Before Christmas, we went to the MoTab Christmas Concert featuring the King’s Singers with Nate’s whole family. It was the first time I’d been to their Christmas concert, and it was great! They had the stage all decorated and the music was really neat. Afterwards, we all went to the Little America for a gift exchange party, complete with Christmas bread and sparkling cider. We had fun picking out gifts for Anna the week before, and she happened to draw our name too and got us some great gifts.
We spent Christmas in Oregon with my family, but first we rode with my parents (who drove from Oregon to UT) and David and Camille up to Idaho Falls for my grandpa’s 80th birthday party. It was quite the party – most of the family was there, along with friends from the ward and community. I hadn’t been up to Idaho Falls since I was in school more than 4 years ago, so it was really fun to see all the cousins again. Nate hadn’t even met a lot of them (I figured it was better to wait until we were married so we wouldn’t scare him off ;). After the big birthday party, we had a Landon family Christmas party and gift exchange. It was pretty crazy with all the kids running around, but we were able to watch the rest of the BYU bowl game – a miraculous win for sure!
After the brief stay in Idaho Falls, we made the trek to Ashland so we could be there on Christmas Eve. Here are some highlights of the Christmas celebration:
- a “dollar store party” on Christmas Eve for Jessica’s birthday (my mom picks games and prizes from the dollar store and we play them all to compete for the prizes).
- Acting out the nativity, complete with a pregnant Mary (my sister-in-law Stacey) riding the donkey (David) and the cutest shepherd ever!
- The Morris family “variety show” – Nate and I played a duet of “Little Drummer Boy”, him on the piano and me on the drum I got at E&Y training; we also had singing; the Morris version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas; an entertaining dance by my parents; an animated reading; and a Backstreet Boys lipsync, complete with choreographed dancing.
- Finding books hidden in the living room by dad (our traditional Christmas Eve gift)
- All the kids pulling our mattresses out to the family room so we could sleep in the same room
- Great gifts (given and gotten :) croissants & hot chocolate, and lots of relaxing on Christmas Day
- Snow! Only an inch or so stuck on the ground, but since it’s rare in Ashland, it was fun to have a white Christmas Eve and Christmas
- Bowling (My score was a surprising 123 – that may be a personal best!)
- A trip to Portland – we got to see Jess & Shane’s new house (it looks great!), went downtown shopping and walked down to the river, and played games. We drove through the beautiful Columbia Gorge on the way back and made a quick stop at Multnomah Falls.
- a “dollar store party” on Christmas Eve for Jessica’s birthday (my mom picks games and prizes from the dollar store and we play them all to compete for the prizes).
- Acting out the nativity, complete with a pregnant Mary (my sister-in-law Stacey) riding the donkey (David) and the cutest shepherd ever!
- The Morris family “variety show” – Nate and I played a duet of “Little Drummer Boy”, him on the piano and me on the drum I got at E&Y training; we also had singing; the Morris version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas; an entertaining dance by my parents; an animated reading; and a Backstreet Boys lipsync, complete with choreographed dancing.
- Finding books hidden in the living room by dad (our traditional Christmas Eve gift)
- All the kids pulling our mattresses out to the family room so we could sleep in the same room
- Great gifts (given and gotten :) croissants & hot chocolate, and lots of relaxing on Christmas Day
- Snow! Only an inch or so stuck on the ground, but since it’s rare in Ashland, it was fun to have a white Christmas Eve and Christmas
- Bowling (My score was a surprising 123 – that may be a personal best!)
- A trip to Portland – we got to see Jess & Shane’s new house (it looks great!), went downtown shopping and walked down to the river, and played games. We drove through the beautiful Columbia Gorge on the way back and made a quick stop at Multnomah Falls.
snow in Ashland, dollar store bowling, and Landon the shepherd
Pioneer Square in Portland, the lower part of Multnomah Falls, and Jake & Nate on the bridge
It was a great vacation! It’s always hard to come back, but it helps having something to look forward to – like 2 new nieces and 1 new nephew coming in February and March! And a house! We stopped by on Sunday to check on the progress and it seems to be coming along well. It’s starting to look like a house and not just a wood frame. Here are the latest pics. We can't wait until February!
Cabinets in the kitchen, We have lights! (this one's in the stairwell), Nate taking a shower
The hall upstairs between our two other bedrooms
3 comments:
Great blog! Even though I was with you for most of it, I loved reading about it. House looks great. Can't wait until you can move in.
The house looks great Becky! What is next to Nate in the shower picture? Is that a bathtub? I'm excited to see it!
hi! thanks for the christmas update. i must say your bowling score is amazing and you and nate are sure cute together.
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