see that there was a kids mini triathlon for ages 3-12 so we signed the three big kids up.

     The race was called the "Splash, Pedal, and Dash and consisted of a little water obstacle course, a short bike ride (1/2 mile for the younger ages, slightly longer for 10 and up), and a half mile run.  

     The race was in the late afternoon, so we biked down to the village in the morning to get packets, tshirts, numbers, etc.  The village was packed with vendors, samples, people, and free activities to do.   Music was being piped throughout and it was the perfect set up for a fun family morning.  Except for the heat.  It was in the high 90s and we were dying. We got the kids their race stuff, half heartedly looked at some of the vendor booths, and discovered free, not crowded bouncy houses.  The kids tore off their sandals and the little boys both started crying the moment their feet touched the surface of the bounce toys.  As I comforted a crying Elliot, I noticed I wasn't the only parent carrying a crying child away from the toys and realized why the toys were almost empty.  We bought everyone a snow cone and crowded into a spot of shade to eat them, and bought enough tickets for the big kids to do the bumper cars and the boys to ride a little train around the village and everyone was much happier (until we had to get back on the bikes and ride in the heat...)

     After some down time at the house, we headed back to the village for the race.  When we got to the starting area, we found that instead of meeting outside, a building was allowing all the kids and parents to wait in an air conditioned conference room instead because of the high temperatures.  There was some drama with our children when they had to separated into age order (Abby doesn't always love new situations and wants to know what to expect at all times), but we managed to get everyone where they needed to be.  Parents were allowed to help with the 3-4 year olds so Mike stayed with Mason and Elliot and I went to find a place on the course to watch (Grandpa and Grandma Ricks had found shade spots at the finish line).

     It was so much fun watching my kiddos run and they all said it was one of their favorite parts of the trip.  They got medals at the end and there was a whole post race area with water misting and free drinks for the participants.  When I told Mason how proud I was of him (he biked hard and  ran the whole half mile) he hesitantly told me, "Mommy, I only did it because I wanted the medal at the end." I think he thought I was disappointed that he didn't love the actual racing part.  Buddy, most adults are out there racing for the "medal" (or the feeling at the end of the race) also.  

Mason was the only child allowed to have a parent with him, yet he was the least nervous of the three.  He has his things that he is stubborn about, but I love his laid back attitude about a lot of life.  

 

 Abby (on left) getting ready to start.

 Mason warming up.

    The race ended half a mile from the water park and we were SO ready to jump in.  Unfortunately just as we got there, they closed it down because there was a danger of thunder and lightening storms.  We were disappointed and decided to stick around for a little while.  After about twenty minutes, they allowed those who had stayed in the indoor pool (the outdoor one never opened up again that day) and we swam for a little while before heading back to the house where Mike proceeded to bbq in the pouring down rain which was soon followed by thunder and lightening.  It was fun to be indoors watching the storm and it cooled everything off which was nice. 

 They were so excited about these medals.

Saturday: 

     Saturday it was time to pack up and go home.  We snapped a couple of pictures, said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and then hit up the village for a little bit to get some lunch and enjoy the festivities without the heat of the previous day (everyone had a much better time of the bouncy toys this time around).

      We stopped in Portland again and had dinner with the Stokers and arrived home late Saturday night.  We were sad to see the week end, but feel blessed to have had such an enjoyable time together and look forward to going again next year. 

 Despite how he looks in this picture, Elliot did a great job the week we were there.

     While we were on the hike, Mason and Carson were playing a game where they collected "chi" (from a Lego cartoon they watch) for energy.  The chi were pine cones which Mason carried in his sun hat. He was running all over the trail collecting the best and the biggest ones.  When we were packing up the car, Mike found the hat with the pine cones still inside and got a little emotional and had to snap a picture.  It may sound silly, but something about those pine cones stuffed in a sun hat captured perfectly the stage our little boy is at.  We know that in a year, he (and all the kids) will be older and perhaps not wanting to run around with pine cones in a sunhat and that can make a parent's heart a little sad.Of all the myriad feelings and emotions that accompanying being a parent, bittersweet has to be one of the most common.  Sometimes I wish I could just hit the pause button for a little bit and enjoy where we are for a little longer before moving onto the next stage.