Bend Vacation - Watefall Fun

Not too far outside of Bend is a really pretty waterfall.  The only thing I didn't like about it is it like 12 miles off the main road all up a really curvy mountain road which really made me car sick...but besides that it was super great.
We all got out to see the waterfall.  We were able to walk to the top of the waterfall pretty easy and they had a good path and railing to keep us safe.  I loved that.

Then to go down to the bottom of the waterfall you had to take a less manicured path that had some pretty good drops.  My mama fears started coming out and I was worried about all the dangers around us and worried way too much about one of us sliding off the edge of the trail.

Josh and I went about half way down the path and looked out on a pretty part of the water fall.  Matt was not happy about going down the path and started freaking out a little bit.  Amy said that she'd take Matt back up the mountain and when Josh heard that he told me that he wanted to go back up too.  I didn't mind taking Josh back up so that I could put my fears to rest.  I knew the girls were in Tony's good hands and so was Tyler.

So Amy and I went back up with Josh, Matt, and Cora.  We let the kids hang out a little bit while we waited for the others to come back up.  Matt did not like all the bugs in the mountains and was having a hard time so we moved closer to the cars and waited there.
The others came back up from seeing the waterfall and said it was pretty awesome and nice and cool.  Megan really had to go to the potty as soon as they got up so it was a good thing their was a port-a-potty right by our cars.  After a quick pit stop we all got back in our cars and drove back down the crazy curvy roads and headed towards lunch.  We were hungry!

We got lunch from Dairy Queen.  While in Oregon you have to eat there at least once.  It was pretty good and we all got ice cream with our meal.  Allie had fallen asleep in the car so Tony hung out with her there and we brought him his food.  After getting all full we loaded back into the cars and headed towards Crater Lake.

Bend Vacation - Park #3

Nate and Amy were able to sign on their house Tuesday morning so while they were at the title company we took all the kids to yet another park.  This was the park that we tried to go to the day before but the bridge was out of service so we couldn't reach it.
Nate and Amy were already at the park when we got there.  They left their kids and went to sign the papers.

The kids liked playing on the playground, but it definitely wasn't as fun as the other ones that we had been too.
There were a bunch of other kids at the park, so our older kids liked playing with them.  There was a mom or a nanny there that was super fun with the kids.  Josh especially liked her and loved being super silly with her.  She thought of lots of fun games for the kids to play together.  I am pretty sure she was the nanny.

While we had all the kids together we decided to have the kids get on the rocks and we would take pictures of all of them.
I was impressed how well they all did with the pictures.  Some were a little hesitant at first but they were able to calm down and smile for the camera.

After we had the kids on one rock they all moved over and wanted their pictures taken on the other rocks.  I thought little Allie and Cora were so cute on the rocks.  They looked so big sitting like big girls on the rocks.

After a while we decided to take the kids on a little walk.  We all walked down the path to see what fun things we could see.  Megan was being a pill so she got to go sit on a park bench by me and have a little time out while the other kids went on a walk.  She did not like that at all, but she really needed a little her time.  She pretty much cried the whole time and had a really hard time calming herself down.  She normally can take deep breaths and calm down, but not this time.  Poor kid was just crying and crying.
After the walk we all went back to the playground to let the kids play a little bit more before our long drive.
We had all the kids go potty and then by that time Nate and Amy were back.  We then got in our cars and started our drive towards Crater Lake.  We decided to stop and see a waterfall on the way and it was neat. 

Bend Vacation: Pool Time

The hotel claimed that the pool was heated, but it sure didn't seem like it.  But since it was so hot we hoped that it wouldn't be too cold.
It was too cold for us adults, but the three older kids didn't seem to mind so much.  Tyler and Josh would jump right in the pool and splash around.  They didn't stay in the pool for very long before they got into the hot tub.

Tony, Margie, and Allie just got into the hot tub.  It wasn't really hot, so that worked good for them.  I just put my feet into the cold pool and enjoyed the cool down for a little while.
Allie and I then went back to our room so I could give her a bath.  Margie brought Megan in when they were done and that's when Megan got her bath.  When the boys were done they all came in and took showers and then got ready to go to dinner.

After we were all dressed we headed out to dinner at a Hawaiian place.  We met up with Nate and Amy and the kids.  It was located back by where we were earlier at the Mill.  The food was pretty decent.  Something different for us.
After dinner we walked around the other side of the Mill that we didn't walk earlier and then we decided to get some frozen yogurt.
We all got some yummy frozen yogurt and enjoyed chatting in their party room.  After we were done we went back to the hotel for jammies and bedtime.  What a busy and fun day we had!

