Keeping the tradition alive

Every year on Memorial Day weekend, Joe and I go camping with some of our good buddies from college. And every year on Memorial Day weekend, we get rained on. Sometimes it is off/on showers, sometimes it is coupled with thunder and lightning, and sometimes it is a straight downpour. But regardless of how it comes down, one thing we can count on is for it to rain. So THIS year, Joe and I thought to outsmart the Memorial Day Rain gods and reserve a house in warm, dry, beautiful Bend. OF COURSE, this year the weather decided to be beautiful and we could've had our first dry Memorial Day camping trip ever. Figures.

So what did our weekend entail? Here is a brief summary of the highlights... Sunshine. Catch Phrase. NBA playoffs. Scrambling up volcanic rocks. Pizza. Beer. Hiking. Frisbee in the park. Card games. Jenga. Tumalo Falls. Bacon. Old Mill District. Happy Hour. Pictures. Jack escaping the fenced back yard (twice). Good friends and good times. Oh, and the longest drive EVER from Bend to Issaquah (8 hours). Here are some pics as well:

A pit stop in Grass Valley, OR (population 171). Never heard of it? Me neither, and I lived the first 24 years of my life in Oregon.

The grass is very green in Grass Valley (go figure)

Last groceries for 67 miles! Where the heck are we?!?

We attempted to hike Mt. Bachelor, but were slightly deterred by the snow. At least we got some pretty views of the Sisters Mountains and some sledding in!

Colton getting ready for some human sledding action

Jack loving the action

Joe joining in on the fun

My exploration buddies

Joe and Colton, with Mt. Bachelor and Sparks Lake in the background

The king of the world

Joe and I, way up high

Colton thought it was really fun to roll huge rocks down the cliffs

Heading back to the car

The group at Tumalo Falls

I heart Oregon

Jessie being a trooper after she sank up to her waist in snow wearing flip flops and jean shorts!

Making up for lost time with one of my besties

Joe was AWFUL at Jenga. Seriously. He lost the first 2 games (out of 3) and Caleb was lovin' every minute of it.