Sunriver Vacation . . .better late than never

First of all, I can't neglect to point out that Duck Football season is upon us. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Now, before I lose them, I want to get these memories from our week in Sunriver recorded. There is so much of our summer that will go un-documented because I was one nauseous mama most of the time. All nausea aside, we did have a great week of vacation. Eric's parents joined us for part of the time, including a freezing cold (but really fun, truly) trip floating down the Deschutes ... of which there are no pictures.

But, I did get pictures of pony rides, which was really a horseback ride for Marshall.

Oh Jameson, someday we WILL lose that binky

Miniature golf for the boys. Marshall opted out of the train ride. I think he is starting to feel too old for it . . . sigh.

And finally, the Sunriver Half-Marathon. Eric ran the half-marathon. Marshall ran in the half-mile kids' race. Eliza ran the quarter-mile kids' race. And well, Jameson and I just cheered on the sidelines. I had completely forgotten that it was a Susan G. Komen event until we went to pick up Eric's packet. It was fun that Marshall and Eliza's first-ever race was a Komen event, since many of you know I lost my mom to breast cancer eight years ago. Marshall was even willing to wear a pink shirt for the race.

Trails, Hot Tubs and Baby Deer

One fabulous and fun weekend in Sunriver. 

A trail half-marathon was run. So proud of the hubs. Eliza says "I think that it was really fun for daddy running in the forest." 

Our family attempted the most ridiculously difficult craft EVER. That's not saying much - seeing as I have almost no craft-ability. Knowing my craft-deficiency, I scoured Michaels's for an easy craft to do in Sunriver. A foam rocket and a foam princess castle. Not sure why I thought these seemed easy? Ugh. Thankful that everyone was cheerful and good sports about the whole thing. Thank you, Eric, for spending your morning crafting.

Meals were shared. Marshall says, "it was really fun eating outside on the patio at 10 Barrel, even though it was really hot. It was really fun playing on Daddy's phone on Angry Birds Space. If any of you know about Angry Birds, I would want you to know that Angry Birds Space is out. I have done almost all of the levels."

Kids had fun.

Marshall says, "It was SO fun jumping in the hot tub at Sunriver, and going to the pool at Sunriver even if there's no photos of the pool."

Eliza says, "It was So So So So So fun that I got to be in the hot tub with my friends, the Ventis - Mila and Nolan, and my brother. We all love being in the hot tub, because we all have fun jumping in and out. Because we just have SO much time being together."

Marshall and Nolan turned a pile of firewood into a drum set while Eric and Conrad were at the race. Kari and I wished that we could listen in on their conversation while they were setting it up and playing the drums together. They were just a little too far away from the house for us to eavesdrop. After the boys practiced for awhile, they set up seats for everyone to watch their show. Notice their "drum sticks." Have you ever seen a better-looking audience?

The show. Marshall says, "Me and Nolan rocked out really loud like Na Na Na Na Na Na Na! Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom and a Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark Bark! And that just made me laugh."

We also had the privilege of "baby-sitting" a fawn for the day. A sweet mama deer left her baby under a tree at the edge of our yard for the day. So sweet. We had an interesting lesson (thank you, Google) about the habits of mother and baby deer. It turns out, deer will often leave their baby for a good portion of the day while they forage for food. Which means we did not need to care for an abandoned baby deer, adopt it and bring it home to Salem,  or call a wildlife refuge to come pick it up (not that any of those things went through my mind). 

Marshall says, "It was so so so so so so so good seeing the deer, even though I didn't get any pictures with my Nintendo 3DS."

Eliza says, "It was very very fun seeing the deer. And even though I got way up close, it was still sniffing the second time I got way up close to it. And I love deer, even if I see a baby. And I love love love love love seeing deer. And I want to be a zookeeper some day with only deer in my zoo."

Eliza says, "The baby deer followed the mom and it was so funny and so cute. For the first time in my life I saw a baby deer walking with its mom."

