Travel With Me: Sunriver, Oregon

I’ve been going to Sunriver, Oregon for a long time. I think the first time was when I was 7 or 8, or at least in that age range. Sunriver is technically a resort town, or a planned community, and my family has been renting houses there for a long time. In recent years, my family decided to purchase a home in Sunriver as an investment property, which has been great for helping us take more vacations!

(You can read my previous post about traveling to Sunriver with a toddler here.)

Sunriver is located in central Oregon, about 20-30 minutes from Bend. This means visitors have access to basically all of Bend easily—that means more restaurants and shopping, as well as attractions like the High Desert Museum and the Lava Caves. I’ve been going to Sunriver for so long that I feel like I have a very set routine—but it also means I feel like I know just about everything there is to know.

Rarely ever do I do travel posts, but it’s been something I wanted to start sharing a bit more.

We headed over to Sunriver on Friday evening. Forrest had been having a pretty rough day; he’s been having more separation anxiety from me lately (something he has literally never had before!), and got sent home from school he was so upset. We had a good talk about learning to calm himself down. It probably didn’t help that we’d had a big day Thursday and his nap and sleep schedule were totally off. However, we made it to Sunriver on time to eat dinner.

We ate the Village Bar & Grill. Like most of the restaurants in Sunriver, they have a smaller menu than most people are used to, but they have really good, if slightly expensive, food. I got the Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad, which was spicier than I expected (but still good). Forrest got typical kid food: a hot dog and fries.

After dinner, we made our way to our house. Sunriver had some permanent residents, but is mostly rental houses; my family owned a small house previously, but recently sold it to purchase a different home. It was my first time seeing it and it was as lovely as I’d been told it was!

Forrest played for a little while and then we went for a short walk on the bike path, before I put him to bed. I drank a glass of wine and relaxed with my family for a while before going to bed myself.

The next day, I went for a walk myself in the morning. The best part about Sunriver really is all the bike and walking paths. It is still pretty chilly in the mornings in Central Oregon, so I had to bundle up. However, I was excited because I was going to pick up Danny around noon.

Danny had been at a teaching conference in Eagle Crest, which is also not far from Bend. I planned to pick him up so he could join us in Sunriver.

When I got back from my walk, I helped clean up after breakfast and played with Forrest a bit. He was feeling antsy and excited, but really, really didn’t want to nap at all, despite waking up at 3am. (Yes, he woke up at 3am. Kids and vacation are often harder than I expect.) While I tried to get him to nap, the rest of my family played Yahtzee, which is a Sunriver family tradition.

Once he woke up, I got him ready for the rest of the day and we blew bubbles outside for a while. Then, when my mom got back from a walk, I borrowed her car to go get Danny. He was as excited to see the new house as I was, so we didn’t stop much on the drive back.

The afternoon was spent showing Danny the house, going on a walk, then going out to dinner for my brother’s birthday.

On Sunday, we planned to have a barbecue, so I baked my brother a birthday cake. Then, I went on another walk alone—then a walk with Forrest, because he insisted. When I got back, my mom and brother were planning to go on a walk as well, so of course Forrest wanted to go on that one as well! I think Forrest walked a total of 6 miles!

Once they got back, we headed to the Village to pick up a few things at the grocery store. Forrest had also been promised a book by my mom, so we went to Sunriver Books to pick one out. He picked an ABCs of Oregon book, which I was really proud of; he’s been very interested in letters and knowing what things say lately. We headed back to the house and started working on lunch.

We headed home not long after lunch. It’s such a short drive between Sunriver and Eugene, only about 2-3 hours (depending on traffic and the weather), it makes it easy to take small weekend trips. I’m already so excited for another trip. There are so many things I love doing in Sunriver—the bike paths along the river, as well as the horse stables, shopping at the Village, bike riding, and visiting the High Desert Museum, as well as exploring Bend—it’s hard to pack it into one trip!

Have you ever been to Sunriver? What’s your favorite thing to do?

My Tips for Packing to Travel with Kids for Spring Break

It goes without saying: almost everyone loves the idea of traveling, but the actual traveling is hardly anyone’s favorite part of it. Moving from A to B, B to C, and C to every other letter of the alphabet definitely takes more patience than anything else.

