Vacation time!! I took advantage of the 4th being a Saturday (a very rare three day weekend for me) and arranged my vacation time around it. This was also partly for Kirby, as he is deathly afraid of fireworks, and Vancouver is a war zone on Independence Day (the first time I was here for the 4th, it even intimidated me). So I stuffed the car full of camping gear, dog, baby, and the wife and headed to Crane Prairie for a week of camping with my folks, and my Uncle Curt and Aunt Marie and cousin Sarah with friend Alex, and Marie's mom Bev. We had a good time, but Caleb had an absolute blast! He loved getting to play with all the new people, especially my parents. They had fun getting some extended time with their only grandchild. This is going to be a long post, so strap in:
Getting to Central Oregon with a baby is apparently no small feat. We had to stop twice before leaving the Metro area, and then stopped twice more at Government Camp and Redmond before making it to camp in the early evening. That night, Andrea decided that we should bathe Caleb in our wash tub. Here's the cute result. He had a blast.
The next day, Caleb really got to go to town. We [reluctantly] put him down and let him do as he willed. Being a baby boy, his will was to play with the dirt and get very dirty! For the most part, Andrea and I just worked on settling in at camp. We got caught up with everybody, and passed Caleb around before setting him on his course toward filthiness.
Andrea wanted to take Caleb out on the lake, and my folks had brought the perfect device for such an activity. Mom got him in and he loved every minute of it. I, of course, forgot my swimsuit. Therefore I was relegated to wading out as far as I could go and getting pictures.
Then it was my dad's turn to hold him. I not sure what they were looking at, but it must have been interesting.
Of course, hard play calls for equally hard naps. Caleb loved taking naps with his Grandma, and this would become a consistent sight throughout the trip.
Day two in camp had us loading up the whole gang and going for a hike. It was the first time I would go for a real hike with Caleb in our new backpack. I think he really likes it, since he gets to be up high, and can see the action, unlike the ErgoBaby, which doesn't really let him look around all that much. It was a hard hike that was supposed to take us to a lake, but we gave it up after about an hour. This was apparently just a really long access trail to a longer trail like the PCT. After getting back to the car, my dad looked at the map and discovered that we were only a few hundred yards from the lake when we turned around! Bummer. We went over to a nearby campground and had lunch. Andrea and I then headed into Sunriver to get some gas.
Apparently riding in the pack is exhausting as well.
Tuesday, we packed up and headed into Sisters so Andrea could go to the quilt store there. The quilt store hosts the outdoor quilt show in Sisters, so on show day it gets really busy. Therefore she wanted to go early and beat the crowds and have some time to shop. Caleb had fun being carried around and flirting with all the old ladies who just ate him up. We then had lunch in a nearby park and headed back to camp. On the way, we stopped in Bend at a pet store. This wasn't just for Kirby, it was also for Caleb. See, he has developed an attachment to Kirby's leash to the point where he gets very upset if we take it from him. So we stopped at Petco and bought him an identical leash, that he now hangs onto as though it were a teddy bear (of course, he still tries to hang on to Kirby's leash too! Oh well, we tried).
At some point on the trip, Mom had a great idea. Their big tent had also come with a smaller backpacking tent. So she and I set it up for Caleb to play in and not get dirty. We filled it with all kinds of things to grab, chew and stand up on (we don't give him true toys because he doesn't play with toys). This was a huge success until he got wise to the fact that we were trying to keep him out of the dirt. From then on, he would only go in it once in a while, and then, not for very long.
Wednesday, we went for another hike with Mom and Dad. This time the goal was to circle a small butte just south of South Sister. The mosquitoes were horrendous! Mom turned back about a quarter of the way through. We labored on and were rewarded with a beautiful, vast meadow at the base of the butte. However, this hike too would be aborted. We climbed higher, and started to encounter ever bigger patches of snow until they completely covered the trail and made further exploration too risky. So we turned around and headed back down. On the way down, Kirby ran after and treed some animal. It was hilarious! He had never treed anything before, and yet he knew just what to do! It turned out to be a pine martin. Pine martins are long like weasels, but have cuter faces, with short snouts and Mickey Mouse ears. Sitings by humans are rare, so this was exciting (though we couldn't get the camera out before it ran off). Good dog Kirby!
Thursday was our lazy day, though we managed to do a lot of work. First, Andrea and I went out in a kayak rented from the resort. Marie babysat while we did this. It was only our second date since Caleb was born. It was great!
Again, Caleb played hard, and then he and I napped hard. Marie got picked up by the rest of the family who had rented a pontoon boat for the day. Andrea and I had camp to ourselves, and spent the time just sitting for quite a while. The chipmunks came out in force that afternoon! They were everywhere. One climbed up onto Curt and Marie's table and made off with a biscuit that was bigger than he was! A group of babies decided they would sniff out the blanket and air mattress that Caleb had been playing on (he had also been eating on it as well). While we were away from camp, one ended up trapped in our garbage bag, and Dad had to cut a hole in it to get it out!
After our naps, it was time for showers and laundry. While Andrea did laundry, I took Caleb down to a grassy area next to the resort's general store and let him play away. Here he is with his leash firmly in hand.
That night, we were treated to a fireworks show that only God could manufacture. A thunderstorm rolled over the campground with constant thunder and lightning. It finally moved out over the lake, and we were able to stand on the beach and watch. I took video with the camera, and Uncle Curt managed to get some photographs. I'll try and post what I got as soon as I figure out how to get the videos off the camera.
Friday saw us all break camp. We got together for breakfast in Sunriver, and then we headed our separate directions. We headed into Bend to waste some time before checking into our hotel room. We managed to first, go to the local outlet mall and use the facilities and shop for clean clothes and new shoes. Then, upon leaving the mall, I discovered a quilt store, much to Andrea's delight. Then, we stopped at Freddies and got directions to a dog wash so we could clean up Kirby. Then we got directions to a local park and had lunch and let Caleb play in the grass again. After checking into our hotel, we went back to the quilt store to do some more shopping. Caleb again received the rapt attention of the ladies there even when he started to throw a tantrum.
Okay, that's probably long enough for today. Tomorrow, I'll show you a small fraction of the picture we took at the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.
For those who made it to the end of this post, you will be rewarded with the news that Caleb took his first two unaided steps today in front of his Mae Mae and Mommy. I manage to catch a brief glimpse.
Hang on to your hats, this is going to be a post full of color and pictures. For the first four years I knew Andrea, she always went to the Sisters quilt show without me because I had to work on Saturdays. Now, I finally had the chance to go with her.