Eliza would like me to end this blog with pink words. THE END. 

Happy Weekend and a Bonus Recipe

It's Friday!  Woo to the Hoo!

Our family's Friday was yesterday. After Marshall's t-ball game last night, and a stop at Walery's for pizza, we headed to Sunriver for a long weekend of fun.

Oh. Wait. The main reason we are here is for Eric to run a trail half-marathon on Sunday with his friend, Conrad. Right. We are here with a purpose. Eric gets to run 13.1 miles on a trail. At high elevation. He has a buddy to do it with. And, they are excited about it. It is fun for the two of them. (Oh, and, the race starts and finishes at some guitar place called Two Old Hippies. Yes, we do live in Oregon. Uhthankyou.)

 And, Conrad's wife, Kari, is one of my best friends. This situation works out fantabulously for me. (By the way - if you enjoy real, from the heart, honest blogs from women who love the Lord, Kari's blogpost from this morning is where it's at. Check.check.check.it.out.)

Things like donuts for breakfast are fun for the rest of us.

I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend. To make it a little yummier, here is one of my new fave recipes for Double Chocolate Cookies. Now, when you look at this recipe, please do not say "eww, yuck" just because it calls for ground coffee and chili powder. (Not that anyone would do this, in particular one of our neighbors . . . ahem). Because after you make them, and eat one warm, you will not say "eww, yuck." You will say "oh.my.yum." (Again, not that this happened with anyone we know in real life - LOL).

Double Chocolate Cookies  (originally posted by my interweb friend, Jami Nato)
What you need:
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground coffee
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips


What you do:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In KitchenAid, cream butter and sugars together. Add vanilla, coffee, chili powder, salt and soda. Mix on speed 2 until incorporated. Add egg and mix. Add cocoa powder and mix. Add flour and mix. Now stop using your KitchenAid. Add chocolate chips and mix with a wooden spoon. Place in heaping spoonfuls on cookie sheet. When I make them, the recipe yields 16 cookies perfectly. This allows for some amount of cookie-dough eating. (Not that I'm suggesting you eat the dough. Because you're not supposed to. You know. Raw eggs and salmonella and all. Psshh.)
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.


Enjoy them warm. Magically.Delicious.

Compton/Cole Sunriver Takeover

Our weekend adventure to Sunriver was full of things to remember. Swimming. Lost teeth. Dr. Mario. Pirate Ships. 10 Barrel. Vultures eating roadkill. Goody's. Pretend camping. A bunkroom. Donuts. A bridge over the Deschutes. Walkie talkies. Deer poop. A random, and surprisingly awesome, museum tour. Instagram tutoring. Wii playing. Sunshine. Two families. Four adults. Five kids. One toddler. One house.

Thank you Dallas, Whitney, Carsyn, Kennedy and Lane for an epic weekend!

If you've never been to Central Oregon, this is what you've missed out on.

Photo Credit, Eric Compton

Hello. My oldest son is a ladies man. Sorry Dal and Whit. 

A pretend campfire. Five seriously creative kids. 

Some pretend sleeping under the stars. 

How Marshall lost his tooth. 

Their version of "make a funny face!"

Sweet Girls!

Before/After

Life as a toddler

Us. Dal and Whit - not sure how you escaped having your picture taken ALL weekend!

Daddy's Boy 

This pretty much sums up our High Desert Museum experience. It was so much fun. And Whitney and I decided that the tour we went on counts for at least a week's worth of homeschool! Vacation for us - woohoo! (and yes, i know Eliza's sweet little face is blurry. boohoo.)

Eliza reading everyone a bedtime story. Good Night!! Sort of . . . I mean, there were four kids sleeping in the same room. The adults said good night and turned out the light. There might have been talking for hours!

Leprechaun at Lancaster Mall

As I type this, I'm sitting in a hotel room with the hubs. We get to spend the night in Portland before tomorrow's Shamrock Run. I know, I know, another night away. Please don't hate me for having amazing in-laws. They are also giving my kids a Red Robin fix. So we don't have to. Oh gosh, now you really hate me huh?

