Sunriver 2016!

We left for Sun River the Saturday after the Fourth of July this year, about a week later than last year on July 9th and stayed a whole week this year until the following Saturday July 16th.  We were a bit nervous because the weather was cooler than normal but it was sunny and clear the whole time except for the first day we were there and the sun is very hot and direct there so the weather turned out being perfect!  We went on the trip all by ourselves this year with no family members visiting us and it turned out be really fun just to have time with our family and have our own schedule and agendas.

We arrived at Sun River on Saturday with some cranky and hungry kids so we stopped in Bend at one of our favorite restaurant/breweries-Worthy Brewery.  They have really good crafted beer there (like many of the restaurants in Bend) and really good pizza.  Olivia loved her cheese pizza there and was so hungry she scarfed her entire pizza down!  They also have a fun outdoor area where the kids can play.  After dinner, we got to our house and unpacked the car and then hit the hot tub before bed!  We loved our house this year.  It was on the North side of Sun River which is a bit further from the village but quieter and more private out there.  We were at the end of a cul-da-sac  which a nice long street into the main street with little traffic so the kids could ride their bikes with no problems.  We were also only about 3/4 mile bike from Fort Rock park which is always a hit for the kids and the house came with bikes, a kayak, and a bike trailer!  We brought the kids bikes from home which was fun for them but it was nice to not have to rent any bikes for Sean and I this year.  The house was also nicely laid out with the master bedroom on the upstairs level with the main living area, dining area and kitchen and then the kids bedrooms and another bedroom with a  queen bedroom was on the bottom level along with the garage and a laundry room.  The house also backed into a private wooded area and had a lot of land around it and a lawn.  It had 3 decks which was really nice to be able to sit out and enjoy coffee in the morning.  Most importantly it had a nice large hot tub that we enjoyed every day.

Dinner at Worthy's and beer tasting tray #1 of the trip

Sun River hot tub time once we got to our house!

Hot tub on the first night

Snuggling with Daddy before bed

The first morning we went into the  Sun River Village to get some coffee and donuts for breakfast since we did not have any food in the house yet.  We then headed into Bend to get food for the week at Fred Meyer's.  We came back and then Sean put together Olivia's toddler bike she got for her birthday-a pink princess bike.  Olivia took to riding her bike like a champ and had a lot of fun!  Sean made a really good dinner for us for the first night with steak, bread, and salad on our deck.  The next day we had a fun bike ride to Fort Rock Park with her My Little Ponies in tow.  We spent the afternoon at the SHARC pool.  Olivia loved the baby pool area with the sand Brandon had a blast playing in the entire SHARC area and was tall enough to go on all the slides this year (just barely).  He especially loved going through the log rope area.  Brandon was such a better swimmer this year with his additional swimming lessons and so much more comfortable in the water this year.  Olivia was a fearless little fish in the water and we had to keep our eyes on her!  That night we went out to dinner at Sun River Brewery and had some good food and good locally brewed beer samples.

Donut tasting fun!

Yum sprinkles on the chocolate bear claw donut

Hot tubbing with my kiddos

Daddy building Olivia's princess bike she got for her birthday

Riding her new bike!

Riding with big brother 

Riding her princess bike with her ponies in it

Yum-Filet Mignon, salad, bread, and Sokol Blosser wine for our first dinner

Brandon and Daddy riding together in the neighborhood

Riding to Fort Rock Park

This girl has wheels and can get places!

Swinging at Fort Rock park

Playing at the playground at Fort Rock park

Going down the slide at Fort Rock park

Teeter totter 

More fun at Fort Rock park

Live made it back the 1 mile bike ride home

Riding her bike on the way home from Fort Rock park

She is a pro riding her hike

SHARC pool fun!