Bend Vacation: Park #2 - Pirates

After the chocolate factory it was lunch time.  So we decided to pick up some pizzas and eat them by the water at the Mill.
After driving around for a while we finally found a parking lot for us to park.  We found a nice shady spot and ate our pizza.  The kids sort of ate, but seemed to play more then eat.  But that's part of the fun of being on vacation and being with cousins.

After lunch we walked towards a bridge that has a playground on the other side of the water, but that bridge turned out to be closed and half missing.  So we decided to walk around the Mill area and see the people in their kayaks doing cool tricks in the water.  The city created some pretty cool rapids  in the river where people can practice their kayaking and it was really fun to watch them.

It got pretty toasty as we were walking around the water.  We put sunscreen on the kids, but did not put much on us and some of us got some pretty good sunburns.  I got it mostly on the back of my neck...super red stuff.  That'll teach me not to put sunscreen on back there.
After our toasty walk around we decided to go check out another playground that had a pirate ship.  What else do you do with a bunch of little kids age ranging from 9 - 1 years old?

It wasn't far from where we were, but we had to go get some gas first.  After that we got to the park and indeed they had a big pirate ship.   The park had a nice drinking fountain so I could fill up our water bottles.  We were all very thirsty after that hot walk around the water.
The park also had this really fun slide that started on the top by the pirate ship and then ended down on a path by the water.  The kids loved it and would slide down and then run up the stairs to go again.  Best idea ever to run out energy in children.

I tried the slide myself.  I had to hand Margie my camera and water just to sit down in the slide and then lean back because it was kind of short for me, but it was a fun little slide.  Even grandma got in on the slide action and loved it.  We couldn't get Allie to go down the slide, she stayed up and played on the ship and in the swings.  She loves her swings.

After the slide it was time to find all the fun things to do on the pirate ship.  They had a plank for the kids to jump off of that had a spring board.  The kids loved jumping on it a few times and then jumping off.  It was noisy but super fun too.
The ship had tons fun things on it for the kids to play with.  Things low for the little kids and high for the bigger kids.  Josh said that this was his favorite playground and wanted us to go back there again.

After we were all parked out we decided to go back to the hotel and check out their pool. 

Bend Vacation: Goodies Chocolate Factory

After the park we all headed to the Goodies chocolate factory to see their little tour and get some goodies.
We started off by looking around their store and trying some of their specialty popcorn.  It was yummy popcorn.  Tyler tried jalapeno popcorn...that was not so good.
We then went on a self-guided tour of their little factory.  They showed some coco beans and how they go from bean to chocolate.  It was here that Josh said his tummy was hurting him.

We then all turned the corner where there were windows to see the workers making the goodies.  We saw them making chocolate caramels and even some ice cream.  It was during this part of the tour that Josh said his tummy REALLY hurt and then he threw up...right there...in the hall.  Luckily Amy had some wet wipes so we got Josh cleaned up and then Tony took him to the restroom.
He said he felt better and after that and we finished our little tour.  They had some caramels for us to sample and then we all bought some treats to enjoy.  Good times at Goodies!

Bend Vacation: Park Fun #1

We got into Bend on Saturday afternoon.  Tony and I drove in the big moving truck the first half of the trip.  It was really big and Tony did a good job driving it.  Margie and Lloyd went in her car with our kids.  Josh got a bad case of the car sickness and threw up three times while driving with Margie and Lloyd.  I felt kind of bad for them, but Josh did a really good job of throwing up in the cup I keep next to him.

We switched drivers on the second half, after lunch, so Nate was back with Lloyd in the big truck and Margie was back with Amy.  It was amazing how cold it was when we stopped for lunch.  It was a good 30 degrees cooler from Boise.  We did get some rain on the drive, but it wasn't too bad.

When we got into Bend we were quite a ways ahead of the moving truck.  We tried to checking into our hotel, but our rooms were not ready for us yet, so we decided to go walk around Costco for a while.
I found some jammies for Tyler that were discounted and some caramel popcorn stuff, so I'd say that trip to Costco was a success.  The hotel called us as we went to our car (perfect timing) so we headed back over there to check in to our rooms.

We got all unpacked and then headed over to Nate and Amy's new house.  Their realtor came and let us into the house so that we could see it since we wouldn't be there when they actually move into the house because it wasn't ready yet for them.

Their house was super cute and they had some neighbors come over and talk with us and them.  It seems like a really nice place to live and I think that they are really going to love it.  I sure hope they do.