Now add to that a child, who may or may not be old enough to understand patience (or might just not feel like it at that moment), and things get really sticky. I’ve written about traveling with young toddlers before in the form of everything I learned about taking a (mostly) solo road trip and my 4 tips from when we went to Disneyland (and drove the whole way).

We were just recently looking at our photos from our trip to Disneyland. It’s funny to think that was two years ago—and Fo looks so small in all the photos! He was a younger toddler then and now he’s a kid—and things are definitely different now.

When we first had Forrest, it felt like we might never be able to travel again. Even just a trip to the mall felt like I needed to pack an entire army—and if we did travel anywhere, it felt like I had to pack up my whole house and just take it along. We ended up at our destination with bags and bags and bags of stuff for just a few days! And don’t get me started on the pain in the ass it was to take along all my pumped milk, plus my pump, plus formula, plus bottles… I still remember trying to label the tops of my expressed milk to take in the car on our first spring break road trip after having Forrest, pumping in random parking lots throughout the 9 hour drive there, and much more.

I’ve definitely been able to streamline things as Forrest has gotten older, especially when it comes to packing. I thought I’d share my tips for how I keep everything organized in the car. If you’re planning to travel (for the first time or the 100th time) with kids this Spring Break, this one is for you.

1. Invest in Boxes

The best decision I made before going to Disneyland nearly two years ago was buying 2 clear packing containers. They are about a foot deep, measuring 12 inches by 10 inches at the lid. They aren’t super big, but they aren’t teeny tiny either. I used them to pack supplies for Forrest on our trip and so they would be easy to stack and see inside of.

When I tell you I use these every single road trip now, I’m not joking! They make it so easy to keep supplies together. I tend to keep all our travel stuff in one of them; that includes things like sunblock, our emergency kit, some non-perishable emergency snacks, and things like that. I also keep the small DVD player we use in the car for Fo in that bin as well, just so I always know where it is!

2. Everyone Gets One (1) Bag

I’ve definitely made the mistake in the past of packing In a way that doesn’t make a lot of logical sense, like packing one bag for clothes and one bag for makeup. In general, I know if I need more than one suitcase, I’m probably overpacking and need to talk to myself about what I’m doing.

Overpacking is a great way to ruin your spring break (especially the traveling portion), so our rule now is: everyone gets one bag, even Forrest. He gets one bag for clothes and toys. That keeps us from overpacking and means we have room for everything else we need, or any souvenirs we might pick up on our trip.

3. Keep Snacks Contained

My husband Danny and I are very big on travel snacks. It gives us something to do as we drive (especially on a long road trip) and also makes it easy to keep Forrest occupied (“throw him another snack”). I know this isn’t the healthiest way to travel, but honestly, what’s the fun in having a super healthy Spring Break? (Ok, there might be some fun in it.)

We often have this issue of snacks getting absolutely everywhere in the car: bags of candy in the glove box, bags of chips open in the backseat, you know the drill. Suddenly, I need to vacuum my car really bad.

We designate one spot for snacks in the car (as well as where we store extra drinks and water) and really stick to it now. This keeps me from absolutely feeling like I’m losing it and also keeps the car clean. We usually choose the space behind the passenger seat, as it’s easy for Danny to get out and grab (as I usually drive).

4. Think About What You’ll Need Access To

Have a DVD player for your kiddo? Keep movies within arm’s reach of the passenger seat.

Know you want to drink lots of water? Keep water bottles handy within reach.

Pack your car so that you have access to the things you know you’ll need to grab as you drive—and don’t worry about the rest. Charging cables and extra battery packs can be kept in the glovebox or console; books can be kept in door pockets. Pack accordingly.

5. If you’re stopping midway, think of what you’ll only need for that night.

We often have a bin (throwback to item one on this list!) that is just things we need for at night. Oftentimes, we break up long drives with a stay overnight along the way—traveling with a toddler, it’s just easiest for us. We don’t want to totally unload the car, so we usually just take what we need: our bags, our snacks, and the overnight bin (as well as anything valuable, like laptops). That means leaving in the morning is way less hectic as we don’t have to repack the entire car.

