It's Tradition!

The whole Corrigan clan!

No, I'm not talking about the Sausage fest, I'm talking about the annual Labor Day weekend trip to Sunriver! For the last 13+ years, my family has traveled to central Oregon to just "be together" for the weekend. I don't think I've missed one year! Even when Megan was just 6 weeks old! We have one family from Seattle, one from Hillsboro, three from Vancouver and one from Dallas Texas!

family pose

My dear parents (esp. my mom) spends hours and hours preparing for this weekend with games, food, planning activities! You have to have quite a plan when 20 people are involved (we've expanded to two houses). This year my mom even wrote out a schedule (kind of like supernanny does after the big talk with the parents)on a big poster board-I meant to take a picture of it, but forgot! She even posted it on the wall in the house we stayed at. We had a ping pong tourny, foosball tourny, texas hold em, phase ten (I know there's more, I just can't think of the rest). We all bring a gift card and put it in a basket and when you "win" something, you get to go choose a prize!


The little kids don't miss out on the fun either....my dad started a tradition of "pirate island" years and years ago (way before the pirate craze of late). A few years ago, he even drew up a map. (Each year it gets a little more elaborate with costumes, etc. ) The kids go on a scavenger hunt and find "buried" treasure. They love doing it and even the big cousins who have outgrown the hunt, get to help Poppy plan it.

The kids are getting ready for their scavenger hunt to pirate island!

Megan just learned to ride her bike without training wheels a couple weeks before our trip

Kate has "mastered" the trike!

There's a story behind these cookies......so it's late and it's our last night in Sunriver and we've tried to eat leftovers so there isn't much food to munch on and my sis in law and I decide cookies sound really good, but the stores are closed and Bend is too far away....so let's make some! Easier said than done since we are in a rental house and who knows what baking supplies we could...we soon found ourselves on our own scavenger hunt! We found sugar, flour, butter baking soda or powder, I can't remember....we found a half a dark chocolate bar (it was mine) that we promptly started crushing....hmm not enough for a whole batch....then we spotted a Costco size trail mix bag....sweet, m&ms.....so I started sifting through the bag to get to all the m&ms....we're in business.....until we discover we have no eggs...deal breaker, but alas other sis in law pulls out a secret tupperware container in the fridge (anyone from a large family knows you have to hide stuff to save it), anyway, she had brought the eggs for her one year old's meals....back in business. So we started throwing in ingredients and low and behold, they turn out....sort of....come to find out, baking soda and baking powder are not interchangeable, but that's ok, it did the trick and we had a yummy treat (they were pretty hard by morning!!!!) So anyway, that's the story behind the cookies!

Yes, that is my little girl climbing that wall with NO fear whatsoever (I think the wall was about 20ft high)!!!! I couldn't believe it....she did it three times and rang the bell each time....she's a monkey!

There's a really fun indoor pool that the girls had a blast playing in!

Since Labor Day weekend also coincides with the kick off to college football season, we always get to watch the Huskies (my three brothers and two sis in laws are alums). You may not be a Husky fan, but how cute is she???? She even made up a cute cheer (too bad the Huskies got spanked!!!!)


Anyway, we had a great time and especially loved the family prayer time when we share what's going on in our families and share praise and prayer requests. Thanks Mom and dad for all the efforts to make it a fun weekend year after year!

Poppy and Nana with all the grandchildren (and Lisa)

Me and my siblings (from left Me, Kyle, John, Paulette and Brian)