Swimming in the toddler pool 

Heading to the big pool

Going down the slide

Olivia loving swimming

Swimming in the little toddler pool

Having so much fun splashing around the toddler pool

Swimming in the big pool with Daddy

All tuckered out with her Minnie blanket

The third day we woke up to it being cloudy and went into Bend to the Pirate Park (one of the kids favorites) and then to Atlas Cider house (one of mom and dad's favorites).  Brandon and Sean had a lot of fun looking for Pokémon at the Pirate Park as the Pokémon Go app just came out right before we left for our trip.  We saw some beautiful views of the Deschutes River as the Pirate Park runs along it.  After our outing to Bend we came back and went to a really neat hike that my friend who lives in Bend recommended-Lava Cast Forest trail.  The trial was only a mile and looped around.  The kids loved it!  It was a dusty dirt road to get up there but the views of the volcanic rock were amazing.  The kids loved reading about the different stuff we saw on the trail.  Olivia started off on Sean's back in the hiking back pack which she liked, but then wanted to get out and walked most of the hike.  The kids liked looking for the Pikas (these cute little squirrel looking things that lived amongst the lava rocks).  They also liked going into the little lava caves and exploring them.  We came back from our adventurous hike and went into the hot tub and enjoyed popsicles in the hot tub (one of our favorite things to do!).  Sean made a mean plate of nachos for us for dinner!  We ate outside which was so fun and the kids went to bed super early because no nap and lots of exercise! 

Columbia Park bridge over the Deschutes river

Beautiful scene of the Deschutes River

Walking along the Deschutes River

Daddy and Liv time walking along the Deschutes River

Brandon at the Pirate Park

Still loving the Pirate Park

Atlas Cider tasting tray #2

Our Sun River house

All ready to go on our hike

Hiking at Lava Cast Forest 

Sean with Olivia on his back on the hike

My family hiking Lava Cast Forest

Such a fun hike

Looking in the tree holes

Brandon at Lava Cast Forest

Looking at the flowers growing amongst the lava

Olivia in front of Lava Cast Forest

Love these two!

Standing under a big tree stump

Brandon and Liv under the tree stump

Brandon next to the tree stump

Brandon and Olivia at Lava Cast Forest

Brandon took this picture of us

Walking along the hike

Beautiful day with my family 

In one of the casts-photo shoot

Popsicles in the hot tub after the hike

Nacho making Sean!

Eating dinner out on the porch

Sean's mean Nacho plate!

The fourth day we spent the entire day in Sun River enjoying going to the SHARC pool twice.  I went jogging around Sun River which was fun with all the paths.  The weather was hot and in the low 80s.  The kids loved going to the SHARC pool.  We spent the fifth day playing at the SHARC pool and then took a break in the late afternoon for some ice cream at Goody's at the Village (yum!) and a ride on the train around Sun River, which the kids still loved.  Our last day we took a ride over to the Goody's and I let the kids pick out some candy for a treat.  We headed to the SHARC and spent most of the afternoon there and then took a quick break where I began packing up to leave and did laundry (made the great decision to clean all the clothes this year and pack up clean to make the unpacking process way easier).   We met my friend from elementary school Kelsey who lives in Bend at the SHARC pool.  Kelsey has two girls who are close in age to our kiddos.  The kids played really well together and enjoyed the hot tub and pizza while the adults enjoyed some wine together. 

Playing in the sand at the SHARC 

Playing mermaids in the little pool

Making her "long hair"

Going across the log rope

Daddy watching Brandon cross the ropes

Jumping off the ropes to Dad

Riding Daddy's back

Hanging out at the front of the village

Watch out mom when I get moody! 

Ice-cream at Goody's

Eating ice-cream

Train riding in the Village

She loved it!

Big brother liked it too! 

Hi Mom and Dad!

Candy stop at Goody's

 

SHARC pool fun with Daddy

Daddy was so fun to play with in the pool-they loved climbing his back

Daddy jungle gym

We packed up (always quite an ordeal after a week at one place) and left Saturday morning.  We stopped off at Deschutes brewery on our way back for lunch and had one last beer sampler (we love Bend's craft beers).  After a long car ride home, we made it home and unpacked.  It was such a fun trip!  So much fun in fact that we booked another trip for next year (2017) at the same house!  We are so excited to come back next year. 

Last beer sampler at Deschutes Brewery