6. Remember a Trash Bin

All those snacks, as well as stops along the way, wiping faces, and more… you need a trash bag. I usually grab 4-5 plastic Target bags and stow them in the car, then we use this as trash bags through the drive, throwing them away whenever we stop. It just makes it so much easier to keep the car clean if you have a specific spot to put trash.

Here's What I Learned from An Autumn Road Trip (with a Toddler)

I am not a traveller.

I know, I know. It seems like everyone these days talks non stop about traveling. Everyone wants to travel and see the world. And in some ways, I definitely want to see the world. But I don’t like traveling.

I don’t like driving for long periods of time. I don’t like airplanes. I don’t like the stressed, naked feeling of being transitional between two places (home and destination). I don’t like the anxiety it gives me. And now that I have a small human I’m responsible for, I absolutely do not like having to pack up everything I can think of for him (including but not limited to: blankets, toys, any medication he might need, extra food, juice, cups he can use, forks he can use, emergency meals, and milk). The amount he needs has consistently gone down since he was a baby (no more giant container of formula, bottles, bottle wash, sanitizer bags, Pack’n’Play, and more), but it’s still a lot.

And doing it by myself? Excuse me, no thanks.

Well, I did just that on Friday. Danny had gone over to Central Oregon (Sunriver, to be exact) for a teaching conference in Bend. My parents have a cabin in Sunriver, so we had decided it would be a family vacation. But with Forrest in school now, I didn’t want him to miss a day so we planned to go over once he got done with school.

As the days lead up to Friday, I started to seriously panic. Taking a three-hour plus road trip by myself with a toddler? Packing up the whole car on my own? I was nervous. Danny told me he would be fine if I decided not to do it, but I knew he really wanted me to. And of course, Forrest was excited at the prospect of a vacation. Nothing makes him nervous.

As I wrote on Instagram, I didn’t want my anxiety to make Forrest miss out. Yes, it would have been better for me personally to stay at home for the weekend. But Forrest would have missed out on some potential fun and that prospect made me sad.

So I did it. On Friday afternoon, I packed up the car, got Forrest a Happy Meal (no judgement), and drove 3 hours with a potty trained toddler. Here’s everything I learned.

1. It’s probably going to all be fine.

Probably. My biggest worry was that, while going over the pass, Forrest would need to use the bathroom. Since he’s relatively newly potty trained (it’s been about 3 or 4 months), when he has to go, he usually has to go immediately. This is fairly normal for preschool age kids. However, while driving across a mountain pass, the last thing I wanted to do I was pull over and break out the little potty we keep in the car. However, my anxiety was for nothing: we stopped at a rest area before the pass and he was fine all the way until we got to the cabin.

So yeah, the thing you worry about? It’s probably going to be fine. (Please remember to tell me this next time I go on a real vacation aka go flying.)

2. It’s ok to do things you normally wouldn’t (or that you would).

I had all these plans for things Fo and I would do. Museums. Outdoor parks. Everything. I wanted him to have as much fun as possible while we were on our own mini-trip, especially as Danny was still in a conference on Saturday. However, we ended up going for a nice long walk to get coffee and a treat, then went shopping and spent time relaxing in the cabin. I felt bad that we hadn’t done any of the exciting stuff I had planned, but we did have a nice lunch out together (my first time taking him to a real restaurant on my own) and he really has fun no matter what.

3. The weather won’t cooperate, but that’s fine.

Part of the reason we didn’t do all the fun stuff I had planned? It was raining! I think of Central Oregon as very cold and relatively dry. But it had been raining at home and that rain followed us on vacation. So, the museum I wanted to go to? Mostly outdoors. The walking trails? Off limits thanks to the puddles and downpour. We made it for our walk in the morning, but that was about it. We had fun jumping in puddles outside the cabin, then retreating inside to warm up and go pick up Danny from the conference. The weather wasn’t really what I had planned on, but that’s Autumn for you, really!

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This is a much more personal post than I usually post for Blogtober, but I thought I’d try something different! I had so much fun over the weekend (even when Forrest pretended to have a stomach ache to get us to leave dinner!) and I tried something outside of my routine—and it was all fine! What’s something you are challenging yourself to try this Fall?

