Ladies and Gentlemen, Due to Lack of Interest, Christmas is Cancelled.

This is my backyard right now. That "frost" on the surface of the chairs is actually a casing of ice about a half of an inch thick. The snow, which has be falling all week, has a little frozen skating rink on top of it. And Christmas is canceled.
School was closed all week.
Jonah's Christmas program at pre-school was canceled.
Christmas shopping is not happening.
Church was canceled today (don't even bad Catholics go to church the Sunday before Christmas?)
Yesterday Jonah and I ventured outside for a while to get some essentials. The rations of bread and Diet Coke were running low. Can you imagine what would have happened if we had run out of Diet Coke this weekend and were ice-bound? Scary....Other than that, I have left the house about 4 times times this week and Amy has probably been out twice. That is a long time to be inside with two toddler boys. We've played a lot of Candy Land, and a lot of Zingo and a lot of Super Smash Brothers.
I guess we should just be grateful that we are warm and safe and haven't lost power...yet. And we are. But it does suck a little joy out of the season when you spend the week before Christmas sitting around the house looking at each other.
I think today we will make Christmas cookies. And then eat them all, because we can't go outside to deliver them to anyone.

Snow Day

We thought it would never happen. That was one of the "pros" of moving here, actually. But it did.

Snow Day.
This is what we woke up to this morning. I know all of you people who live in Utah are thinking, "What is that? A quarter of an inch?" Well, yes it is. And let me tell you all of the odd snow day events that occurred due to that quarter inch.

1. I had to shovel my driveway. Good thing I kept my snow shovel. Actually I did about two passes and then thought "Aw, forget it. This will all melt."
2. I saw other people shoveling their walks with brooms (like the poor Priests in our ward. Does the church not own a snow shovel?)
3. I saw children playing in the snow in coats, gloves and shorts. Really? You don't own long pants?
4. Families brought blankets to church to sit under. Adults. Not children.
   
5. Church was canceled after sacrament meeting.
   
6. All auxiliary meetings and tithing settlement were canceled.

Don't you think this is how snow days should always be treated? We hurried home, put on sweats and will sit the day out with a fire in the fireplace and Super Smash Brothers on the Wii.

Jonah, the ever obedient, was a little disappointed that there would be no lesson today. Luckily Amy had prepped a lesson for her primary class, so they went ahead and had primary on the living room floor.Noel took advantage of the opportunity to play video games. Which I suspect he will do ALL DAY long.

Happy Snow Day!

Gettin' Crafty Wit' It.

Well, we went and got all crafty again. I don't know what it is. I went my whole life without stepping foot in a Michael's or JoAnn's, and here I have gone twice in the last six months.

We felt like the kids are old enough to start giving gifts to each other for Christmas. Jonah still doesn't quite get it. Anytime I tried to ask him about getting a present for Noel he would just say, "Why don't you just go get a present for me, and you can get one for Noel too?" Hmmm...

A friend of mine takes her kids to the dollar store and gives them each a dollar and they can pick out whatever they want for each other. That seemed fun, but ultimately we would just end up with a lot of crap from the Dollar Store. Another friend of mine has her kids make presents for each other. That way the money spent is minimal and they get the satisfaction of doing the work. And while I don't know if we will ever reach her level of awesome homemadeness, we thought we would give it a go.
So we busted out the paints and markers and goodly eyes and new mini glue gun and set off. We didn't try to keep it a secret. And this was the result:
They each mad a couple of egg carton bugs for each other. Every time we would say to Noel "Noel, what a cute bug you made!" Jonah would say, "Excuse me, Don't you know that bug is my Christmas present?" So there will be no surprise on Christmas morning. But they seemed to have fun. And Jonah was thrilled to help wrap them and put the under the tree while Noel played computer games.

And I must say, that picture is misleading. It makes it look like I was doing the work. Amy actually did all of the bug construction and got paint and hot glue all over her hands and tried to keep the kids clean while I put my head down to make a wreath for the entryway:
So give credit where credit is due. Amy did all the work and all the photo taking.