After we saw the house we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  It was pretty good food and we all had a fun time.  After dinner we went back to the hotel to get ready for bed.  Nate and Amy went back to Nate's rented apartment where they'll be staying until their house is ready in about a week.

On Sunday we got up and had some breakfast before getting ready for church.  I started not feeling very good while I was eating breakfast.  I just felt nauseated and my stomach was cramping.  I still wanted to go to church so we all got ready to go and drove over the Nate and Amy's ward.  We were there pretty early and were greeted by many very nice ward members.

About the time they were passing the sacrament I really started feeling bad.  Megan was being noisy and so was Allie so we took the girls in the hall and I decided to have Tony take me back to the hotel.  Oh, this was Father's Day too.  Poor Tony had to deal with me getting sick and no help to him at all on Father's Day.  Such a great guy.

I went back to the hotel and just laid in bed feeling super bad.  After church Tony and the kids came back to change and offered to pick me up some medicine and crackers.  I was thankful for the offerings and really just stayed in bed the rest of the day.  I had a couple of the crackers but really didn't eat anything the whole day.  It just didn't help to eat and I was having some major stomach cramping.  I was so cold, but hot too.  It was just not fun.

Grandma took Grandpa to the airport after sacrament and she took Allie with her so that gave Tony a little break.  Allie got in a good nap on the drive so that worked out good for everyone.
The rest of the family ate some lunch while they picked up my goods and then took the kids to the park.  They told me that the kids loved the park so much and had so much fun.  They loved it so much that we went back to that same park the next day (Monday morning).

Tony came and checking on my before they all went to dinner.  I was still not up for leaving my bed, so they went on without me.
It was about six or so that evening that I started feeling like I was on the mend and things were starting to look up a little.

After dinner they came back and got on their jammies and got ready for bed.   Megan and the boys wanted to sleep in Grandma's room, so it was just Tony, Allie, and I in our room.  We really didn't want to put Allie in our bed since I had been sick in it all day.  We didn't want her to get what I had.  So we put Allie in the pull out sofa bed and us in the King bed.
Monday morning I was still achy but feeling so much better then I did before.  Tony said that he was having tummy troubles since 1:00 am that morning.  That was not good.  Luckily the Pepto really seemed to help him and he didn't get it near as bad as I did.

After some breakfast we met up with Nate, Amy, and the kids and all went back to the super fun playground so the kids could show me all the fun things that they did the day before.
Tyler loved doing all the Ninja Warrior-type things.  He loves those things and does a really good job.  He climbed the rock wall "like a boss" and was just amazing.  He did get a blister and had to stop using that hand as much, but it was like a challenge for him to do the things with just one hand.

Megan and Josh loved all the play ground equipment but also loved rolling down the hills.  Megan would go down length wise and then Josh would do somersaults down the hill.  It was pretty fun to watch and they both picked up some major speed going down the hill.
They all loved having races down the hill and seeing who was the fastest.  Our sweet Tyler is quite the competitor and loved winning.  Uncle Nate was just a little faster then Tyler, but Tyler made it a good race.

Allie loved the swings the most and her and Tony spent most of their time on the swings.  It was probably best for Tony's tummy to just stand there pushing, so the best for both of them.  All the kids had so much fun at this park and it was fun to see them try so many different things.  We really do have some pretty amazing kids.

Bend or Bust: Day 1 - Boise

We woke up Friday morning and got the kids ready to go start our trip towards Boise.  Nate and Lloyd left a little earlier then the rest of us because they couldn't drive as fast in the big moving truck as we could in our cars.

Margie and Amy (and their kids) were in Amy's van and Tony and us were in Margie's van.  Margie and us left about the same time from our home and our plan was to meet up for lunch in Idaho.
It worked out pretty good and we met up with Nate and Lloyd and Margie and Amy and all ate lunch together at A&W.  After lunch we got back on the road and drove to Boise for the night.

Once we got to Boise we got checked into our hotel and all unpacked before we changed into our swimsuits and went swimming.  The pool was a nice indoor pool where the water was pretty nice.  I love me a good pool and so do my kids.  We all played and played until it was dinner time.

We then headed to our rooms to shower and get ready for dinner.  We ended up at Dickies and we all had plenty of yummy food to eat.  We needed gas in the cars, so we headed to Costco for a fill up and we of course had to go walk around and check out what they had.  We really like walking around different Costco's and seeing what different things they have.
After that it was back to the hotel for jammie time and bed time.  We were all pretty tired and welcomed a good nights sleep.