Sunriver, Oregon – Eve & Day 1

I don’t usually like to make several posts for the same event, but tackling our vacation all at once will be too time consuming and much to lengthy.  So I bring you, the first of four days in Sunriver, Oregon.

Because we thought we be adjusting to having a new baby this summer we didn't plan on going on any trips or getaways. As summer approached I knew we needed to get something on the calendar for our family to look forward to. A friend suggested we should travel to Sunriver, Oregon. She has been vacationing in Sunriver every year since she was a child and had such great things to say about it that we knew it was something we needed to look into. She was so convinced we would like it that she did all the work for us. She found us a deal for a three-bedroom house in the perfect location, she wrote out a suggested itinerary and even lent us a raft and bike rack. We decided to take advantage of tax-free shopping on the way down and stopped near Portland for what we thought would only be a few minutes. Three hours later we drove away with some fun new splurges. Of course we didn't buy anything we hadn't considered and researched in the past but instead of over thinking and stressing about it was nice to just have fun with it. 

Because it took a lot longer to do our shopping we decided to get the kids something quick to eat at the mall. Though Justin and I still wanted to get take out at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen). We had a mystery envelope that was going to expire the following Sunday so we knew if we didn't use it now it would go to waste. Most of the envelopes contain 10% off your total bill, but you could also win trips or cash as well. So we called ahead and ordered a salad and a small pizza to eat on the way. I joked with Justin though that if it turned out our envelope contained a 50% discount he should to add on some avocado rolls and a drink. Justin went into the restaurant to pick up our order while I waited in the car with the kids. 15-20 minutes passed and I was starting to wonder what could be holding him up, 9:30pm on a Tuesday night.... When Justin finally walked out of the restaurant he was holding two big bags. Apparently we did score a 50% off discount and in addition to the avocado rolls and drink he got us a couple yummy desserts too.

When we pulled up to the rental house it was nearly 1 AM; we were all exhausted, but excited to explore Sunriver in the morning. First on the agenda was checking out the new waterpark (the SHARC) that just opened this past Memorial Day (admission was included with our rental fee). Something that was very appealing to me about going to Sunriver was the extensive biking trails around the entire community. I knew that once we arrived in Sunriver we wouldn't need to use our car to go anywhere within the community. The house we rented had a few bikes that we could use so we only had to bring two of our own to accommodate our whole family. 

Ready to leave the house and bike to the SHARC

Our little cutie with her little cutie - Katie enjoyed riding around in the bike trailer

Our “MAN” on his manly bike

The bike ride to the water park was relaxing and beautiful. The water park itself was awesome! Better than we would have ever expected for a small resort town - waterslides, a lazy river, a toddler area with a pool and beachy play area, zero entry pools, spray ground, hot tub, then indoor swimming pools with basketball hoops and a kiddy play area. We were set.

Katie loved going around the lazy river and strongly preferred her Daddy – no hard feelings here.

Jason also loved the lazy river – here he is swimming around on the right of Justin and Katie.  Jason spent most of his time going around without a tube.  When he did have a tube he would either constantly be diving through it or making himself flip over.  Without a doubt he spent most of the time underwater.

Trying to cross the pool on the wobbly logs was also a huge hit.  

Carly didn’t quite make it all the way across, she fell just a split second after this.

Abigail had Justin nipping at her heels

They both made it across without falling into the pool

Since food isn't allowed inside the water park we took the lunch that we had packed out to the grassy play area right outside the water park to eat. The picnic tables were right next to a hill that is used for sledding in the winter. We discovered it is also available and fitted for tubing in the summertime. We spent a few minutes racing each other down the tracks before heading back to the pools to cool off. 

Lots of fun, but having to haul those tubes up the hill in the heat is a workout, a pulley system would have made it even that much more enjoyable.

I came back to the house a little earlier than the rest of the family so Katie could take a little bit of a nap. Justin and the kids joined us a few hours later and after a quick dinner we decided we would take a bike ride to a nearby park. 

The kids enjoyed playing at the park while Justin I laid on the grass and supervised from a distance until it was time to head back to the house and get some tired kiddos (and parents) to bed.