However, this night away seems like an ample reward for having spent part of our day at Lancaster Mall. Only if you live in Salem would you understand the pain of such an event. Oh Lancaster Mall, how I loathe thee. Half of you probably think I'm a snob now. That's okay. The other half of you are nodding your heads in agreement with me . . . I just don't find much redeemable about this particular retail outlet. 

But, our sweet redhead boy was performing there with his Irish dance class. We don't even know if we have any Irish in our genes. But we have a redheaded son who looks Irish and another son named after Irish whiskey. So, it's fitting that we would have a little guy who loves Irish dance. 

Here is Marshall and his two minutes of fame at Lancaster Mall. We're still not sure why exactly they were performing there. But, Marshall loved loved loved it. He's so proud. Which is all that matters. Nowhere else we'd rather spend St. Patrick's Day. We must really love that little leprechaun.

Home From Vay-cay

Aloha! We just got back from Hawaii. It was amazing. Really really uh.maz.ing. But don’t hate us for it, m’kay?

First, a gigantic mahalo to Gram and Bampa (Eric’s parents) for taking care of Marshall, Eliza and Jameson for the duration of our trip. After this week, more than ever, we appreciate the blessing of family that is willing to take care of our babies. Vacations like this would be so difficult (maybe impossible) to take without that help. Although, ahem, they may have taken care of them a little too well. Marshall said he would like us to stay away for about eight more days. I might have hurt feelings, except that I would not have minded staying away for eight more days.  Haha . . . I really do love my kids.  Really.  But seriously, it is an amazing gift that we are able to go and not worry for even a second about our kiddos … they think it is a vacation for them too!

Now, here are a few more pics to capture our trip and one quick paragraph to sum up the highlights. Then, I’ll spare you all the rest of the love fest.

Highlights: Having my hubs all to myself for six days and five nights. Breezing quietly through airport security without a diaper bag, car seats and stroller (i.e., not becoming a public spectacle in the airport). Sleeping for ten uninterrupted hours every night minus the sound of a baby monitor. Dinner at Nobu, where everyone looks famous and I learned to love sushi and sashimi.  The cute freckles my hubs gets when he’s tan. Spending seven to ten hours every day in the same lounge chair. Staring for hours at the Pacific Ocean and Waikiki Beach. Fresh pineapple delivered poolside. Driving a topless Jeep Wrangler around the island to visit the North Shore. Ooing and aahhing over Japanese brides from the multiple weddings at our hotel.

(okay I lied– two quick paragraphs) Falling in love with the Moana Surfrider. Reading, and actually finishing, books I’ve been dying to read. Sitting on the Moana’s home-y porches in big wooden rocking chairs. The constant sound of the ocean. Dinner on the porch at the Beachhouse, with the most amazing table of all time. Watching Eric's sheer joy over playing with the iPad drink menus at said Beachhouse. Making new friends during our hours in the sun. Morning running with beautiful views, followed by iced coffee at the Bux.  Feet in the sand on Waikiki Beach. Having my hubs all to myself for six days and five nights. (oops… did I say that already?)

One last thing: Honolulu Cookie Company. I am obsessed with these little goodies:

Holy. Shortbread. Here I am back home craving more of these. Any flavor of them. I have yet to find one I don't like. And, let me tell you, I've tried them all. They have unlimited free samples in their cute little stores. And one such store was in the same building as our hotel. Yum. And dangerous.

At about a dollar per cookie they aren’t overly-economical to purchase in mass quantity. So . . . what’s a girl to do? As I was lamenting their absence in Oregon, Eric pointed out that I could just learn to make them. Smart boy, he is.  I’m now on the hunt for the perfect shortbread cookie recipe. I’m open to suggestions and recipes. Glad I’m training for the Shamrock Run at the same time that I’m recipe-testing . . . seems providential to me.