Now or Never

last february, ben bought a 3 nite stay at the LIA benefit auction up by bend, oregon. after canceling twice and inviting a few different families and friends that didn't quite work out with our crazy winter-only vacation




schedule, we just went. the pass had to be used by next month. on thursday afternoon we left on our first, family vacation to sunriver, oregon to stay in a questionable condo with not much to do with little kids and a very pregnant mom except play in the snow. the ride there was not as bad as expected. it was over five hours long, but we read stories, ate trail mix, and stopped half way at burns and sacrificed our taste buds so the boys could play in the mcdonald's indoor playland and get a singing simon the chipmunk. we arrived after dark with a sleeping bentley, who finally gave in and a screaming bridon, who never gives in, only to drive around for an hour figuring out where to get the key. and the place; not nearly as bad as the pictures online made it look! it was so nice to have our own kitchen for cooking breakfast and dinner and a washer and dryer! the boys were so tired, we laid them down in in the bed together and they slept till morning all snuggled up together...not as lucky the other nites!

friday we got up and went to the high desert museum. it is full of fun exhibits for kids of paiute indians, pioneers, and live birds and animals. we saw a lynx, bobcat, several birds, and an owl first hand. bridon LOVES animals and bentley learned what a teepee is. we also found that one of the displays was actually from an obscure place in s-west idaho, silver city in owyhee county!:) after the museum, we went to downtown bend and saw lots of fun stores and treehuggers :) and ate at a wonderful thai restaurant i found in a food guide. it was delicious! by then it was time for naps and some relaxation - the condo featured cable tv just for ben's viewing pleasure! that afternoon, we figured we'd try out ice skating since the area was experiencing unseasonably warm temps and there was no snow. we got all suited up and even had a little pair of ice skates for bridon but when we hit the ice, the family melted down. nope ice skating is not for us, atleast not yet!
it was worth a try though! so, we went and made what any kid loves, baked spaghetti, played in the bubble bath, built a fire, and watched second hand lions as a family.

saturday, we went to the "slide house" that i saw online before we left. it is a big warehouse type building full of inflatable slides and jumping houses. both bentley and bridon had a blast! bentley was sweaty by the time he finished running and jumping and sliding and bridon couldn't stop laughing after flying to the bottom. by this time in our "cation" as bentley called it, i realized i needed a point and shoot instead of my big camera. oh well, there were many things i realized at this point about small children and a vacation...ok, let's call it a trip for mom and dad :), but we made the best of it and had a good time with our little family! we headed about twenty miles over to sisters, oregon to view the triple peaks and quaint town...but they were fogged in. so, we toured a few shops including a really cool quilt place and then enjoyed a great pizza parlor that had thin crust and yummy toppings. on the way back, both boys fell asleep, so we stopped in bend and ben went to the nike outlet to find some new shoes and a shirt. he also treated himself to a haircut (he usually buzzes his own hair and then i trim up the back)! we went for a walk when we got home and tried to see mt. bachelor which is a nearby ski resort, but there was too much fog. i think we did see the peak once while we there. that's ok, bentley loved going under the tunnel on our walk and getting in a snowball fight with dad.
that evening, ben set up a pregnancy massage for me at the ritzy spa there on the resort. he took the boys to the grocery store, airport, and the post office to mail our post cards while i worked out and then tried this whole, spa thing out. i was a little apprehensive, but in the end it was very relaxing. all the oils smelled so good and it was definitely a way to be pampered. i'm not totally sold on the idea, but it was cool to try out and ben was so thoughtful for doing it!

we thought 3 nites would be enough and it was (we DID know what we were getting into, it wasn't like we were shocked)! this morning we got up and had breakfast, packed, and made it to the high desert ward in bend before exiting on our LONG journey home. bentley was very devastated that we wouldn't be staying for sunbeams. we wore our church clothes all the way (call us crazy) and listened to tennis shoes among the nephites on cd. this was a little rougher ride, but we made it! road tripping will no longer be all the fun of college and single years that it once was :)! cheers to our first, family vacation! we were blessed to have this opportunity to get to spend together while our neighbors back at home were not so fortunate!