Where's my Square?

There is a temple in Portland, but it is nestled in a forest, so there is no Temple Square. Thus, no pilgrimage to Temple Square to see the lights, stopping off at the food court at Crossroads mall for a Cinnabon. Wait, isn't Crossroads Mall a big hole in the ground right now? So no Cinnabon? Wait - that's not my point.

If you know Jonah, you know he loves holidays and celebrations and most importantly, decorations. In fact, we really mostly put up the decorations for him, because he loves them so. And he lurves lights on houses. It is the greatest thing on earth to him. When we lived in Salt Lake, we had a special route to drive home from Grandma's house to pass the most possible lit up houses and houses with inflatable penguins on Harleys in the yard. So since there will be "See the Lights at Temple Square" on our calendar this year, we did the next best thing: Zoo Lights.

Our kids, as previously noted, love the Portland Zoo. And every year, the Zoo gets all decked out in lights for the holiday season. It is pretty impressive, actually. The trees are all lit up, and the walkways and there a moving animal light sculptures all around.
The problem with photos at such an event is that the flash flashes, making everyone looked washed out and also dulling the Christmas lights in the background. We tried.

Good thing last years winter coats still fit! Notice the river of lights in the background with lighted fishes jumping out of it. Lovely.

The cherry on the cake was the zoo train, which we must ride every time we go to the zoo, even though it costs extra and mostly you see the back of the zoo. It was all lit up for the holiday and was quite simply Jonah's every wish and dream come true.
The picture doesn't quite do it justice. Luckily the kids were so enthralled by the lights we passed that the weren't listening to the man behind us discussing his latest trip to Hooters. Who goes to Hooters, anyway? The food is gross. And then why would you talk loudly about it on a train full of small children? I hate adults at the zoo.

So, hats off to the Portland Zoo! You did good work! And while the spirit of the Lord was not quite the same when looking at a giraffe with a heart in its mouth as it would have been seeing the live nativity at Temple Square, at least there is a Cinnabon in the Fred Meyer 1 block from my house.

Tree Time

When you live in Oregon, it feels like a sacrilege to own a fake Christmas trees. If you didn't know, Christmas trees are born here. When you get out of the cosmopolitan metropolis of Hillsboro you see beautiful little rows of miniature trees just waiting to be chopped down and left to die in someones living room. It's charming.

So rather than unbox the fake tree, we ventured to the Hagg Tree Farm for free hot chocolate, Santa, a hay ride and a tree.
Santa had candy canes to give out. There was no knee sitting. Is that no longer legal in this day and age? It does seem odd to just indiscriminately plop your child on a stranger's knee, even if he is Father Christmas. Noel was a little scared so he didn't ask for anything. Jonah wants a pirate ship. Noted.

The "hay ride" was really a rickety old tractor driven by a really old man with about 4 bales of hay on the trailer. The day was glorious. I still am yet to see all this alleged rain that falls here. We've had a couple of rainy days, but nothing crazy. I am thinking that it's merely a lie to keep the state from getting overcrowded. Wait, was I not supposed to reveal that? Whate'er. But really, do you see that blue sky?
For some reason, Jonah kept referring to the Tree Farm as the Pharmacy. So here we are, heading through the pharmacy.
We found the perfect tree, and I cut it down. Are you surprised? Did you think I would have asked the nice tree farm people with the chainsaws to do it? Nope.
We lost our car keys up in the pharmacy. I am not kidding. Fortunately Amy found them. Pretend Noel is car keys and see if you can find him. That is what it was like, only tougher.
We dragged the tree down the hill. Again - I didn't make the farmers do it. I am manly that way.
Yeah! Tree!
Doesn't this just make you hear Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas" in the background?
When we got home, Jonah was so excited to decorate, he could hardly stand it. Noel went upstairs to play computer games. We realized that the lights were still on the old tree. 2 and a half hours later, I had successfully removed them. Jonah was still excited, if a bit impatient. Noel was still playing computer games. Here is the finished result. I love real trees. They smell good.

