Christmas

For Christmas, my side of the family headed to a cabin...and this year...there was snow (we had sunshine and green grass two years ago). The facility has a tube run already made so all play...no work for us! The kids also loved exploring the river that was partly frozen over. Many times they could be seen carrying around a huge chunk of ice that they had broken off. Sam loved the tube run...although after one run when some snow blew in his face...he covered his face every time after that. He wasn't real happy when we made him walk up the hill though...he much preferred being carried.

portraits

I decided to update the pictures on my living room wall...I already had sr pictures for Rob and Raechel so took some of the others to the park by our house and snapped away. With a little help from the computer...this is the result...not bad for an amatuer! (or however that word is spelled). Christmas pictures will be coming soon. Work has kept me busy trying to get all the stuff ready for taxes.

Family pictures

Why we always wait until December to take family pictures is beyond me. But, the top item on Robert's Christmas list this year was a family picture. Of course it has been a year and a half since he has seen us (of course the kids have all grown and look older but I think Steve and I look younger...don't you!). This was our lovely experience trying to take pictures. The camera is on a tri-pod with a timer. So after I push the button...I have "jump into" the picture. It took a few times to get Sam to look at the camera. When we finally got him ok...Mark had to do the peace sign! Then, Sam took off just before the camera took the picture...It was a crazy night.

Oregon

One of the afternoons we drove up to the lake near Baker City and walked around. Of course the temperature was probably below 35F. This is Steve and Sam admiring the view.

More snow pictures

Snow in Oregon

We went to visit my sister, Shauna and her family in Oregon for Thanksgiving. It took us a whole day back in California to thaw out...it was so cold up there. It had snowed earlier that week and enough stayed on the ground that the kids were able to go sledding at the golf course. The kids had a great time visiting their cousins and we really miss having them close by.

Sam's birthday

For whatever reason, the video is not attached to the other post so we will try again. A description of what this is about is in the next post. I had to really edit the video to make it small enough to put on the blog. This went on for a good 2-3 minutes. Listen closely for the YMCA music and watch his reaction when it stops.