Sunriver

Matt, Taylor and I spent the fourth of July in sunny, hot Sunriver. On Thursday afternoon we packed up the car (sheesh, babies need a lot of things!) and drove straight into traffic for about five hours. It went surprisingly well, despite a little meltdown that resulted in me frantically crawling into the backseat to unbuckle Taylor and calm him down. But hey, not bad. The drive was gorgeous. We could see at least one mountain at all times, and the best part of the drive was a long stretch where we could see eight. Eastern Oregon is so beautiful! And it's especially beautiful when you're touring it in an air-conditioned car to the patriotic sounds of Tom Petty.

I had so much fun spending time with my cousins and their babies. I'm so glad everyone finally got to meet Taylor! We spent a lot of time trying to get them to cooperate for family photos, and this is about the best one we have. Not one single pair of baby-eyes looking at the camera. I'm so glad I get to enter motherhood alongside those two, they are some sweet mommas!

We ended the holiday the all-American way, feasting on a variety of smoked & grilled meat, pasta salad and potato chips. We ate outside, slapping mosquitoes off our arms and listening for early fireworks (which we didn't see or hear since it's a wildfire-prone part of the state...).

The next day, Taylor and I stayed behind with my Aunt Jackie while everyone else hit the golf course. We got some quality time in with her, beating the heat inside and catching up.

The weekend went by quickly, and before we knew it, we were repacking the car and sitting in traffic with the mountains in our rear-view mirror. But we managed to pack it full of golfing, apple pie, star-gazing from the hot tub and lots of baby-holding. I'm so thankful my family included us in their vacation! It was really nice to get out of town, spend time with my family and create a fun memory for Taylor's first 4th of July!

Taylor is 6 weeks old now! He smiles at his momma, sleeps longer stretches at night and finally fills out some of his newborn clothing. We just adore him!