Eagle Crest Family Gathering!

We are off this weekend for a winter get away and time spent with FAMILY!!  All of my sister’s family will be gathering at Eagle Crest Resort outside of Redmond, Oregon for either the weekend or all week!  People are coming from New York, Colorado, Bandon, Baker City, Vancouver, and the Portland area!  What fun!  New babies to hold!  Two year olds to play with in the snow! 

We get away from Baker around 2:45 pm on Friday to clearing skies and beauty!  Rick drives the whole way over three passes that are snow covered, but not too bad.  Rest of the way the highway is clear.  As we drive from Prineville to Redmond, Rick calls my attention to the back window….and a rising full moon coming up over the horizon!  The clouds are making it a misty fuzzy orb!  But it looks huge and beautiful! 

Everyone comes together nearly simultaneously around 7:30!!!  Gretchen and Shawn welcome us to our “suite” in the hotel unit up near the road – we tell them to take the bedroom with Tucker and we will take the sleeper sofa in the living room.  It is a nice unit and will work just great for us – only a mile down to the condo where everyone else will be. 

Main condo for the rest of the group is down near the river to the south of where we were a couple years ago.  Staying there will be Liz & Dave, Grandma Mac, Doug, Kirsty, Erik & Kaila, and Reinhart and Kate, Erik’s dad and step-mom. It will be a full house.  Four will be sleeping out in the living room!  No sleeping out on the deck this time – it is snow covered and more forecast for tonight! 

 Erik and Kirsty have brought 3 Papa Murphy’s pizzas (the Vegetarian Grande is wonderful!) The evening is spent with a late dinner and good conversation, and of course a little entertainment provided by Tucker and Kaila, although the latter goes down to sleep FINALLY for the night.  Kirsty said she had been awake most of the day. 

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We arise on Saturday shortly after 7 to SNOW!  And currently snowing!  Oh boy!  We should have brought the snow shoes.  After exercises, devotions, and a quick breakfast I head down to the condo with Gretchen, Shawn, and Tucker.  Rick opts to relax in the room and make sure he is over his cold before joining us later.   

Overall the next two days are filled with visiting, sharing, games, way too much food, and occasional walks or skiing outside.  Saturday it snows off and on ALL day – a fine powdery snow much different from the heavy wet stuff they got last week.   Tucker plays outside in the snow for awhile, Kaila eats and eats, and Grandma and I try on clothes, watch the Boat Christening videos, plus Grandma teaches me to play Kings in the Corners, the card game Tom’s gal Heather taught her last fall.  Fun game.  We also taught Reinhart and Kate how to play Qwerkle, which they really enjoyed.  Plenty of pictures taken, mostly of cute little kids of course! 

Liz and I went for a walk late in the afternoon along the river in the snow!  We headed downriver at first, but got blocked by downed juniper trees over the trail.   The wet snow from last week has really done a number on the trees at the resort – considerable breakage, etc.  There are piles of tree branches everywhere as workers have cleaned up the grounds. 

Gretchen makes chicken and dumplings for dinner!  Wow – good meal.  I can see I am going to eat way too much this weekend!  Cookies everywhere, good food, wine flowing…..oh dear!  After dinner we all learn how to play Oh Hell!, a Boëhme family traditional game (that’s technically Erik’s family name).  A game of bidding and tricks, but not ALL that complicated! 

Sunday morning Rick and I picked up Liz and Grandma Mac and went to the Community Presbyterian Church in Redmond for their 8:30 praise service.  Can’t say I enjoy a service of totally praise music, but the timing was right as Gretch & family and Doug need to leave shortly after noon.  The later service wouldn’t have worked as well.  Rick and I would have preferred a trip down to Bend to hear a sermon titled “Jesus in Blue Jeans”!  We stopped at the market and picked up salad fixings for lunch.  I have brought an enchilada casserole for lunch, which ends up fairly tasty and enjoyed by all. 

After lunch – goodbyes.  Gretchen and family take Doug back to Portland to visit friends before flying back to NY on Thursday.  Then…..an afternoon of more games, a walk with Kirsty, Kaila, Dave and Liz, and more food!  AGGGHH!  We play a game Reinhart and Kate brought that builds trains all over the German countryside!  (Reinhart immigrated to North America - settling in Vancouver, BC- when he was in high school, so the German is still strong within him!) When Rick and I left around 9:30, after a round of more family pictures and our goodbyes, they were just settling in for a good game of dominoes.  I opted out so Rick and I could get an early start in the morning. 

Tucker is full of fun and an active little boy.  He loves to play jokes and be “funny”.  He is so smart!  Kaila is still very much a mommy girl, but she is tolerating strangers and beginning to be aware and awake more often!  It was wonderful getting to spend some quality time with Kirsty and Erik and meet Erik’s father and step mom – both delightful people! 

Up Monday for an 8am departure and a BEAUTIFUL drive back over the center of the state through snowy mountains and sunshine!  Home around 1pm. 


Click HERE to see all the pictures from the weekend! 


PS.  My computer is being really grumpy, so I am going to post this sans pictures.  Just click above to see them all!  Sorry!