christmas eve rocks

the polar express

And that's the way they do it on the Polar Express . . .
We watch The Polar Express every year. While at first I found the annimation creepy, I've grown to love it and actually WATCH with the kids rather than knit or read like usual. So this year we took a trip up to Hood River for a ride on the Polar Express. It was all jammies and cocoa and Santa. Emme got VERY shy when Santa came but said she loved him anyway.

happy birthday to our sweet boy

Emme ran into my closet this morning and said in a very serious voice, "Mama, Evan is 8 today." Yes! I love birthdays and my kids birthdays are a great way for me to express to them how much I love them. I didn't feel complete as a person until I gave birth to Evan. He is my very best boy - I am quite googly about him.
He started the day with pumpkin waffles and Harry Potter - then ended the day with Salted Carmel Vanilla Apple Pie and a movie party with his boys to see Tron Legacy. Happy Birthday Evan!

zoo lights

Another year with dear family and friends at Zoo Lights - and this year was the best yet - we scored the back of the caboose - all the sweet kidlets bundled in together. We shared cocoa for the kids and a special "coffee" for the adults. The train got stuck half way through so we got an extra 15 minutes to singing and goofing around while it tried to chug us up the hill. It was a perfect evening!

visions of sugar plums

Ems and her best friend

Ems and her best friend had a date at the zoo. They are almost like brother and sister - equally at home hugging or telling each other what to do. E is still very close to his preschool best friend - I am so grateful my kids have developed these close relationships so early.

back blogging - pictures from Thanksgiving

christmas outtakes and a finished product

What a time I had getting a good picture for the Christmas card this year. Here are some outakes plus the finished product.