Belated Merry Christmas To You!.....

The snow kept on coming and coming. I know if I was living in a place like Michigan, North Dakota, or Alaska then the snow we had in Portland would be nothing to speak of. But for our area....2 feet was a lot to deal with. It basically shut down the city right before Christmas. Hubby and I ventured out a couple of times in the thick of it to get groceries and fresh air. Silly I know but for some reason being couped up made me really want to have Chinese food. It was so hard to find a place open with all of this snow.


By Christmas Eve the city had gotten control of things enough that we decided that nothing would stop us from being with my folks for Christmas. Our home is at an elevation of something like 400 feet while they are at 1100 feet on the top of one of the larger buttes in the countryside. The snow that we had in the city was nothing compared to what they had. We loaded up the car with presents, groceries, and overnight clothing and our faithful 4x4 got us most of the way there. Putting our belongings on the sled and hiking the rest was easy enough since my dad had shoveled a path for us.

Most of our extended family was unable to get out there but my brother and his wife were able to trek out for a few hours before another layer of snow hit. We had a wonderful evening together making memories, playing cards, and sharing stories. Christmas day began with our traditional Portuguese breakfast of vingadalsh, rice, and eggs and became a snuggle day for the rest of the time we were there.

Here are just a couple of highlights of Christmas for us.
One of the large trees in my parents yard fell under the weight of snow and ice. It landed on the roof over my Nana's bedroom. Praise God that no one was hurt and from what we can tell around all the snow there is no real structural damage aside from one limb poking through the porch eave.

News of all news!

My sister-in-law is going to have a baby!

I am going to be an auntie!

There is much more to tell but for now I must go.

Blessings to you and I hope you had a wonderful and joyous filled Christmas.

Jack Frost Nipping At Our Noses....

Here is a picture of the top of Mt Hood peaking through the clouds.


Our youth snow day was a huge success!

At first, our plans were to hike out into a wilderness area with all of our tubing and heater equipment to in essence, carve out a name for ourselves. However, 24 hours prior to departure, we opted for one of the local recreational facilities. After all, why re-invent the wheel? I am so glad we chose Plan B.

Leaders and youth alike had huge smiles on their faces throughout the whole day as they rode the tow rope up and slid all the way down. Friendly competition was the name of the game as each one tried a more zany way of tube riding form. The most sought after position was being able to ride "knee surfing" style with hands in the air. Wipe outs and giggles were inevitable. My brother had brought along a bag full of crazy hats and wigs to aid in the play. I must admit that at first I thought it sort of a silly idea. But here I am to admit I was completely wrong. The more goofy the youth could make their head gear the better. It became part of the sport to see if their ridiculous head dress could stay on their heads at higher speeds and bigger bumps. Then if it was lost on the course, the finder became the new victor.

Speaking of competition, I got out there quite a few times myself. I had been looking forward to the idea of snow play and figured that if I could do an 800 foot zip line then I could certainly handle the fun of snow tubes. Then the ever present voice of sacrificial motherhood started to creep into my head. I figured I would pay for my family to have fun and sacrifice my thrill for the sake of money. That was a short lived thought however when one 17 year old from our group said, "It's a good thing that they have heated tents out here because I just don't picture the grown ups being out in the snow very much."

Yeah...that was all it took for my stubborn self to over ride the mother martyr in me. As I rode the slopes, I laughed, giggled, bounced, and caught air with the best of them.

As I handled my 4WD back down the mountain, I looked in the rear view mirror at the 7 sleeping ones in my charge and thought this will definitely have to be a yearly trip.

A rare sighting of the illusive snow bunny!

Plan B...

Well, we have had several stumbling blocks in preparing for the youth snow day. Amazingly, though the bus barn will let us rent a bus for a mountain trip, they don't want their equipment in the snow..............I am not going to touch that one.
So, I started arranging things for a carpool. However, there are so many of our leaders that are sick right now, my husband and I would be the only ones available for the day. No matter how skilled we are, we just can't transport 30 kids up to the mountain slopes on our own.

Plan B....Our house is going to be open today for games, movies, and food.
It is a beautiful day and I think we will have a ton of fun. I wonder if letting all the youth jump on our trampoline is a recipe for disaster. haa haa...

You might be wondering about the miracle of the clothes that were provided the other day? We aren't giving up on the idea. We will just reschedule the snow day for our March fun.