9 Games of Yahtzee, 1 Giant Leap into Billy Chinook

Another summer, another vacation. This year we headed east to Eagle Crest, 6 miles from Redmond, OR. As we did last year with our Lake Shasta trip, we invited YaYa and Papa Ron (aka my parents) to come along. They are pleasant company and also provide the occasional babysitting duties when Luis and I decide to escape for a round of golf or tennis.

We were very active the whole week. It was like the Cruz Olympics. In addition to the aforementioned golf and tennis, I learned to play racquetball. We also went biking, I went running, and we went on a lot of walks. Dispite all of the activity, I notice no visible weight loss. The nice nightly dinners may have had something to do with that.

The Cruz boys and their families (Jr. and Joel) were camping at nearby Lake Billy Chinook the same week we were on vacation so we drove over to there campground one day. The drive there took us deep into Deliverance country as seen below. They owe us a car wash. The burnt trees are the result of a wild fire from about 5 years ago.

We had our waverunner and took everyone who wanted a ride out on the lake. All the kids got to go. Mason was scared of it last year but got into it this year. In the course of conversation during the day, Luis bragged that he was willing to jump off one of the bridges over the lake that we had crossed earlier in the day. Jr. and Joel were pretty sure he was full of it, as was I so they followed us back to have him prove it.

This is the picture of Luis climbing into position, and then completely wimping out and climbing back onto the bridge.

Jr., however, was a little more gutsy than his younger bro. He snatched the lifejacket and made the leap. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, I missed the shot of him in mid air.

Well, that gave Luis the encouragement he needed. He made the leap.

That only left Joel - the one I most expected would do it. He took a look and flat out refused to do it. Luis then asked me if I was game. Of course I am. I made my way to the bridge and with little fanfare, took the plunge. My theory is that the more you think about it, the less likely one is to do it. I didn't think much about it aside from plugging my nose (I don't need water up the nose to deal with). It was a great jump aside from landing ass first. Not the best feeling...

So of course after I did it, Joel had no choice (can't let his sister-in-law show him up). Here he goes...

So here's the Cruz boys strutting their stuff after their brave bridge jump.

And here's me with them as well. I rarely post pictures of myself on this blog (mainly because I'm taking them), so I find it ironic that the rare picture of me is in a swimsuit...

So back at our house, things were as usual (doesn't everyone's kid stand on a potty chair with an inflatable sun around their head).

There were mishaps such as the brilliant waffle breakfast idea which turned into YaYa's waffle scramble.

Here's YaYa and Papa Ron cleaning the waffle scramble off the iron...

Papa Ron was the only one brave enough to eat the scrambled version. The rest of us were patient enough to wait for the iron sprayed regular version.

Siena was just happy with the strawberries...

This was our view of the Deschutes from the back deck. The river didn't come out great in the picture but it was an awesome scene to look out on.

YaYa had another brilliant idea. This one involved putting a wading pool out back for the kids to play in while we were hanging around the house. The problem is that there was no hose or outdoor spicket. However, YaYa isn't one to give up, especially where her grandkids are involved. So, we ended up with the old-time system of pots and water.

Yup, here's the Einstein behind this idea...don't be fooled. She's not as innocent as she looks.

And an hour later, we had a whole inch and a half of water in the darn thing.

The limited amount of water didn't slow Mason down much though. Besides, there were real pools that we took them to play in every day, sometimes twice a day. I'm surprised we didn't bring home little prunes.

We drove to Lake Suttle for brunch one day. It was a great place to eat since it was literally on the water. And of course they had chicken strips so Mason was happy.

And there was water so Siena could make one of her famous concoctions. You don't want to know what's in it.

Luis found some new sunglasses. That's his model pose.

The Grandparents and Nannies in Sisters.

Mason in the bike shop. He liked to smell all of the tires. That is not a trait of mine.

The kids in Sisters.

Yup, it was a good week.