Getting into the Spirit

The last few weeks have been a little crazy. Lots of things going on and buying a new business and getting started with that have left me a little frazzled and barely even aware of the fact that it is Christmas time.  I feel like I have missed it this year. Friday night we finally took a little time to get into the spirit and headed downtown to visit Santa Land. 

Santa Land at Macy's is a staple for many Portlanders. I know people who have been going since they were kids themselves. We have been a few times but my favorite part is just being downtown and seeing all the lights.

 After our visit with Santa we went outside to visit the Christmas tree. We were with our neighbors and we had a good time looking at the lights and listening to the Christmas music. It was just what I needed to relax and really enjoy the holiday season. Just being downtown at Christmas time can really put me in the mood.

Then  today was gingerbread house day.  Some years I make the gingerbread houses and some years I get lazy and buy a kit. This year was the laziest yet, I bought a kit with the house already built. 

 Luke and Hannah got a little silly with their house. Tyler and Cole stuck with tradition.

I don't really think it matters though. I suspect that they just like building them with the intent to shoot them up with BB guns later. It's another holiday tradition. And you can't mess with tradition.

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving Weekend

This Thanksgiving we stayed home for a change, something we have not done in probably five years. I love Thanksgiving. It's probably my favorite holiday of the year. It was nice to be at home and to cook Thanksgiving dinner for a change, which I always miss doing when we are not here. Despite the fact that I probably spent two days cooking for a meal that took us 20 minutes to eat, I loved it. It was a nice quiet and relaxing day, we just hung out together, ate plenty and watched Super 8 (loved it!!). 

Julie and the family did come up late on Thursday night and spent Friday and Saturday with us. It was fun to hang out with them for a couple of days. Friday we did some shopping and took the kids to see Hugo. Then on Saturday the boys went up to Brown's Camp to do some target shooting, so the rest of us headed out for a little walk in the woods. We headed out to Noble Woods Park in Hillsboro where we did some letterboxing. We found 3 out of 4 boxes hidden along the trails at this quaint little park.

It's always more fun to take a little hike when you have something to search for along the way! We rewarded our efforts afterwards with some frozen yogurt. Then we said goodbye to our cousins and ended our relaxing weekend. We are now ready to face the holiday season and are getting excited for winter break!