Jonah and Noel each got a new ornament - Jonah's is Wall*e and Noel's is Rocket from Little Einsteins. This picture only took 9 tries to get.

Merry Christmas!

Yes. Yes it is.

This is what was sitting on the counter when I came home:
Yes, honey. I do think those children are creepy.

Autumnal Wrap-Up

In my mind, the autumn is already over. Is that how you feel? I know Thanksgiving is still a week a way, but I have been listening to Christmas music on my iPod for two weeks now, and my mind is already in Christmas mode. I am not one of those people that believes in giving Thanksgiving its own sacred space and not mentioning Christmas until the 4th Friday of November. Perhaps it is because I am a retailer, and we start talking about the holidays in September. I love Thanksgiving (what's not to love about a table full of food?) but I think of it more as the entrance to the Christmas season, which I adore.

So before we move on to posts about holiday decor in our new home (real tree this year? we have a banister that is presenting a new design dilemma, etc...) I thought I better blog up a few autumnal events that never got mentioned here.

1. First and foremost, October brought a lovely visit from the Petersons. Lovely. And too short. And action packed. There was not much sitting around. There were trips to Powell's and delicious muffins and trips to the zoo.

We took the requisite trip to the Tillamook Cheese factory.
Interesting thing about the cheese factory. If you go on a Saturday, they are not making cheese.
See the empty production lines behind us? They are less impressive than the working production lines. Amy and Logan were sorely disappointed.
Luckily, there are still all you can eat cheese samples to try.
And we had lunch there and ice cream so it wasn't a total waste of a trip.

So we headed to the beach.
It was cold, but beautiful as always. We played in the sand, and built stuff and pushed Noel on the swings (mostly that was Amy, because I lose patience for that activity in about 45 seconds.)
We had races with Uncle Jayson and Papa:
And while "getting our feet wet" Jonah fell face first into the water and had a wave crash over his head. The special part was that we had packed extra socks, shoes and pants for the boys, knowing that boys+ocean = getting too close and getting your pants wet. However, we did not pack an extra shirt, not anticipating that one child would go completely under.

2. Noel's third birthday.
Fortunately this coincided with the Peterson visit as well, so Noel was good and spoiled. Noel's cousin Isabelle has a birthday a few weeks after his, so there were gifts for her as well. And then because we are push-over parents, there was a present for Jonah too. Is that wrong? We just didn't think he would understand why everyone was getting presents except him.

We also thought it would be fun to do a pinata. We bought the pinata and stuffed it with crap from the dollar store. We then realized that we hadn't really planned a couple of key elements, i.e. where to hang the pinata and what to hit it with. It was too dark at this point to go outside and hang it from a tree, so I held it on the end of a broomstick. Then I stood behind the counter so as not to get hit with the bat and create our own "America's Funniest Home Videos" moment. Then the kids hit it with a plastic golf club. Which wasn't really strong enough. So eventually we had to just set the pinata on the ground and let the kids beat until there was a hole in in and then we just shook all of the stuff out.Noel's cake was Little Einstein themed.

Aren't you getting impressed with my cake decorating skills? I think I need to upgrade to professional grade dyes for more vibrant colors. Don't you agree? Anyone want to get me those for Christmas?

3. Halloween.

Jonah was superman. Noel conceded at the last second to wear a pirate hat.
Jonah did NOT want to take this picture. This was the smile he did when I yelled "If you don't smile you don't get ANY candy!" We did a bit of Trick or Treating and then went to Chanel's house were there was a zone's worth of missionaries and a roasted pig.Isn't that what you did on Halloween? Roasted a pig and ate it with the servants of the Lord? You know us...always doing the same old traditions!

