My whole family (that would be Dad, Mom, Rusty, Denise, Liz, Sarah, Angela, Tony K, Jonah, Abby, Nate, Leah, Luke, Tony L, Traci, Anthony, Dom, Rocco, Me, Rob & Colin) traveled north from the compound to Sunriver, Oregon for a long weekend of Lucchesi family bonding. Here’s a little run-down on the trip. Which, in sum total, was a great mini-vacation considering we had 21 loud adults and kids in one large house.
On the Road
Colin and I headed out at an early hour while big poppa got the motorcycle ready for the ride. I was fine with Rob taking the bike. Boy needs to ride. But I was just a wee bit nervous about three hours alone in the car with a newly short-tempered toddler. I put together a bag of tricks for the ride, hoping to anticipate what Colin would want when the car-boredom set in. I got the DVD player charged up (so I thought) and ready for the last leg, knowing that I would want to save the Baby Einstein crack for the end.
We made it in good time, no stops, only a few meltdowns, and lots of food passing between the cockpit and the passenger. We cruised to my book on tape and Colin chilled with the many toys I had on hand. When I did try to get the DVD going, busted! No charge. Whoops. Luckily Colin didn’t see me messing with it or we would have had a class-5 meltdown.
Upon arrival, Colin distributed big hugs to one and all, which always makes me glad. I worry sometimes that he will forget his aunts, uncs and various cousins in between our visits (hence the frequent flier miles we wrack up between PDX and SMF).
A good Mama
Traci and I took off to get pedicures while mom got a lovely facial. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with Traci, so it was fun to chat without the chaos of the family around us. Tony and Traci have three 110% Boy boys. She has much joy in her kids. She manages to be a pal and an authority at the same time. I kind of envy that. I’m usually desperately trying to find time to be alone, while Traci tries to find more ways to spend fun family time. There are some good lessons there for me for sure…maybe after Colin gets out of this terrible almost-two phase.
Stair climbing arn’t fer dummies
The house we were in was two stories, and for some reason I wasn’t terribly concerned for Colin’s safety aside from a few brief, horrific moments of imagining my little bean bouncing down the stairs. The first day Colin was able to walk up, and scootch down on his bottom. The second day, he was walking up, and walking down, holding onto the railing. What a smartie.
Table for 21 Please.
We each took turns cooking dinner and we were up for Thursday. Knowing that various chunks of tasty red meat would be served on the other nights, I opted for a few different salads. Rob eyed my choice dubiously, and dared me to through in some tofu. I didn’t take up the challenge, but I held my ground on the salads. And I was right (neener neener). I think everyone enjoyed the options (tomato bread salad with chicken and mozzarella, and couscous salad with shrimp and green beans), at least they said so. Cooking for 21 is a bit daunting. I made too much, but it was all ready at the same time.
Fantastic (pony) Ride
The rule on this trip was that not everyone had to do everything together. But we did try to coordinate some fun. On Friday we opted to take the little kids on pony rides. I loved seeing Colin with a big ol brain bucket on, holding confidently onto the pony’s saddle horn. He was pretty serious during the ride, (I know because I had to walk next to him for two laps of some sort of pony labyrinth) but he did spontaneously reach out to pat the pony and wave to the crowd. We also scored a handful of half-hour rides for the bigger kids and a few adults for the next day. I volunteered to go with Denise, Liz and Abby for a little girl’s trot.
On the Road
Colin and I headed out at an early hour while big poppa got the motorcycle ready for the ride. I was fine with Rob taking the bike. Boy needs to ride. But I was just a wee bit nervous about three hours alone in the car with a newly short-tempered toddler. I put together a bag of tricks for the ride, hoping to anticipate what Colin would want when the car-boredom set in. I got the DVD player charged up (so I thought) and ready for the last leg, knowing that I would want to save the Baby Einstein crack for the end.
We made it in good time, no stops, only a few meltdowns, and lots of food passing between the cockpit and the passenger. We cruised to my book on tape and Colin chilled with the many toys I had on hand. When I did try to get the DVD going, busted! No charge. Whoops. Luckily Colin didn’t see me messing with it or we would have had a class-5 meltdown.
