Reunion in Oregon, part 2

During our visit, we made a trip with my side of the family out to Sunriver, which is located in Central Oregon.  Sunriver has been a vacation destination for my family since before I was born, often being visited multiple times in a single year, and each time manages to create new memories along with many old favorites.

Half of our crew, stopping for a picnic lunch along the route.

We all arrived in Sunriver on my sister's birthday.  It was the perfect way to kick off our family reunion, with a celebration!

Sarah, with her two kids, Ben and Ellie, and mine, Geoffrey and Maddie.  The boys are 3.5 months apart in age, and the girls are 9 months apart.  And yes.  It's awesome.

Sarah's anticipating the cue to blow out the candles from Maddie and Ellie, while Geoffrey's already going for it.

Sweet.  The cake and the kids.

We wasted no time that evening, and immediately following the birthday celebration, we hopped on our bikes.  It was fun to be back on bikes as a family.  Many times while we were in Kampen, we would refer to the similarities of riding a bike around town, the same way we do in Sunriver.  (Mind you, there are many significant differences between the two as well!)

Geoffrey did not have a bike his size to use, but he was a very content passenger in the bike trailer with Aunt Sarah.

Stop with the cuteness already.

Ready to ride!

Grandpa Pat, leading his troops.

Love for eternity. 

Thank you, God, for your breathtaking creation.

The peaceful river loop is our family's favorite route.  (This is the Deschutes River.)

Can you see why?

As I mentioned earlier, having cousins of the same gender and so close in age is awesome!  Our kids always have a blast together, making our reunions exciting and our departures bittersweet.

These two act like best friends and sisters, in all the right ways. :)

I made them stop and pose for me.  This was the fourth attempt.

Not surprisingly, this was the first attempt!

We made it out for a longer family bike ride, on our second morning in Sunriver.  The weather continued to be amazing, even hovering on the hot side, and we felt blessed to have hit the Oregon climate so perfectly!

Our crew - all 10 of us!  It made for quite the long train of riders.

Ellie with Uncle Brant

Ben ended up joining Geoffrey in the trailer after riding on his bike for the first little leg of the route.  It's hard work to keep up with all the "big kids" sometimes!  Geoffrey was happy to have some company!

However, it took us some time to find the best possible place to store Ben's bike.  This option worked for a few moments.  Geoffrey was quiet and compliant about it all, but I wasn't too sure about forcing him to remain like this for too long.  What a good sport he is! 

My dad and Brant, talking about the time we floated down the Little Deschutes river several years ago (pre-kids).  Aww. 

I show you this picture to prove that we didn't leave Ben's bike in Geoffrey's face the whole ride.

I love my family.  What a solid foundation I come from.

I said, "solid."  Not, "normal." 

Brant riding along with Maddie, the same way they would often ride in Kampen, when Maddie's legs would begin to get tired.  

Brant flew back to California that afternoon, a week before the kids and I did, for work.  Ironically enough, after the tickets had been purchased, we found out our move-in date for our new place was going to take place that same week.  My awesome husband moved in without us, bearing the hot temperatures and heavy boxes, while we continued on with our Oregon vacation.  Life's funny like that. ;)

Aunt Sarah baked cupcakes with the girls, while I took Brant to the airport.  Maddie missed her daddy, but this helped to ease the pain. ;)