4. Cardboard Airplane.
We made a cardboard airplane. What? That's really all I have to say on the topic.

So happy fall. I need to go plan my pie selection for Thanksgiving at the Taylors'. I believe there should be one pie per adult in attendance, so I think I am bringing 4.
1. Pecan
2. Apple
3. Eggnog
4. Banana Cream? Triple Berry? I just don't know. Thoughts?

They're here...

The good news is, I picked these up at my local TJs today.
Hooray! The bad news is, we are going back to Utah for Christmas in about 5 weeks. How many pounds could I gain in 5 weeks?

Oh, I also bought this:
Damn.

The Obama-Nation

I was inspired by you, Kacy. I voted today. Well, OK not today. In Oregon, we vote by mail - everyone votes by mail, so there really are no polls. It is great for its convenience (I voted for last Friday in my PJs on the couch with my wife) but not so great in the sense that there is no sense of showing up to be counted and no free sticker that entitles you to free donuts and free hot chocolate at various places. Bummer. Originally the plan was to have the voting be a family activity and talk about why we vote and teach the kids about civic duty. Then the kids were hellions that day and went to bed early and we were exhausted and I am sure I ate something fattening and then we watched the Amazing Race. Its all part of the primrose path, my friends..

But I voted. And I voted for Obama. I like his message of hope and change. And I really believe (if he wins) that there is some truth in there and that it won't just turn out to be political rhetoric. I like his stance on health care, and on education and the environment. This is the first election I have really been informed in, and I loved it. I like feeling like I am part of something.

I feel like in our PC world, sometimes we feel like we can't say who we are voting for. Because that would encourage discussion, which might lead to debate, which would lead to contention and woosh there goes the spirit. But isn't politics all about discussion and debating and challenging ideas? I was afraid to tell my mom who I was voting for for fear of the debate that would ensue. Then lo and behold, she is an Obama supporter too!

So vote, if you haven't. And if you did, be proud of it. And talk about it. And ask other voters why they voted. Toby Ziegler always says that decisions are made by those who show up. So go show up, already.

Note: Most of my political understanding is shaped by Josh Lyman, Toby Ziegler, and sometimes Sam Seaborne. So sue me.

Spooky Pumpkins

Don't you love the fall? P & L posed the question "Are you one of the Autumn People?" I answered a resounding "Yes." And coincidentally won this book for doing so:Thanks P & L!!

And if you think you have seen autumn splendor, then you need to make a trip to Oregon. (I know this blog is a love affair with Oregon. Sorry. Deal.) The leaves are turning copper and yellow and orange, outlined with the green of all the pine trees. And it the morning, a mist hangs over everything. It is spectacular.

On Saturday we (with the assistance and guidance of Ms. 5) took the kids to the Baggenstos Farm and Pumpkin Patch.

This in Noel's face on the way to the Pumpkin Patch:Poor little tortured boy.

Who loves funny pictures where you put your heads through things? I do!

There were lots of fun things for kids to do including Pumpkin Bowling. Dee-lightful.
Do you see the little dance of joy at having knocked over some pins?

We loaded into the hay wagon and headed off to pick our pumpkins.

Mine was a big one that was sort of green and orange. Lovely. Jonah promptly picked out the ugliest, most misshapen sideways pumpkin I have ever seen, as he is want to do.
Noel almost immediately started calling out for a Baby Pumpkin. "Baby Pumpkin! Where are you?" Unfortunately in the actual patch, there were no little pumpkins - but we did find one once we got back to the farm store.

And tonight, we carved. Anyone know if pumpkins carved on a Tuesday night will last until Friday? Let's see. Jonah and Noel were too grossed out by the seeds and guts so I got to do all the gutting. (De-gutting? What is the verb here?)
And all of the carving...Because who wants to give a knife to the 3 year old and tell him to stab something? Not me. We did leave baby pumpkin unscathed and Noel felt good about that. Here are the results.
Spooky! Happy Halloween!

For more fun Halloween reading, check out P & L, Tookie, Kacy and The Craig Report. And go see this play. Because I can't and it makes me sad.