MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Let it Snow! Let is Snow! Let it Snow!

In an effort to keep my spirits up after I helped my husband, unsuccessfully, get our van out of the driveway this morning at 5:30 so he could get to work 4 hours earlier than he was scheduled, I decided to share some winter joy with you.
As most of you know, and some have experienced first hand, we in the Portland metro area have seen our fair share of snow this week. Yesterday was by far THE BEST snowfall and we took full advantage of the cold white stuff. Since Jilly refused to wear the new snow pants that daddy insisted she have, we bundled her the best we could and headed outside. The following slideshow is the result of the weeks snowy adventures.
I am intersted to see what today brings as right now, my car is burried under about 10 inches of snow and does not appear to be going anywhere any time soon. Eeek!!!

A Succesful Hunt

This past weekend we embarked on another Mat/Rat tradition, our annual Christmas Tree Hunt. The girls were much more mobile this year so it took some extra energy to keep them close and safe while we maneuvered the hills in search a our perfect tree. But in the end, a great time was had by all and we did not leave empty handed.
Here are some pictures from start to finish.

And for Miss Em'y, please pay special attention to the last picture, notice anything familiar? She lacking in starch but hasn't stopped gracing the top of my tree since 1997. :)





Happy Holidays everyone!! May your Christmas celebrations be truly blessed by the reason we celebrate this magnificent season!!

Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

So the weekend of the New Kids on the Block concert was a busy one. We headed up to Washington Friday afternoon with virtually no plans except where we were going to stay and that I was going to the concert. Saturday morning, we woke up, had a leisurely breakfast with my Dad and his girlfriend, Jodi and they suggested that we make use of their new zoo membership and take a trip to the zoo. That sounded like great fun and as it had been over a year since Jillian had been to any zoo, we thought a trip to the zoo would be a great idea. Despite the chilly weather and no one in our family being prepared enough to bring a coat, it turned out to be a beautiful day and we got some great pictures. Enjoy!

After the concert that night, I crashed around 1am, only to wake up at 7 the next morning because I had made plans to get together with my girls and scrapbook. Unfortunately, I still had quite a drive ahead of me, so the girls got a much earlier start than I was able to. But I joined them around 1 for some pizza and other goodies. And got a few good hours of scrapping in before we had decided to call it a night. I don't think any pictures were taken of our time together but here's a couple from our last scrapbooking extravaganza!!