Dease Family Vacation- Bend, Oregon

Well, my pictures of this vacation are pretty awful. I am not the picture taker of our family vacations. But my memories of these few days are absolutely vivid and full of life so I will try to capture that with this little post about one of the most memorable parts of our summer. 

A few weeks into our Sacramento stay, our long awaited visit from our cousins and grandparents arrived. It was like a dream come true to have both sides of the family that we love so much together to enjoy the fruits of summer vacation. Oma and Grampie drove up in their brand new RV-Van and Uncle Jonathan, Aunt Jill, and the girls drove up separately. They all arrived at about the same time and we were ecstatic!

Reunited!

As soon as we could all change into our bathing suits, we found ourselves back at Uncle Dave's pool! This is where all the quintessential things that are summer came to fruition. There was music playing, cousins squealing in delights, jumping contests off the diving board, and endless laughs. 

I can't tell you the last time I have seen my parents swim in a pool. It had literally been since I was a kid myself. WE had SO much fun! 

Even Grampie jumped in in his polo and shorts. 

These are the memories that I will never, ever forget. 

In the evening, we stayed out late playing pickle ball in the street and eating delicious BBQ ribs from Uncle Dave. The cousins all slept in one big nest downstairs. 

                             This was our version of church. A bit chaotic, but sweet all the same. 

On Sunday we had another day spent in the pool and then in the evening, we capped pff our Sacramento fun with a bonfire of s'mores. 

Monday morning we were all back on the road heading up to Bend, Oregon. 

We stayed at this same rental last summer and it did not disappoint. The kiddos knew their way around and couldn't wait to visit the chickens that they'd missed who live in the back yard. Being that the pandemic created a lot of restrictions for travel activities, we kept our vacation centered on outdoor hikes and lazy days in the yard. 

Just a few blocks from the house are the most gorgeous community parks. We walked to them every evening. It was light out until after 9 so we couldn't believe that we could go on family walks and enjoy the park well into the night. 

The two full days that we were there, we spent enjoying the gorgeous scenery on some hikes. Emmerson and Taylor stayed home with Oma by choice, and then rest of us took off on our adventures. 

The boys did the only touristy thing while we were there. They went on a little brewery tour while us ladies (and Donovan) did some makeup makeovers, nails, and played in the back yard hot tub. 

We enjoyed our meals outdoors on the deck, with music, and good wine. 

This was our second gorgeous hike. The sounds of the water trickling down from the mountains to the lake were so peaceful. This was an absolute favorite highlight of mine. 

And the chickens who were precisely named and loved on by the grandkids.

On our last evening we took family pictures in the backyard. Then we stayed up super late sitting on the deck and admiring the stars. We even spotted the International Space Station flying by which was SO cool to see. 

It's never easy to say goodbye to such a fun vacation with family. But, as always, the memories are something we'll cherish forever! Thank you Oma and Grampie for such a memorable trip!

 

Bend

Bend, Oregon... known for it's gorgeous scenery, outdoorsy inhabitants, and really good beer. It seemed like the perfect landing spot for my side of the family this summer. 

My parents generously rented an Airbnb for our three night stay and it was the perfect retreat for the 6 adults and 5 kiddos in our party. 

When we arrived, it was unexpectedly cold. We all pulled up to the house around the same time. Dustin, Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Jill took the kids to a brewery within walking distance so that I could wash all of the camp fire smell out of my hair. Glory, glory this lady needed a warm shower. 

When they returned, Jonathan, Jill and I drove over to Trader Joe's to shop for some snacks for the house while Dustin watched the kids. It was freezing! It started to hail in the parking lot as we walked out and true to my So-Cal roots, I was wearing cut offs and sandals. Whoops! 

Lucky for us, Trader Joe's shared a parking lot with Dicks Sporting Goods who was having a tent sale. I snagged a very warm little fleece jacket that I think I wore in every single picture of me on our trip. Be warned. Ha! 

In the evening my parents arrived and we all settled on an amazing local spot for dinner. Bangers & Brews had all of the yummy things this family could ask for.  

They even had little blankets on the patio to cuddle up in. Loved this place and wish we could go again and again. 

When we got home, we all headed to bed quickly. It'd been a long day and we had a whole lot of fun ahead of us. 

Day 2 started with a delicious breakfast. Mom cooked eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Once our bellies were full we headed off to Smith Rock. The landscape in Bend is breathtaking. This rock, mountain... whatever seemed to come out of no where. It was spectacular. 

Here we all are pre-hike. Note my cozy fleece that didn't last long. Bend's weather is all over the place. My Mom and Dad graciously stayed home to watch Taylor so that we could hike with the bigs of the family. 

Pre-hike bliss. 

When we took the steep trail down to the base of Smith Rock we met these two bad a** women that had just finished their hike. They convinced us that instead of taking the easy, breezy walk beside the river, we should hike up the mountain on the Misery Ridge Trail. You can see the start of the trail at the base of the mountain in the picture above if you look closely. We all quickly agreed to go for it and off we went. Up the base of the hill, through some switch backs, up, up, up. The trail itself seemed very do-able but the heights were so hard for me. Pretty soon we were way up and I began to feel massive anxiety realizing how stuck we were. It'd be no easy feat at that point to keep going all the way up or to get down quickly where we wouldn't feel so very, very far from the base anymore. My oldest niece was feeling all the same feels I was and ultimately we decided to turn back around and try the easier walk on the river. 

