Couch Potatoes!!

The girls....playing a little Animal Crossing City Folk on the new monster couch. They both had friends over for a sleep over last night, so their batteries are running just a little low today!

I, on the other hand, have just about finished getting all the Christmas decorations put away. Feels good to get things put away and back in "order" (if ever there could be such a thing in a house with three kids!!). Uncle Shawn also came to visit today...and he came bearing gifts!! He brought the kids the Wii Outdoor Challenge game which was a big hit. It is a great get yourself off the couch, jump around, and get your heart rate up doing stuff like snowboarding, kyaking, in-line skating, jumprope, etc..... LOTS of fun for kids and grown ups!

Oh, and photo editing below compliments of my rockin' new camera I got for Christmas!! A total gadget geek's (that would be me!!) dream--a Nikon S60!!! LOVE it!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

To all our family and friends.....MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hope Santa was very good to you all. I would say we all ended up on the nice list here :-)

Sledding with the kids

The kids and I went out for a little sledding adventure in the park down behind the house when I got home from work today. Yes, I said "work", as in Salem, as in an intensely LONG day on the road. And might I just say I WON'T do that again any time soon!!! (Getting around in a car is getting very interesting!). It was nice to be out PLAYING in it this afternoon rather than behind the wheel of a car in it. It was perfect sledding snow--we had a blast!!!

Yet more snow!!

The back deck has been somewhat uncharted territory, so minus what snow was blown away with the wind the other day, below is a fairly accurate representation of just how much snow has fallen in less than a 24 hour period. (click on the photo for an enlarged view!)

And it Just Keeps Coming Down

So here we are five days later, and WOW lots and lots of snow. NO school ALL week (one little head fake on Thursday...ultimately they cancelled). We are officially calling it a three week winter break. We have spent a lot of time consoling the kids who are just heart broken having been out of school for an extra week (yeah, RIGHT!!!).

It really has been totally amazing. Unlike anything I have seen in the 12+ years I have lived in Portland. We are getting around town right now with just the Suburban chained up. My car has been parked up at the corner for most of the week (minus a couple of small windows I was able to sneak out and get to to work).

Today it snowed like it normally rains ~ it just kept falling and falling!! I think we have at least 6-8 inches around our house. The kids had some friends over today and braved the elements for a little sledding time outside. The freezing rain is supposed to show up tonight so I'm thinking we will be indoors for most of tomorrow.

Cabin Fever meets Camp Rock

After being trapped in the house for hours on end, when the batteries are run down to red in the DS's and mom shuts down the Wii, all that is left is to resort to making up "a routine". And so here are the girls doing their own production of ......well, you can watch the videos (if you dare!) Watch out Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And as a side note, I am happy to report that the big, wide open floor formerly known as "the stage" has since been filled with the giant new couch we have been waiting for. There was a tiny window of opportunity on Thursday for the delivery to be made--YEAH!!!!

Winter Wonderland!!!

By 9:00am The Storm arrived in full force!!! The kids (including cousin Morgan) are having a blast playing outside in the snow.

First Gymnastics Meet

The girls had their first meet last Sunday. I was totally prepared for a day of nerves and "tummy aches", but they did it with barely a mention of being nervous!! They were pretty proud of themselves. This one was at their gym and there was only one other visiting team. The next one is in February sometime, and they will go to someone else's gym.

Below are just a couple of the videos ~ the first one is Emma's floor routine. The second one is Sara's beam routine.

On the hunt for Santa

We set out to find Santa last night. Unfortunately, Santa was nowhere to be found at Bridgeport Village (I guess everyone needs a day off). But along the way we came across the great Christmas tree in the center of the square. Oh, and fear not....Santa was on duty at Washington Square!!

Happy Thanksgiving Birthday to Caty

We spent Thanksgiving week out at the beach. Thanksgiving Day this year doubled as neice Caty's 11th birthday. Chocolate cake AND pumpkin pie....lucky us!!! :-) Happy Birthday Caty!