Upon arrival, Colin distributed big hugs to one and all, which always makes me glad. I worry sometimes that he will forget his aunts, uncs and various cousins in between our visits (hence the frequent flier miles we wrack up between PDX and SMF).
A good Mama
Traci and I took off to get pedicures while mom got a lovely facial. I don’t get to spend a lot of time with Traci, so it was fun to chat without the chaos of the family around us. Tony and Traci have three 110% Boy boys. She has much joy in her kids. She manages to be a pal and an authority at the same time. I kind of envy that. I’m usually desperately trying to find time to be alone, while Traci tries to find more ways to spend fun family time. There are some good lessons there for me for sure…maybe after Colin gets out of this terrible almost-two phase.
Stair climbing arn’t fer dummies
The house we were in was two stories, and for some reason I wasn’t terribly concerned for Colin’s safety aside from a few brief, horrific moments of imagining my little bean bouncing down the stairs. The first day Colin was able to walk up, and scootch down on his bottom. The second day, he was walking up, and walking down, holding onto the railing. What a smartie.
Table for 21 Please.We each took turns cooking dinner and we were up for Thursday. Knowing that various chunks of tasty red meat would be served on the other nights, I opted for a few different salads. Rob eyed my choice dubiously, and dared me to through in some tofu. I didn’t take up the challenge, but I held my ground on the salads. And I was right (neener neener). I think everyone enjoyed the options (tomato bread salad with chicken and mozzarella, and couscous salad with shrimp and green beans), at least they said so. Cooking for 21 is a bit daunting. I made too much, but it was all ready at the same time.
Fantastic (pony) RideThe rule on this trip was that not everyone had to do everything together. But we did try to coordinate some fun. On Friday we opted to take the little kids on pony rides. I loved seeing Colin with a big ol brain bucket on, holding confidently onto the pony’s saddle horn. He was pretty serious during the ride, (I know because I had to walk next to him for two laps of some sort of pony labyrinth) but he did spontaneously reach out to pat the pony and wave to the crowd. We also scored a handful of half-hour rides for the bigger kids and a few adults for the next day. I volunteered to go with Denise, Liz and Abby for a little girl’s trot.
That night, mom arranged for us all to go on a wagon ride. We had assumed that it would be a horse-drawn ride, but alas, hokey tractor ride instead. However, I do think that it would have taken about six-horsepower to haul our non-petit load-o-family, so the tractor seemed okay to me. While we were waiting, the kids enjoyed watching a big huge horse that kind of looked like a Clydesdale take a humongous pee. I wondered why they had such a big, huge horse there. Surely they didn’t let people ride him? Anyway, we took our wagon ride and had fun. Saw some deer, some birds, lots of trees…you know, nature crap.
Big Willy
As we showed up for our ride the next day, we learned that the big, huge horse is named Willy. We learned this because as they matched up riders and horses, and it came to my turn, they led out the big, huge horse. They assured me that Willy was like a big pony. A big teddy bear. A gentle giant. See the theme? BIG. As in Big. Ass. Horse. Poor Willy is probably reserved for riders like me who aren’t on the lightest side of the scale. Turns out Willy was indeed a good ol pally. Just poked along in line. Fat chance of me telling him what to do though. I was glad of my dorky helmet when Willy decided to plow right through branches aimed right at my head. When we got back to the stable, the other horses were put back into the corral, but Willy was placed where we saw him the night before, in a different area by himself. Angela offered the theory that maybe Willy was so gentle that the other horses picked on him. Poor Willy. Made me kind of sad thinking he had to be alone because he was too nice. Either he’s too nice or he liked to squash the other horses…
My poor nethers
Upon our return from the horse ride, several of the gang was gearing up for a bike ride. Robnagged requested that I join in, regardless of the fact that I just got off big Willy (heh heh). The crew decided to take a quick ride down the gentle “river loop.” And since we don’t have bikes at home, my booty was a bit tender even with the extra cush mommy seat on my bike. I figured out a way to perch my behind on the seat that took the pressure off whatever was hurting and we cruised along. Amazing the muscles you forget you have when they aren’t in regular use! I enjoyed the riding, but more because it was fairly level ground with only a few swells. Not sure if we would purchase bikes for home, but Sunriver sells their rental bikes each season for a smokin’ deal. Maybe…
Nap enforcer
As much as I was trying to go with the flow on sleep schedules, Colin really needed a true nap. Not a snoozer in the car or stroller, but a horizontal SLEEP of at least an hour. So we tried to convince him to lay down. Hah. The kid is bull-headed about some things (have NO idea where he gets that from). But we moved into creative mode to get the job done. Left the light on, gave him a book, and I tickled his face into slumberland. It was kind of fun to know that I can still do that. Colin took an awesome nap, and had a great evening because of it. We were taking family pics that night, so he stayed up until about 8:30. Went to bed without a struggle. Ahh.