How to Maintain Your Skincare Routine While Traveling

I know I'm not the only one who feels like traveling does an absolute number on my skin. Switching between different time zones, climates, and more can make my skin go absolutely haywire. Case in point: I spent a week in Idaho this month and even though I kept up my skincare routine, I was left with rough, bumpy, red, dehydrated skin by the end of the week. *Cut to me whining here.* 

Skin is a delicate thing. Sometimes, I wish I worried just a little bit less about my skin--but I've been chasing "perfect skin" for a long time. I know it's not going to be attainable; skin is supposed to have texture, pores, and more. But dryness? Redness? Irritated bumps? No thanks. 

Without further ado, let's talk about how to maintain your skincare routine while you're traveling--and that includes packing everything up. 

1. Narrow down what you need to bring. 

I think most people with serious skincare routines experience that our routines are changeable, depending on what's going on. A prime example, for me, is that if I'm noticing a lot of dryness, I'll use a hyaluronic acid mask or serum; if I'm breaking out, I'll stop using whatever foundation is hurting me and start using a little extra jojoba oil. It's a balance and unfortunately, on vacation, you're stuck with the bare essentials of your routine. So narrow everything down: what is the order of things you do every single night? For me, it includes: 

• Make up remover: jojoba oil 
• Face wash: The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Wash
• Toner: Mario Badescu Rose Toner
• Moisturizer: Pacifica Crystal Youth moisturizer

That's just the barebones essentials, the things I know will keep my skin as good as it can, even in dry, super hot weather. 

2. Packing it up. 

Now, how do you pack all things? Personally, I do not like traveling with my giant bottle of jojoba oil and face wash. I try to keep my packing to a minimum. So here's what I do: I put dollops of everything I need in contact cases. You heard me: those little wells are perfect for packing two or three days worth of oil, moisturizer, and face wash. I usually use one case per item. You can buy a value pack of contact cases that are color coded at Target. Then, I just pack those contact cases into a makeup bag, along with a few other essentials. They are less likely to leak and help you stay organized. 

3. Making time. 

This is the hardest bit on vacation, isn't it? Making time to actually wash your face at the end of the day instead of collapsing into bed with some room service or snacks. The way I do this is that it gives me about 10 or 15 minutes to decompress every evening of vacation. I find traveling very stressful (I'm actually not a huge fan!) and so those 15 minutes are my life blood; I need them in order to sleep well and make it through the next day. It also helps ground me and make me feel a little bit more at home. And if my skin is going haywire from the weather or a different climate, well, it makes me feel like I'm doing a little something that makes a difference. 

4. Correcting when you get home. 

Maintaining your routine while traveling can go a long way towards ensuring that your skin keeps looking great. But a lot of things are out of our control on vacation. As I mentioned, my skin got incredibly dehydrated while I was in Idaho: not dry, but I started noticing bumps and redness that is typical of when my skin is in need of some major TLC. Once I got home, I started using rosehips oil (great for when your skin needs extra moisture, as well as to reduce redness) and my hyaluronic acid mask. If your skin decides to go off the rails while you're on vacation, you can always pop into a drug store for a mask or add an extra moisturizer to your routine; and when you get home, you can take steps to baby your skin and give it that extra TLC. 

7 Reasons You Should Take the Trip You've Been Thinking About

1. You can't remember the last time a weekend including something that wasn't errands, cleaning, and/or more of your week time work. 

2. You really, really just want to get out of town. 

3. You found a hotel on TripAdvisor that you just have to visit. It has soaking tubs. Woodsy decor. Eco-friendly mattresses. You read the restaurant menu and rapidly become obsessed with trying green goddess dressing. 

4. You just want to eat, shop, and pretend you have no other responsibilities (such as work, an impending human child, or a house to clean). 

5. It's not really that far away. 

6. You joke to everyone--your coworkers, your husband, your family, your friends--that you "may not come back"! Everyone laughs, but you seriously consider the financial and emotional consequences of raising a child in a hotel. 

7. When you get back, you'll realize how valuable everything you left behind is: work, smelly dog, potentially smelly husband, undone baby nursery, unpaid bills.