It sure has been a busy few days, I guess that’s what happens when you take a vacation. The vacation was much needed, and well worth the extra effort it’s taken to get caught back up at work. As I’m sure you have probably guessed, we don’t spend every weekend in Dundee, and this year we spent the holiday weekend in Central Oregon at the Sunriver Resort.

The Renaissance Man and I took off for Sunriver on Thursday morning and made good time over the mountain. I love how the landscape changes the further you drive. You travel from lush valley land, through the mountains along Detroit Lake, and eventually into the high desert. Family, friends, and a concert were waiting at the other end of our long journey.

We danced into the night at the Steely Dan Jamalot Ever After Summer 2014 Tour. The concert was held at the Les Schwab Amphitheatre located in the Old Mill District in Bend, Oregon. It was our first concert at that venue and we were both really impressed. The sound was amazing and the band jammed on through one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen.

The rest of the weekend was spent outside enjoying the beautiful weather! I learned how to paddle board and kayak in the same weekend, not too shabby. We spent Saturday at Sparks Lake near Mt. Bachelor.

We’re lucky to have family with a love for the outdoors and all the equipment one would need to enjoy it! Check out the loaded down Subaru’s.

Here I am with one of the paddle boards. Despite being really large and awkward to carry, the stand up paddle boards (SUPs) are pretty light. The only thing you need to watch out for is a big gust of wind, I can image the board becoming your own personal sail.

In addition to family, we also spent the weekend with Mojo! Talk about a dog that’s ready for anything, I’m pretty sure this was his first time kayaking and paddle boarding too, and he handled it like a champ.

Everyone was able to master the art of paddle boarding and here is DJ showing us how it’s done.

Such a beautiful lake. It looks like it could go on forever…we did end up asking another kayaker about that part of the lake, and eventually the lake does end. We decided to take his word for it!

Mojo even caught a ride on one of the paddle boards. He was perfectly content to soak up the sun and hangout with family.

We meandered around the lake and explored some of the backwater channels in between the lava rocks and the shore. It was so peaceful, just me, my thoughts, and the kayak.

Mojo hopped around between the kayaks and paddle boards, but I’d like to think he was happiest hanging out with me. Sometimes it makes me want a little dog of my own, don’t tell The Renaissance Man!

These two yogis get gold stars for their outstanding balance and mastery of the “downward dog.” After paddle boarding for a few hours on Friday, I will tell you that what they’re doing is not easy. If I tried this, I would have ended up a “wet dog.” I hope this shot makes the family Christmas card!

After an exciting morning out on the lake, we headed back to Sunriver to rest and recuperate. That’s code for “Kristen took a nap.” And by the time I woke up I was ready to head to the pool. The Sunriver Homeowners Aquatic & Recreation Center a.k.a. the “SHARC” is a very busy place during the summer.

The key on a busy holiday weekend is to head to the SHARC around 5pm, it’s typically a transition time where families are leaving the pool to get ready for dinner. This means smaller lines for the water slide! Nothing like a water slide to make you feel like a kid again.

Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July!