Skiing with Papa at Mt Batchelor

First time back to the slopes in a couple years.  I decided to try skiing again.  I haven't skied in over 15 years.  Hunter and Noah did half day lessons which gave Pat and I a few hours on the slopes, and then we took the boys up from the lesson area to the bunny slope.  

Noah really picked up skiing quick once he had a couple runs down on the bunny slope.

We aren't in the UK anymore...

Oregon and the west in general has a lot of pick up trucks and a lot of these trucks are outfitted with big tires and jacked up suspension.  The kids keep saying - look at all the monster trucks!   Being in the UK you never see that - hardly anyone drives a pickup and cars and even trucks are small in comparison to vehicles in the US, however today we came across this monster in the parking lot of a Walmart that even I had to stop and take a picture of... 



Christmas 2013... back in Bend

Try moving across the ocean a few days before Christmas and actually being ready for Christmas :)  Nonetheless we managed to have the house decorated, gifts all delivered, tree up, and Christmas dinner to boot in our new house!  Santa/Father Christmas was still able to find the kids even with the recent move!  Hunter received an electric Guitar, Noah - a BMX bike, Abbie - a crib/feeding table for her baby dolls along with a sing along microphone, and PJ a Train table!

Christmas morning videos

Santa also got the older kids pogo sticks... here they are just trying them out for the first time. 

Noah loving his new bike!


High Desert Rainbow

Red flew in today - Dec 23.  I planned it that way so that we wouldn't have to deal with picking him up at the same time we were all arriving together jet-lagged.  On the 3 hour drive from Bend to Portland before I started into the Cascades, a rainbow appears and slowly started getting more distinct.  Actually there were two rainbows but the lower one became more full formed as I drove closer to it.