Happy Birthday Mom!

We just got back from another trip down to Bend, this time with the Pearlstein clan to celebrate a very BIG birthday for my mom! It was a perfect trip and the best part of all was that everyone was together, which was exactly what my mom wanted for her birthday. Here’s a few shots from the week…

I did the 6+ hour drive down on my own with Olivia. Funtimes. Especially with a kid who NEVER sleeps in the car. Ever.

It actually went pretty well overall, although there was a moment when I looked back and saw this.

Bored much?

Before my family arrived Doug raced in a HUNDRED MILE mountain bike race up Mount Bachelor. Impressive, huh? He never ceases to amaze me (although I think he’s a bit crazy for attempting this sort of thing). 10+ hours on a mountain bike in high elevation and difficult terrain? Done. He rocks.

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We spent the morning of her birthday with the girls at Tumalo Falls.

I tortured my family with a pre-birthday dinner photo session. And although the men all moaned and groaned and complained, I’m so glad that I did because I captured this gem:

{Everyone actually looking at the camera with their eyes open? Check. It’s a miracle. Pretty sure you’ll see that pic on a Christmas card this year.}

We also took a trip out to Smith Rock. It was seriously awesome.

Major points to Mark for hefting Olivia both down AND up the climb to get to the river. His gym workouts are apparently paying off big time.

We, of course, did some tax-free shopping while we were there. Gotta love Oregon for that. Olivia picked out both this dress and horribly-overpriced heart glitter purse, which she convinced Grandma to buy her, of course. She was in heaven.

As I think I’ve mentioned in previous posts, she is obsessed with her purse, and won’t go anywhere without hers. She literally won’t pee without it. In case anyone is curious what she carries, I stole it from her momentarily and captured the goodness.

She was cracking me up all day in the dress. She put it on in the morning, posed for photos, insisted on wearing it hiking (you’ll notice it paired with running shoes as a “compromise” for our trip to Smith Rock), and then let me take a zillion more photos in the afternoon. She’s obsessed. She wore it yesterday as well, and is already begging to put it on today.

{Mega sun-flare. Ooops.}

Grandma love.

Yet another awesome Bend sunset. They never get old.

The drive home: apparently she decorated herself with markers and then spent several hundred miles sitting on one. Sweet

And of course a stop at a killer eastern Washington fruit stand in Thorp. I now have more peaches & nectarines than I know what to do with. Cobbler anyone?

The end.