Sunriver Fun - Playing in the snow & treats

Last weekend we drove out to Sunriver for a long weekend.  Time to play in the snow, soak in the hot tub, swim in the pool, and just hang out.  Sunriver is the perfect spot for that. Well, at least in my opinion :)

We rent a cabin {oh yes, complete with hot tub :)} and play outdoors.  This was the first time we have gone in the winter; prior to that it always either late, or early summer. The driving over the mountain pass has actually held us back in the past...you never know whether there is a snow storm up on Mt. Hood.

It was raining in Portland - snow storm on Mt. Hood - dry in Bend - snowy in Sunriver

Because of the snow storm on the mountain we left town {that is Portland} without any groceries, except you know Pasta, Earth Balance, a couple of packs of Oat Milk, and - yes - chips as a snack for the girlies...I have to admit so, that the last time we went out to Bend we realized that there is a Trader Joe's on the way.  Otherwise, I would not have left without our essential food items as sometimes it can be a little challenging to get "safe" foods for the girlies :). In any case  needless to say our first stop was at Trader Joe's where we stocked up on Soy Yoghurt, Chocolate Soy Milk, bread etc. - After dinner it was the perfect time for a soak with snow falling on our heads - such a nice change :)

We woke up to winter wonderland and decided to give Cross Country Skiing a try.  Do you remember our snow shoeing day?  If not, Mia Rose was not so excited about hiking on snowshoes, so it was time to give another winter sport a try.  We honestly, did not know how the ladies would like it.  It could go either way, right?  Well, if you know us a little bit you understand that we have to spend time outdoors. We love the outdoors...anyway we rented skis, drove towards Mt. Bachelor to "Meissner" Sno-Park, and gave it a try...

I think that we have found our winter sport!  Yes,  we all loved it - serene, beautiful, a good workout....the girls did such a fantastic job.  The first day we skied 2 miles, and the second day we went out for 3 miles. Take a look...

Cross Country Skiing at Meissner Sno-Park

See what we found...

Can you see "it" on Alena's hand?

and you know what? There was even a little coffee shop trailer at end of the trail and - now that IS the really big news - they had Vegan Hot Chocolate for the ladies.  We were so, so excited.  Alena asked first "Oh, I really wish I could have hot chocolate..." we asked and voila...THE perfect treat for both ladies as well as for both parental units...But you know, that it would have also been okay for both girls had they not been able to have a treat at the coffee trailer on at the Sno Park.

#Thankful for #Newbornscreening {#video} by Alena

Here is Alena telling us what she is thankful for this 2012 Thanksgiving Holiday.  We took the video at our hike at Tryon Creek :)

Alena would really love to hear from you :)  Thank you!

Movie, Dinner, and Dessert...

is how we spent our Sunday afternoon.  This week is #KinfofestPDX - a mini German Filmfestival here in Portland - which also included a children's movie "Tom Sawyer" {in German with English subtitles}.  We obviously just had to go, because how often do we get to see German movies in the theater here in PDX?!  

The movie started late in the afternoon, and yes Mia Rose was still a little young for it. Alena loved the movie, while Mia Rose declared that she never, ever wants to see that movie again....

After the movie...

Mia Rose after the movie...

It was already late by the time the movie was done, so we decided {as we do after the Kids Symphony} to have dinner at Pastini's.  On our walk over we saw a frozen yoghurt shop.  Guess what?  Yup,  they had vegan sorbet.  Yay - it was a desert kind of day...You know, I am always so excited when we can find dessert for the girlies.  It is just something we always have to spend extra energy to look for.  Of course, one can  make the argument that since everything in the store is milk but the frozen sorbet that it could be inherently contaminated with milk.  Well,  yes it certainly could contain milk traces but so do many food items; but what happens?  It is not that the girls - at least not ours - would have an immediate, life threatening reaction. So I think we need to keep it in balance.  Yes, it could very well be that there is a risk of cross contamination, but the fun, and enjoyment our kids get from eating frozen vegan yoghurt by far outweighs the potential minute adverse effect...Just look how much fun they had...

Do you know who is in the background?

Right?!  Of course you do not need to agree with me/us but this is how we parent our children.  This is how we empower them and they do have fantastic job!  

Shopping...

what a boring title, is it not?!  Yes, admit it...I admit it :) In any case, that is it for today.  No dinner post - I am really not totally back in the swing of cooking it was Taco Sunday today - but a post about shopping.  It is exciting so, well at least that is what I think.

You may remember that we met with our fabulous metabolic team, and dietician this past week.  One of the things that were mentioned was that Alena should start to read labels and determine herself whether or not the item is safe.  Well, I thought maybe we start this in six months or so but today we went on our first major shopping adventure.  Why not?!  So today was the day where I had Alena read food labels to determine whether or not the item is safe for either of the girls.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Alena to be excited about this.  She was - s o  s o  e x c i t e d as she read through all the wild ingredients on some of the items.  One word - empowered!!!  At the end of our shopping trip both girls saw a bag of "White Cheddar Pirate Booties".  Now I know that they are not safe, but how would the girls know that without me telling them, right?! So as they asked I encouraged Alena to read the ingredients.  As she read through the first ingredients it was a "oh, I think it may be OK" she read on and ended "Mia Rose we cannot have this.  It has milk." With that she put the package back and that was it.

We will keep working on it on our remaining shopping trips before my favorite season of the year ends...