The first chunk of the season we spent home in Indiana. We had the chance to enjoy the Christmas lights of the Winding Brook Park neighborhood. Very impressive! I especially loved how many nativities were displayed. We were in a nativity ourselves as we served as Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus at our ward Christmas party. (I need to remember to grab some pictures - we didn't get to take any ourselves. Do any of you readers have some?)
We also had the chance to make cookies and carol for neighbors (one neighbor even opened the door! The rest weren't home. Our timing needs some work), as well as go see Santa. We bought some icicle lights to throw over our bushes (in spite of not being here to see them for most of the season), then packed for Oregon!
Baby and I headed off on a mostly uneventful couple of plane rides to the land of the Pacific Northwest. Our reason for abandoning Jordan was to be present for Hermana Despain's return from her mission in Tampa, FL. It was so great to see her home!
Between that event and Jordan's reunion with us, we had the chance to attend my brother Evan's basketball game, as well as a Dance Showcase for him and my sister, Lauryn.
Sis is the one front and center in the white sweater.
I come from a talented bunch.
(Forgive the poor cinematography - I was probably nursing a baby at the same time)
Once Jordan joined us (as well as all of the other husbands and my sister, Kandis), the party really started! Aside from Christmas, the main event was a big trip to Portland. Our little family headed out early with a few stragglers in tow to see some sights in downtown Portland. I expected to impress Jordan with Powell's Books and then satiate a craving at SushiLand, but it seemed to go the opposite direction - we both found Powell's a little underwhelming. Maybe it's gotten smaller as I've gotten bigger?
After our separate adventures, we joined the family at PortlandMcMenamins Kennedy School for some professional portraits, via our photographer, Stephen. The kids went to the Zoo while the rest of us went to the Temple, porting along a babysitter so that Jordan and I could go do sealings with my parents and endowed brothers and sisters.
The plan then involved all of us going to the Portland Zoo Lights. A couple of near-accidents, a screaming baby, many tears, no parking, and a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd later, and we opted to just turn around and go home. Best decision ever made.
Next thing we knew it was Christmas! Santa was very kind to us. Some of our favorite presents included an awesome iPhone case, board games, socks, and Fiddler on the Roof. We also enjoyed a BYU Lawn Gnome from Trent and Nadia, and some comfy Hawaiian sandals from Lauryn. Earlier we had received a beautiful ornament from Mom Walser, as well as a shirt for Angela and a beautiful Willow Tree nativity. I'm going to get in trouble for listing favorites - it's hard to remember all of the wonderful presents we received!
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| Christmas Dinner! We traditionally wear funny hats from poppers. |
The day after Christmas the other cousins and their parents all hurried away early in the morning, leaving us to fill the void. We were able to convince everyone remaining to come out and see Into the Woods with us - a fantastic movie!
The next day we headed home with a couple of hiccups. Our plane was delayed out of Portland, leading us to miss our South Bend connection from Chicago. Conveniently, it's only a two hour drive, and the roads have much less traffic at 1 a.m, so we rented a car and made the last leg of our journey. We are now trying to recover from whatever Pacific Northwest bug we caught that gave us all a runny nose (probably our least favorite Christmas gift).
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