It's always nice to leave home for a while, and last week we spent nine days in Central Oregon. Just like last summer when we spent a week in Hawaii, traveling with a small child always reminds us that it may technically be a 'vacation' but it's not quite as relaxing as we might hope. But it was still a wonderful get-away and so fun to watch Morgan do new things.We spent almost a week at Sunriver with our college friends and their families. Sharing a house where the small kids nearly outnumber the adults is always interesting. Morgan loved spending time with her friends, Knox and Ella. We saw a new side of her, though, and she can be quite a bully when she wants to be. Fortunately, she can be quite sweet to others, very empathetic of others' feelings, and we only had to break up disputes a few times.
Sunriver is a great place for families, and will be even better when our kids (hard to believe that will be plural in a few months) are school-age and a bit more independent. But we had fun biking on the paths, going to the park, and visiting the pool. This summer, Morgan has really fallen in love with swimming. Her confidence/fearlessness has helped her make leaps and bounds into becoming a better swimmer. I bought her a pair of little goggles and the kid loves sticking her face in the water. She comes up dripping with a huge grin on her face, and I can sense the great pride she feels with this new accomplishment of hers. She also asks me to throw her up in the air so she gets dunked and her head goes under, and she blows bubbles like a champ! Since I spent nearly every summer in a pool as a kid, I am so happy that Morgan loves the water as well. The reason we went to Sunriver this summer was because of an annual golf tournament that Sam plays in with many of his college buddies. The "Wannabe Cup" is put on by our friend Joe and others, and Sam has played in it several times. We decided to make a vacation out of it and go early before the tournament started. Sam had a blast playing golf, and even helped his team win in the final holes of the tournament. Morgan and I and the rest of the families were cheering for him on the 18th hole! The Wannabe Cup also coincided with another big event - our 10 year wedding anniversary. We had always dreamed of going back to Kauai on this anniversary, which was where we honeymooned. But we will have to save it for another time. Instead, we went kayaking on the Deschutes through Sunriver. It wasn't quite Hawaii, but it was certainly beautiful and, for a few hours, gave us a quiet opportunity to reminisce on how good the last ten years have been to us.
We finished off the trip with two nights at my Aunt Kay and Uncle Hans' house in Sisters. It was so nice visiting 'Rancho Carefree.' We don't get over there as much as I'd like, but every time we do, we are treated to their amazing hospitality, incredible cooking, and lovely oasis in the middle of the high desert. So after a not-so-relaxing week in Sunriver wrangling kids, doing dishes, and waiting for our husbands to return from golf, it was really nice to be spoiled by Kay and Hans. Sitting and reading a book on their deck with a view of their pond and the Three Sisters in the background was heaven. We all took naps and relaxed completely. Best of all, Morgan loved feeding and petting their animals - everything from horses, to mini donkeys, ducks, trout, and a very tolerant lab. She was never bored and could have wandered around outside and helped with 'chores' all day. 
Whenever you leave home for a while, it always feels so good to come home. Morgan seems to have a harder time lately being away from her stuff and her routines, so she was glad to be home and back in her own bed (which is now a 'big girl' toddler bed). We are enjoying not having to share a room with our daughter and being back home in our own bed as well. I'm so happy to have these adventures, but happy to have our little home to come back to when we are done. 
