I feel like I'm always saying that things are our favorite. It may be true that we have too many favorites, but Black Butte Ranch is one of those favorites. Every year on the week of Alex's birthday we travel out near Sisters, OR, to play with cousins and family and just relax for a week in one of the most beautiful places I know.
The kids helped me prep for the trip by wrapping Alex's birthday presents. O wrote the words and Carter drew a picture of him and Alex jumping on the trampoline on each one :).
I love these pictures of the kids each time we travel. Some days are earlier and tired-er looking than others, but this was one they could get behind. We didn't wake them up early, and they knew they would be swimming before dinner, so there was nothing to be grumpy about.
Thanks to one missed turne and a reroute from Google Maps, we spent a couple miles on this almost-road north of Pullman. We almost turned around a few times when actual plants were growing in the middle of the road, but we were rewarded with beautiful scenery on the first few miles of our drive ;)
The kids insist on using their pillows on long drives. Doesn't this look comfortable?
After 6ish hours and some more gravel roads (technically a 'shortcut' in Oregon from one highway to the next...thanks Google!) we arrived at Black Butte. The kids were immediately ready for the pool, so I was glad for all the help in getting unloaded and into swimsuits!
Most of my pictures of Olivia are just of her feet or bum as she dives underwater. She has always been a little fish, and this year her skill level has finally caught up to her confidence, so she was a lot of fun to watch in the pool all the time.
We didn't stay up too late on Saturday, but in the morning we got to swim early then go meet baby Mila! My little baby-hog got right in on the action, of course :)
After getting back, Alex took the big kids back to the pool for a while, and Makenzie opted for a walk with Hunter, Ashley, Grandma and me. By the end she had found most of the items on her walk bingo, but was beyond tired :) She barely made it back before crashing in bed
On Monday we took Hunter in to Sisters for a little shopping and exploring, and left the older kids with everyone else to play. Alex and I had this picture of bringing a baby on a date and having some us time, but Hunter is less of a baby and more a toddler these days, so he was a handful all by himself. We did go to breakfast and browse a little in the shops before heading back mid-morning.
When we got back it was clear that Makenzie at least had had fun! She crashed before lunchtime, which is unheard of for her.
A little afternoon Pie Face :). I was so surprised at the willingness of all the grownups to play, I never do. Olivia was super excited to see who would get hit in the face :)
I really should take more pictures of the beauty that surrounds us during our week at the Ranch. We have deer (probably 20+ a day) all the time, including many moms with babies, which is a big hit for the kids. We also see fish, lizards, squirrels, horses, cows, birds, and I'm probably forgetting many others. The kids are able to explore and dig and walk through streams, and we spend hours upon hours at the pool. Here are some 'reindeers' that joined us for breakfast one morning
Playing at the park!
After the park we hit up the tennis courts. Alex won for dad of the year when he played while holding Hunter, who just wanted to be with his dad :)
Haha...if he thought playing with Hunter was hard, it was nothing compared to Makenzie, who is 10+ pounds heavier and likes to play with your hair and mouth and sunglasses while you run around :). Superdad!!
Tennis was frustrating for O, but she would discover her sport of choice a couple days later...pickleball!
On Wednesday we took a tour of the firehouse, which is always a kid favorite, and I enjoy it as well. The firefighters put on a good presentation all about the fires and fire danger in the area, as well as how they make good use of a fairly small fire station to protect the ranch and respond to other problems in the surrounding areas.
Next they have one of the interns put on all the gear and time it. I love this for my kids' sake, so they know what a firefighter looks like in case they are ever in a bad situation. It's also interesting to hear about how much all the gear weighs and how warm it gets in the gear even when they're not in a fire. I love our heroes!!
High fives from the ladder truck!
Dads with their 'babies'. This whole week I just couldn't get over how huge Hunter is. He used to be that tiny size, but it's hard to believe that now! Mila was so sweet and I could have held her the whole week, except for the four munchkins I had pulling on my arms the entire time :)
And what we all came for...the fire hose!
We spent that afternoon at the Lodge pool and lake. Here was our view as we sat having snacks before going out in the canoe/kayak/paddleboard. Man it takes a lot of boats to carry all of us!
O went with Andy in the kayak, and had a blast being in the front and in charge :) She was pretty good at steering and figured out the paddling thing really fast.
Alex and I took the 2 middle kids in the Canoe. Makenzie was rocking grandpa's hat, which looked totally Amelia Bedilia-y on her... :)
We never managed to get a group shot of everyone from the shore because as soon as Hunter saw me (he was with Grandma and Grandpa) he started screaming and didn't stop until he was in my arms. Silly kid had a blast without us, as long as he couldn't see us.
The playground at the lodge had a sand pit, and they had some fun local live music that evening, so we stopped and played a little before heading to bed.
Somebody likes the sand :)
These pictures are a little out of order because they come from another camera and I'm too lazy to fix them...
Family swim picture!
Here's the group shot sans Ashley and Ashley on paddleboards. Next year we will get everyone...assuming we figure out how to get Hunter in a boat...2 canoes maybe??
The second half of the week included more playing with cousins, walks through the stream, and Alex's birthday! Coming up eventually (currently our floors are being redone and I'm still waiting for kids to go back to school so my time is just about as short as my patience :)
No comments:
Post a Comment