If I think I playing catch-up on the blog (posting everything from the past 3 weeks...Oregon and Christmas) I won't ever blog again. It sounds much to exhausting. So I will try to wrap it up quickly and move on to today.
We had an absolute WONDERFUL time in Oregon. The kids did awesome. They loved everyone, but payed most attention to Grandpa, Grandma and Clay. Kate is madly in love with Clay. I'm sorry to Clay whose whole vacation consisted of sitting on the couch with Kate on his lap, facing him staring forever in his eyes with a huge smile, caressing his face. I'm sure it was fun for the first 20 minutes or so, but 7 days....wow Clay, you are awesome.
We got to stay with my brother Jake and his family for 3 days in Portland while it poured snow outside. I think the local Portland crowd was ready for the snow to go away, but we loved it and it made it feel much more Christmasy.
I got to get together with one of my best friends/roommate from college...Darcee, and meet her adorable twin boys. I was crazy and hectic with my kids, her kids and my brothers kids (6 kids, ages 4 and under), but it was well worth it.
I also got to catch up with one of my best friends from high school, Tim, and his wife Stephanie. We've all three known each other since we were 7 years old. I still am so excited and that they ended up getting married. Thank you Tim and Steph for traveling through the crazy icy roads to see me and my little ones.
After our stay in Portland we moved on to the beach where my parents lived. Because of the crazy weather, they were in the car that day for over 10 hours driving to and from Portland to pick us up. We were so grateful to them for getting us.
The beach was a blast. I guess that last statement makes it sound like we actually hung out on the beach....far from the truth. It was rainy, windy and cold, so we were bundled up inside eating outrageous amounts of junk food and watching movies. I am embarrassed to admit that I didn't step foot on the beach one time. Maybe it was this very lack of physical activity and eating homemade candy for 3 meals a day (...for 2+ weeks) contributed to my slight weight gain over the holiday. Some of you may think I am exaggerating, but unfortunately I'm not. My once too loose clothes are now too tight clothes. Bummer. It's a new year, right?
I wish I had pictures to show all of our fun memories, but since the airlines changed the amount of luggage you can bring, I wasn't able to pack my camera. My Mom took some pictures, so I'll post those another day.
As for Christmas cards...I actually was really on the ball, and had them made and printed up in November. However they are still sitting in our guest room in their original box. So....Merry Christmas to you all and I love you!
We painted a few walls in our house. We're not finished yet, but I feel like it's finally coming along. It feels better with some color.
