Summer 2024 is a wrap and we nailed some serious family moments together. We spent the majority of it in Oregon because you don’t live here year-round just to leave for the summer when it’s gloriously beautiful, lush, moderate, and green. And I’m so glad we did because we absolutely fell in love with living here in a way we hadn’t in previous summers.
I’m going to dump a lot of fun things real quick: horsetail falls with kids and friends (shout out to Annie and Derik), Sugarpine (YUM, exceeded high expectations), Round Lake day trip, weeks of my best friend’s 16-year-old son hired to play with the kids (where they informed me that “we’d listen to you more if you acted as cool as Jay” LOLOL). We ate at so MANY FOOD TRUCKS, played putt putt golf at Birdie Bar (with kids), and did so much biking…along with the raking of pig poop, pool time sessions with neighbors, and of course the $200 blow-up slide thing from Costco that became the real VIP of summer. The kids started to walk to froyo by themselves, stayed up til 10 (ahem, or 11) most nights and we binged Tommy Boy and Twilight. They are almost 9 and 11 and these magical years of parenting are everything people said they’d be.
Family Reunion In Idaho
My parents rented a huge house for the 33 of us – six kids, 14 grandkids, 2 great-grandkids, partners, the WORKS. My mom brought a ton of family heirlooms and we had a free-for-all bidding session (even the grandkids got old pocket knives or fun costume jewelry). My sister planned relay races and different competitive events. I brought craft stuff to make “reunion ornaments” (duh), each family put on a skit, and my parents did a fireside chat about our family history – it was real Mormon family camp stuff and it was wonderful. I would have been bawling seeing all six of my kids together (55 years of parenting!). There was so much loud fun, huge meals, camp songs, and all the younger grandkids/cousins played and played and played. There was even a proposal and she said yes! Sure, we’ve all made different choices but there was a really lovely connection of acceptance and love. I think we all left feeling very, very lucky (or blessed as they might say).
A Weekend Without The Kids
Brian and I have been together since we were 21 and boy have things changed in the last 24 years (three major city moves, 2 kids, some therapy, and ups and downs in careers). But we still like each other A LOT. Extended time together at home without distraction is impossibly rare so when Bob and Suz offered to take the kids for three nights we decided to pretend we were 25, promising to not fall into the easy trap of just having a dinner and marathoning a show. Some of the happiest days of our lives were when we lived in New York in our twenties and we would hop on our bikes and get lost for HOURS – just exploring, people-watching, popping into random joints in Coney Island for a drink or clam shacks in the Bronx. So when I pitched we do that – Portland edition – he enthusiastically agreed. The first full day we signed up for a bike and hike tour up the Columbia River Gorge. It was one of those organized activities with tourists from all over (we were the only ones from Portland, LOL). But being forced to “site see” really helped us familiarize ourselves with biking the scenic highway and now we know which waterfalls are worth bringing the kids back to (spoiler – Horsetail Falls FTW). It’s so gorgeous and we all know that moving your body in nature with someone you love is just good for the soul. We ate at Wonderlove (new food carts in Central Eastside) and that night went to Hele Pele for drinks (SO FUN) and Heavenly Creatures for delicious food (all on the east side – look at us!). The next day we left the house on our bikes at 10 am and didn’t return til 4:30. We biked to Slabtown, ate at Phuket (amazing) down through NW, the Pearl, downtown, waterfront all the way to Willamette Park then up the hill all the way home. It was a LOT and extremely hilly. I joked with my friends that it was a very crotch-heavy weekend (LOL). We talked about everything – big stuff, small stuff, kids, marriage, general happiness levels, careers, goals, future, retirement, etc. It was life-confirming. At the end of the day, in less than 10 years, it’s going to be us. But this really confirmed that despite all the nuttiness of our current kid-dominated life, we really really enjoy each other. Staying home without the kids is different than going on vacation – having your home to yourself, no bedtime routine, no morning routine, sleeping in your own bed. Being a tourist in Portland was so enriching and we were exhausted in the best way when we picked them up from the airport.
Treehouse Camping Resort + White Water Rafting
I hesitate to tell you where this is because it gets so booked out but I also don’t want to be a gatekeeper (and it would be weird not to give them love). We stayed at Out n’ About Treehouse Resort in Southern Oregon which was as magical as my friends had told me (we booked in April for August). 10 + cabins in the trees, ours was 35 feet off the ground. Cold swimming pool, ziplines, horses, swings, and delicious breakfasts. There are no amenities (it’s more like camping with toilets) which honestly added to the charm (but we’d probably bring our own bedding next time). There is a shared kitchen with thrifted pots/plates and even a stage for impromptu performances. We took a day trip and went on a guided white water rafting tour on the Klamath River which was the PERFECT introduction (the moms were nervous, thanks Travis). On our way down there we stayed at Baypoint Landing in Coos Bay which was pretty great, went dune buggy riding (scary, Elliot and I turned back immediately), hiked many pretty beaches in Coos Bay, and visited our childhood home. OH, and we spent 2 hours in the redwoods and now have vowed to go back – INCREDIBLE. Far surpassed all of our expectations.
Olivia Rodrigo Concert
Our entire family loves her and knows every single song so I knew it would be a good time, but I don’t think I predicted how special and emotional it would be for the four of us to be singing and dancing to the same music at the same time with tens of thousands of other people. I cried a lot (secretly) because I know that these years with our kids are so precious (only 10 left!). I just kept thinking how incredible it is that we live in a time where parents and kids love the same music, can go to concerts together, and that they still want to hang out with us (which I know will change). There is such a shared euphoria in singing with people you love and strangers (one of the reasons I want to go to a church). So yeah, Elliot was holding onto me most of the concert so she could see (standing on a chair) and I soaked up every single second. We had shitty seats, it didn’t matter. Just go to a concert with your kids (maybe even without friends so you get their attention), learn the lyrics beforehand so you can sing full out, and be prepared to make a core memory. (Imagine Dragons coming up soon which admittedly I like far less than Olivia Rodrigo but I will pretend, embrace, and sing as loud as they’ll let me).
August energy is HARD – I see now why all of Europe just takes it off. Trying to juggle wanting to be with kids and getting so behind on work, but the sun is out and you know the great long dark is right around the corner! But as I write this I’m feeling so much better and Brian and I are celebrating my bday early by doing a huge hike at Silver Falls and biking to the village with the kids for dinner. No one has more Big September Energy than this one (BSE?) and now that we are two days into school and we have some structure back I’m dreaming of soup and sweaters and romance novels and long walks with podcasts. Happy Labor Day weekend, y’all. I’ll be celebrating my 45th bday this weekend with my family and a bunch of friends by a lake with hopefully no cell phone service – just like god intended 🙂