A Tale of Two Christmas' Part 2

***I'll finish the post soon, I just wanted to post the pictures***

On Tuesday we flew to Oregon to spend the holidays with my parents. Oregon is such a beautiful and peaceful place to visit. It rains a lot, but the year round lush green is lovely. It was unusually foggy the first couple days and Mike took this picture from my parents backyard. It looks black and white, but it's in full color.


On Wed. Mike and Sarah went with my dad and nephews to a neighbors tree farm to cut down a tree. (I like the behind shot of Mike ;-)




Here is a cool picture Mike took


Sarah got a hold of the camera, and here are some of her special shots






The finished product


My parents inherited my sisters large, yet gentle, pitbull Jackson and Steven followed him around giving him hugs all week.




Sarah usually feeds the horses with my mom, but it was Steven that wanted to brave the cold this trip.

A Tale of Two Christmas' Part 1

This year we were lucky enough to have Santa visit us twice. He heard we would be in Oregon for the 25th, so he asked if he could come early and bring some of our larger gifts. A lady in my book club is a flight attendant and gave me the idea.

On Sunday the 20th Mike's parents came over to celebrate our 1st Christmas. Sarah got exactly what she wanted, a toy kitchen to play with. I bought it from a neighbor for cheap, so it was great.



Sarah also received a robe like mine and some princess items.


Steven's favorite toy was a robot that "walks" and talks. He likes to be chased with it. He also got a lot of cars and airplanes so we can have plenty to travel with.


The most exciting item, at least for Mike, was buying the kids a new Jeep Power Wheel. I find it amusing that kids love the cheap and easy toys more than the expensive ones. When Sarah came downstairs she said Steven could have the Jeep since she has a kitchen to play with. Mike took the kids for a ride around the neighborhood and the cat even joined them.

Pre-Christmas Fun

I almost didn't post these, but I figure my family will appreciate the pictures and hearing about our mini adventures. Kids are so much fun and are always entertaining. :-)

Sarah found Mike's old do-rag (sp?) and put it on Steven. I can't believe my husband ever went out in public wearing this.



Steven was very kind and helped me shovel snow. It has been my chore so far this season, but I'm thinking of using the pregnancy card soon.



Sarah is going to be a flower girl in my sisters wedding and was SO excited to wear her own "wedding dress" when it arrived. She didn't want to take it off.





Sarah and I went to see the Mountain West production of the Nutcracker with our friends and she really enjoyed it. We hadn't read the book yet, so she had a lot of questions, but she loved the dancing and has been Clara on a few occasions. We have now cycled through five or six Nutcracker books.



Sarah's school had their Christmas concert, and it was pretty much the cutest thing ever. I was very proud of them for learning all the songs and actions.

Sarah Starley Photography

Sarah really enjoys taking pictures. Whenever she gets a hold of the camera there is always an artistic surprise waiting for me. Tonight there were 160 pics on our sim card and 80% were from Sarah. Here are a few examples.

We have the self portrate selection





The, "I love my feet" photographs. The other day she was walking down the hall taking a pic at each step.





People I love pics





"Cats really are cool people!" pics



And random, yet significant pics. The thing I like most about these is that she would take 3-5 pictures of the same thing, but from different angles and depths.









She's a fun girl and I'm so grateful I'm the one that gets to be her mom. :-)