On the road redux
On Sunday it was time to pack up and hit the road again. I had a great time, and I know that Colin and Rob did as well. It’s nice to be able to hang out with my family without the high-strung energy that comes with holiday gatherings. The ride home didn’t start off great. Colin wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the cousins and I think he was remembering the long ride in. So after an hour of whining, regardless of the by-now tired bag of tricks, he conked out. I had been planning to stop for lunch, but kept the pedal down to take advantage of my passenger’s unconscious state. When Colin did wake up I was prepared with an actually-charged DVD player. And that kept the peace until we rolled into Bonanza.
So that’s our trip in a big ol nutshell. Considering we spent a little time talking about where to take the next trip, I think we can count the gathering a success. Fun times, fun times.
Big Willy
As we showed up for our ride the next day, we learned that the big, huge horse is named Willy. We learned this because as they matched up riders and horses, and it came to my turn, they led out the big, huge horse. They assured me that Willy was like a big pony. A big teddy bear. A gentle giant. See the theme? BIG. As in Big. Ass. Horse. Poor Willy is probably reserved for riders like me who aren’t on the lightest side of the scale. Turns out Willy was indeed a good ol pally. Just poked along in line. Fat chance of me telling him what to do though. I was glad of my dorky helmet when Willy decided to plow right through branches aimed right at my head. When we got back to the stable, the other horses were put back into the corral, but Willy was placed where we saw him the night before, in a different area by himself. Angela offered the theory that maybe Willy was so gentle that the other horses picked on him. Poor Willy. Made me kind of sad thinking he had to be alone because he was too nice. Either he’s too nice or he liked to squash the other horses…
My poor nethers
Upon our return from the horse ride, several of the gang was gearing up for a bike ride. Rob
Nap enforcer
As much as I was trying to go with the flow on sleep schedules, Colin really needed a true nap. Not a snoozer in the car or stroller, but a horizontal SLEEP of at least an hour. So we tried to convince him to lay down. Hah. The kid is bull-headed about some things (have NO idea where he gets that from). But we moved into creative mode to get the job done. Left the light on, gave him a book, and I tickled his face into slumberland. It was kind of fun to know that I can still do that. Colin took an awesome nap, and had a great evening because of it. We were taking family pics that night, so he stayed up until about 8:30. Went to bed without a struggle. Ahh.
On the road redux
On Sunday it was time to pack up and hit the road again. I had a great time, and I know that Colin and Rob did as well. It’s nice to be able to hang out with my family without the high-strung energy that comes with holiday gatherings. The ride home didn’t start off great. Colin wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the cousins and I think he was remembering the long ride in. So after an hour of whining, regardless of the by-now tired bag of tricks, he conked out. I had been planning to stop for lunch, but kept the pedal down to take advantage of my passenger’s unconscious state. When Colin did wake up I was prepared with an actually-charged DVD player. And that kept the peace until we rolled into Bonanza.
So that’s our trip in a big ol nutshell. Considering we spent a little time talking about where to take the next trip, I think we can count the gathering a success. Fun times, fun times.
Thanks mom and dad for the memory making.
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