I was so bummed that I didn't push forward. I hate when I let my fears get the best of me. Especially when there's all of these incredible men and women literally climbing the side of this mountain all the way to the top. Ugh. But on this day fear won. I hope we can go back and conquer it someday. 

The walk next to the river was gorgeous and much more family friendly. 

Team girls!

And team boys!

All in all it took us a few hours. It got pretty warm as the day went on. I was so thankful the weather was nice. I wouldn't be so keen on this hike in extreme heat. But the views were truly remarkable. It was so peaceful and beautiful there. I was so glad we went. 

After a long hike, we all needed ice cream. 

Then, we headed back home for some down time at the house. 

The house had the most amazing backyard! It was huge. It had a ton of grass, a giant deck with outdoor seating and dining spaces, a hot tub, and a chicken coop with 5 adorable little hens. It was the perfect place to relax and play when we weren't doing the tourist thing. 

We all showered up and then tried to sneak in some family pictures before heading out for dinner. 

I also do not want to forget how Clare carried Taylor around the entire trip. We teased that Taylor might forget how to walk by the time we returned to Grammie. Clare was a full time, A+ babsitter extraordinaire. 

Pictures were done. Just in time, too because it started to rain a bit and off to dinner we went. 

This time we went to Crux. It was a relaxed brewery with a fun outdoor setting. There was a live band playing, lawn games, and food trucks.

And a rainbow... how perfect is that?!

Hey look, I'm in my red fleece jacket again. 

Taylor and her favorite person on the trip snuggled to keep warm. 

After some good times at Crux we had to stop off at Dustin's must-do of the trip. A nod to our youth and too many Friday night memories to count... Blockbuster. Bend is home to the very last Blockbuster in existence and we couldn't wait to show it to the kids. 

Dustin even got a new membership card so that he could rent us some movies. 

Even though it looks light in these pictures, I think we didn't get home with the kids until close to 9. When we got back, the boys kicked off the backyard bonfire. There were some quick s'mores and then the kids zonked out for the night. I did too!

These three cuties shared the king size bed. 

And Emmerson and Laurel (besties) slept on the air mattress in the same room. 

Day 3: Clare had set up a playdate with a friend from her school that moved to Bend. Uncle Jonathan, Aunt Jill, Dustin and all of the kids met up at the park with Clare's friend's family. My parents went to Sisters for the day to do a bit of antique shopping and I had the house all to myself! It was such a nice, quiet morning. I squeezed in a backyard workout and then jumped in the hot tub which felt like heaven. Shortly after the crew came back and it began the most amazing and relaxing day spent at the house. We played a hilarious family game of wiffle ball that included an epic dive my my teammate Jill and some pee your pants laughter moments with Mom Dease aggressively playing first base. The kids also had a giant water balloon fight, and a big game of hide and seek with Aunt Meg. We sipped Jill's homemade sangria and had some yummy snacks out on the patio. It was my favorite way to spend the day. 

A note from the sweetest girls ever to the backyard chickens. 

On our last night, Mom and Dad Dease stayed with the kids for an at home movie night while Jon, Jill, Dustin and I hit up down town Bend for a little date night. 

It was raining, thundering, and lightning... my favorite kind of weather. It was so picturesque in the small little downtown setting. I was dreaming of Fall. PS You won't believe what I wore for our date night. :) Our first stop was Deschutes Brewery where we split a small sampler. It was crazy crowded there so we didn't stay too long. 

We walked around down town looking for our next spot and stumbled upon a little wine bar that wasn't crowded at all. We sat down, had another beer and some serious laughs that made tears stream down my face. 

Lo and behold across the street from that wine bar was my must see spot of the trip that I was sure we weren't going to get to. I have never had gelato in my whole life and we had heard the best things about this magical little spot. The gelato was pricey but my lavender honey gelato was worth every penny and then some. It was AMAZING!

Our final stop of the night was McMenamins. It was once an old Catholic school that had been turned into all sorts of crazy things... a movie theater, a speak easy, and a restaurant among many others. If you have head up to the PNW you have to look into the McMenamins locations. They are so quirky and strange. Definitely a must see. We had the best server ever at this spot and it made us stay here the rest of the night. We chatted with him about all things Bend and got to hear so many interesting stories. He was the coolest! We shared our final beers of the night and indulged in some cajun tater tots with super spicy dipping sauce. So good! 

It was such a fun way to end the trip. We came home and tried to watch a movie together but we could barely keep our eyes opened. 

The final morning of our trip we had one more big Mom Dease breakfast, finishing off all of the yummy eggs from our backyard chickens. We took a little family walk around the neighborhood and then it was time to get dressed and load up the cars once more. 

Bend, you were awesome! I hope we get to see much more of you in the future. Now where will the Dease -Hein clan travel to next summer? Hmmm...