More from Christmas

One of the nicest things about this Christmas was the fact that it was truly a white Christmas. Very unusual for Portland.

From Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas from Our Winter Wonderland

Today in Oregon

Christmas Tree and Santa Train

The holiday season is in full swing. We met up with friends to ride the Santa Train last week....a beautifully restored old train that does a short jaunt to downtown Portland and back with a special appearance by Santa. Six boys under the age of 7= a lot of energy. But there was plenty of room on the train so we made sure to sit in our own little compartment so we wouldn't annoy any other passengers. It was a gorgeous day...which may explain why all the boys are squinting...we aren't used to this much sun in December!
Then we headed out to a local tree farm on Saturday and found a lovely tree...again a sunny day. The whole tree excursion was a lot of fun except for the part where the tree almost slid off the car while we were headed home because the tree farm "helpers" neglected to tie down the back part of the tree. Fortunately, we realized what was happening just in the nick of time...and the tree was secured and made it home in one piece.

Making dinner rolls on Thanksgiving

Playing the Wii

Harvest Party

Sean's class had their Thanksgiving Party today. Here is Sean dressed as an indian, singing "Albuquerque the Turkey".

Up At Mt. Hood

This was outside a store in Government Camp, on the way up to the mountains. The boys were very excited to see small piles of snow around town.

Sunday Dinner

We are finally using our dining room. Not sure why we waited so long to use this room...now it's the designated spot for Sunday dinner.

Halloween

Things we've done lately

Played outside on a day off from school (Jackson), went to high school football game (lasted until halftime), had a doctor's appointment (4 shots....ouch....and up to 46 pounds and 44.5 inches tall).
Side note: Jackson had his check up as well. I was certain he and Sean would be the same weight, but Jackson has crept past the 50 pound mark...he is now 51 pounds and 49 inches tall.

Warming up for swim lessons

Mouthful of Hay

This is from our trip to the pumpkin patch last week. Despite the mouthfuls of hay, the boys wanted to go again and again.

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Saturday soccer game

Getting ready for a bike ride

Sean has been coming up with some rather fetching combinations of clothing lately.

Homework

This is one of the biggest differences between kindergarten and 1st grade...homework! We have a few pages of reading and/or math plus we are working on 20 minutes of Jackson reading to us out loud each night. Keeping Sean occupied during designated homework time is sometimes a challenge.

Jet boat ride

On Saturday, I took the boys out for a Willamette Jet Boat ride. It was a "moms and sons" expedition ,organized by our local park and rec department. The boys loved it! The boat goes up and down the Willamette river and offers great views of downtown and the surrounding areas. Of course, the big draw was that the boat goes very fast and as an added bonus, the driver does several high speed spins and quick stops along the way ensuring everyone gets sprayed with water (unless you duck down). Fortunately it was a warm sunny day and we all dried off quickly.

En route to school