Central Oregon Sun River

Nana and Opa took the family to Sun River just past Bend, OR. The house they rented for the week had six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and plenty of room to get away. The resort itself is huge. Nana and I got lost walked/ran for two hours before breaking down and asking Thom for directions out. The resort had two grocery stores, two pools, one very nice open air shopping plaza. There were bike trails everywhere, we went to the river, and then hiking up to the falls. Thom's favorite activity was riding his bike all over the complex with Chris. They took some serious jumps and of course Thom bit it. Huge road rash!

These are just a few pics I got of the house. The entry way in the background here.
This picture was taken from the living room it over looks the dining room table and into the kitchen.

We arrived late the first day, Hollie was not feeling well. We arrived just in time for dinner. After dinner Pat had brought over his rock band and everyone played.

We even talked Nana into singing. That will be something the girls remember forever.

Hollie and Nana really belting the song out!

Sun River Day 2

We went to the Museum our first full day in Sun River. The museum showed how the native Americans and first settlers lived in Central Oregon. They also had a few animal exhibits with a large Settler camp you could walk through.

Lauren, Maddy, and Hollie happy to pose for a picture.
Amelia and Anna posing for their picture.

The girls all enjoyed the large Cockroach that was crawling all over this guys hand. There is not enough money in the world!

Michelle's Ground Squirrel!The squirrels here are so use to humans that you could feed them.

Amelia and Anna at the Indian Camp.

Enjoying the Pool

Lauren and Maddy enjoyed the pool for a minute and then went to lay out in the sun.
Hollie I had to tear away from her book.

Amelia shows us how she floats on her back.

Hollie, Nana, and Opa relaxing.

Opa and Anna trying to keep Anna warm.

The Slide

Day three of vacation after golf we went to the South pool to cool down and relax. The pool had both a large and small waterslide. They also had a snack shack and a kiddie pool (the kids fav).

The little girls master the kiddie water slide quickly and set their sights on the adult water slide. The older girls swam for a very short time they chose to lay around and read magazines.
Melissa and Amelia

Anna insisted she go down by herself but she wouldn't slide fast enough. When she went with Maddy she truly enjoyed it. The kid is a thrill seeker.

Lauren and Maddy helping Amelia. Maddy had taken her down the water slide. Amelia liked it better with her mom because she went slower.

Michelle also sat at the base of the slide to help the kids.

Family Golf

Third day of vacation, the family went golfing!

We went to Lost Track Golf Course which was beautiful. I had the best game of my life and according to Opa so did Hollie. Of course my version of a great game is the fact that I did not double par the entire time. We divided up into groups Hollie claimed Nana and opa. Lauren, Maddy, Thom and I were together. Pat, Michelle, and Melissa took the last tee time. Chris and Sean took the little girls to the Lava Caves.

Wedding Anniversary

Shocking I did not have a picture with my eyes open! We had our fifth wedding anniversary in SunRiver. We went to the local bar had dinner and then took a walk. We have been together

13+ years and I still love the man. It was a wonderful night.

Foosball Champions

The home we stayed in at Sun River had a game room.

Thom and Hollie were difficult to beat! Melissa had a wicked spin that would always knock the ball in!

Great Books

Aimie has her website up for anyone who has kids that need books! I loved these books when the kids were little and have picked up some for the older kids too! Take a look........

http://www.usbornebooksandmore.com/?NewID=Y2381

High Quality Books

My 35th Birthday

Sunday I went over to a friends house for brunch, her home is so warm and inviting. I was able to relax and have a wonderful time, rare I know. Veronica on top of providing brunch bought a cake to celebrate my birthday. I have never felt so special.

The next day was my official 35th birthday. Thom the sweetheart and the kids planned a surprise party! I of course not knowing decided I didn't want to work on my birthday. I got out of work early and came home. According to Thom the kids freaked out through out the day as I challenged every plan he made. So he left to take the girls to Golf and I stayed home. I cleaned the house from top to bottom. I usually would be upset that this is how I spent my birthday but I have not had time in the last 3months. Thom finally got home around 2pm he helped clean up and I decided I did not need a cake. So I asked him if we could do something else. He had scheduled us for wine tasting at 5pm it was twenty minutes after five and we hadn't left yet. According to him we had dinner reservations at 6pm. I told him we needed to skip wine tasting and get dressed to go to dinner. Thom being the quick thinker said that the plan was to go wine tasting and pick out a nice wine for our upcoming anniversary. I of course ate that line right up. We went out wine tasting, picked out a great wine, and left to pick up the kids for dinner. I spent the drive trying to talk him out of picking up the kids. My thought was we were already late so we could get dinner ourselves and just bring something home for the kids. Thom said no we are picking up the kids so I called ahead to make sure they were dressed and out front. We pull up the kids are not out front! I try to send Thom in to get them but he made up some lame excuse why I have to come. I eventually bought it. I opened the door and there are the kids NOT dressed! They were excited and said you've got to come and see this. I am thinking that they did the dishes (whoopee). I came around the corner to find my wonderful friends all standing there.
My other partner in life, Aimie.
The best girls in the world Kris,Robbie, and Stacy.

They brought potluck style over, we ordered pizza. I had such a wonderful time! The guys did come over as well but I was so busy I did not get many pictures. This was my best birthday ever all my friends took time out of their schedule to come over. They all worked during the day, Robbie had not even gone home yet. Aimie spent all day with small children dragging them to appointments and then drove down from Seattle. I am so amazed at my husband most of all. We have been together 13+ years and I never thought he could surprise me. I am amazed at how thoughtful this all was. I am very lucky to have a husband who has listened to all my different requests over the years. I love him and the girls so very much.

