Eagle Crest

Disclaimer: Before you question my sanity, I did okay this little trip with my doctor.

Since Jesse & Laura were out, the Sinn family took a little trip over the Cascades to "eastern" Oregon. Eastern Oregon is a world apart from The Valley: there are cattle ranches, cowboys, honest-to-goodness Indians, miles upon miles of uninhabited high desert country, mesas, & a piney smell so heavenly. It's rugged & everything about it is BIG. Big mountains, deep canyons, huge ranches, extreme weather. It's always so interesting to go through the mountain pass & immediately see/feel the change in scenery. The firs & ferny, mossy woods switch to sagey, dry junipers & ponderosas.

 It was unseasonably warm, which meant we got lots of walks in around our rented condo. There were bike trails through the junipers & high desert vegetation with occasional glimpses of the snowy mountains. Everytime we visit eastern Oregon, Dar strikes fear in my heart by claiming, "I could move here in a heartbeat! To have this view every day..." As for myself, I am content to spend my life in the lush Willamette Valley with my one snowcapped mountain. I'd be terribly sad to leave all the green & berries behind! Good thing he loves berry farming, or I might actually be worried he'd do it.

 I love how these two have the same expression! 

 The kids were dying to get one ski trip in before all the snow melts. Which was a legitimate concern considering it was 60 degrees that day!

 I was very glad to be watching from a window this time instead of constantly picking myself & aching body up off the slopes. I'll give it a whirl again sometime, but I was glad to have an excuse to sit back & watch this time.

 We enjoyed relaxing at our condo in the evenings, just being a family. I feel sorry for small families, I really do. It isn't easy packing along a big family places, but the Sinns do great.

 We took a different route home, stopping at a few places Dar & I had been before to show the rest of the family. I loved being able to show them places they'd never been to before! I felt like such a local:).

 This was probably the most exciting stop on our tour, due to the wildlife we stumbled upon. Literally. Most of the family walked over it, completely oblivious until one of the boys spotted it. It's a good thing I was waddling far behind the rest of the group, or stepping across this guy might've put me into labor! We decided, somewhat disappointedly, that it was merely a gopher snake & not a rattler.

I am convinced a Sinn can sleep anywhere, anytime. I hope our child inherits that gene!

 We made it home without any labor scares, although my poor neighbors were worried sick for me because our car was gone for two days & they heard nothing about any new babies!

Now, I'm back to waiting for babes to come. Anytime, little one, anytime.