Well, we did it! Many thanks to Joel’s family, especially Joel’s Mom “Grammy,” we pulled off a 5-night stay in a VRBO house in Sunriver in Central Oregon. Quite a few months ago we’d made a reservation hoping that we’d be up for a multi-night trip away from home with both kiddos by this time.
Our biggest concern in the days leading up to the trip was actually not our family status but the air quality. Smoke has been a major air quality problem because of the tremendous number of forest fires in Oregon with the unusually hot and dry weather conditions from this summer. We did encounter some smoke, but overall we did OK and the smoke didn’t slow us down much.
Our favorite part of staying in Sunriver was SHARC, the aquatic center. Joshua enjoyed the kiddie pool:
Elliott had some time in the pool too!
During afternoon nap times, Kristen and Joel had some time on the lazy river without kiddos. Thanks, Grammy!
We also enjoyed a nice, clear evening at the Sunriver Observatory and saw some beautiful views of the night sky. A favorite for everyone was seeing Saturn (and its rings) clearly through several of the telescopes. Joel also really appreciated seeing the Andromeda Galaxy in one of the larger telescopes.
Joel took a few night sky pictures as well with his camera.
On particularly special moment for Joshua came when we took a walk to the Sunriver Fire Station, and he ended up getting a personalized tour! He got to sit in at least three different fire trucks, turn on the lights, and get a firefighter sticker and hat.
Another special moment for Joshua was getting to play in the bounce houses at the Sunriver Village. One of them was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse-themed, which was definitely his favorite!
We hope to do something like this again next summer!
The Meyers 