New additions to the family

The puppies have been born and Nana/Opa have selected the newest members of our family.

No names yet, Lauren is hoping for the girl puppy to be named Sophie.
They are both cute but the chocolate one is my favorite.

Melissa's Pinning Ceremony

Melissa's pinning ceremony was beautiful. They had a gospel singer write/perform a song for the event. They gave the history of what it means to be pinned after completing nursing school. They had a slide show of what all the students have done over the last two years.

Above Melissa and her husband Chris. Below Chris and I pinning Melissa on stage. It was an honor to be asked to pin her.
So very excited that she has gotten through the hardest part and very proud. She has accepted a job at MaryBridge where I work. She is great with the kids.

Hollie First Babysitting Job

Hollie had her first babysitting job! It was for the neighbors next door. They have an eleven year old girl and no family around. Hollie of course was very excited she went over asked her parents all the right questions. She got their emergency contact numbers and asked what they expect of her. She was over their for five hours and made 40$. So proud of her.

Great Friends Kris and Mike

More Pictures from Camp

Lauren and Ali

Ali Lauren Kylee Olivia Kiana

Laurens First Camp

Lauren Attends Her First Overnight Camp!

This is a soccer camp located on Whidbey Island. They use old military barracks to house the campers, and they have large fields over looking the water. Lauren was very nervous. It started a few days before she left with stomach aches. Then Sunday before we left to take her to camp we had a melt down. I was proud that she was able to verbalize why she was upset. We packed everything or so it seemed. She needed 10 pairs of Soccer socks and then regular socks. Five pairs of soccer shorts, shirts, and then regular packing. The week before she was to go to camp we had a huge heat wave, so I did not pack a lot of warm clothes. We took a ferry to the Island and of course when we arrive on the island it is cool. When we arrive to camp it is really cool. So mom of the year again goes to me! Standing in line to check her in!

Her room at camp, boy those men were really small back then. The beds were barely long enough for Lauren. Below is the outside of the barracks.

She did have a great time.

Visit with Grandma Rizzo

The last week of July the kids went over to Yakima to visit with Grandma Rizzo. They look forward to spending time with Grandma. The girls spent four days shopping, going to the park, they saw two movies, and wonderful dinners. They got some back to school clothes, very nice of her. Hollie and Lauren said they had a wonderful time and can't wait to go over again.

Lauren's 12th Birthday

Lauren, My Baby turned 12 on July 26th at 5:41 p.m. ! I remember everything about the day she was born. Our first hug was right after she was delivered they put her on my stomach and I instinctively held her tight. She was warm, soft, and I couldn't have imagined how lucky I am as a mom.

First present was a bracelet and as she was opening the gift it fell below the deck. She was able to have Natalie with her for the family birthday. She and Natalie are so cute together. They have a lot in common.

Found Bracelet! Dad saves the day but Nana's Deck got it.

So the only picture I have from her friend birthday party is of her and Jessica. I forgot to bring out the camera (going for Mom of the year). Her friend birthday party was at the Country Club, we rented the outdoor pool and the banquet room next to it. She had several friends attend the party, unfortunately others were out of town but were missed dearly. Her favorite part was actually being thrown into the pool by all of her friends. I would have thought that would be her least favorite moment, shows how much I know. All the girls esp. Kenzie were showing off as they jumped into the pool. They ate pizza, candy, and soda. Jessica (soccer friend), Natalie (BFF), Lacy (Soccer friend), and Anna (soccer friend) all stayed the night.

Lake Mowich with Friends

Thom, the kids, and I headed up for the Mountains. Our trip started at Carbon River we found a wonderful spot where the water split creating a safe spot to cross. One of our favorite activities is to build a bridge and redirect water. We had been working on it for an hour when friends from Milton walked over. Pretty amazing, they spotted the Trailblazer which was parked off the road. Arica, Brad, and the kids had never been up to Lake Mowich so we all went up.
Thom and Lauren looking over the Lake. This Lake is crystal clear, beautiful, no motorized boats. There was still some snow around the Lake.

Pictured above is Mikki, Lauren, Aurora, Hollie, Illie by the snow bank as they are standing in glacier water.

Brad, Illie, Mikkie, Aurora, Arica posing for family picture.

Then they took a picture of us.Not our best picture but I love the background.

We headed down one of the trials, wishing we had the time and shoes to complete at least one trial. Next summer we are going to camp there, of course will need a lifetime supply of bug spray. I have never visited when there weren't a thousand bugs.

Hollie's Teen Leadership Camp

I had a great time, I went to camp with my friend Katie. I met another girl there her nickname was drama. The camp leader gave her that name, because she wanted to be named that. We slept on bunk beds with nine girls. My cabin leader was Jem also a nickname. At breakfast we could eat cereal, eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, and more. We got to spend time at the lake where I swam and laid out in the sun. I also got to ride a horse named Star, she was black. Star had a calm personality we rode through trees and over the trails. I enjoyed listening to the loud christian music over the bible study though. We saw a mad scientist who spoke to us about lightning. We played several games pool blaster, we went on go karts, we were going to do mini golf but the whole cabin said stay asleep longer or get up and do mini golf? We all voted to stay a sleep longer. I can not wait to go to camp a gain.