Things to do when you are snowbound on holidays (to keep from going crazy)...

#1

  Make matching superhero capes for your 4-year old and his guys (from left: Soft Milo, Sam, Sam the Bear, Fuzzy Milo, Dog Dog). 

#2

Pose for pictures with your homemade rocket ships. 

#3

Decorate ALL your trees, even the outside ones.

#4

Go sledding in your neighbor's driveway at night. 

#5

Throw snowballs at your 4-year old son. 

#6

Wear as many ribbons and bows in your hair as possible.

#7

Family pictures!

#8

Go for a walk.  Anywhere.  Anytime.  Carrying anybody. 

#9

Enjoy what Santa gave you. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE ERICKSONS!

Snow

Here is our front yard. Enjoy the movie!

Santa, Christmas Boats and MORE Snow!?!

We made it to see Santa (and/or Santa's helper, depending on the story) before the real storms hit, which was good.  Amy was surprisingly OK with all of it, and Sam jumped right up and was ready with his list for Santa, which was a Transformers' math book (?) and a lego set.  Pretty tame.  It was a good trip. 

On Friday, we went to our friend's floating home on Hayden Island to watch the Christmas Boat Parade.  On the way (as we sometimes do), we stopped to play on the "rides" at Jantzen Beach.  Of particular attraction was the Bob the Builder & Rolley ride which funny enough is now a bigger attraction for Amy, who loves Bob.  The kids also rode on a roller coaster ride which was fun. 

A bit out of order, but the above picture was Sam's new Lincoln Log set he got from Papu (an early Xmas party due to vacations).   Below is our house on Sunday. 

Here are some pictures to and from the Bruggers' house down the street, and at Westmoreland Park.  The Bruggers' hosted Chris' book club holiday brunch, and the after-brunch activity was to go to the frozen-over casting pond and do some serious sledding.  Great times!  

And finally, here is our backyard Monday morning. 

Snow Day

Fun weekend with snow.  Woke up Sunday morning with only a dusting on the ground, and then it started coming down.  The kids got to watch it build up outside the window, and then we went out to explore.  It was really Amy's first snow experience, and she was amazed.  Great reactions.  It was old news for Sam, but still fun and exciting.  Until, of course, the winds started whipping up the snow in our faces, and we realized how very cold it was.  Then our adventures turned into a mini-snowman build, and a walk around the block.  We did that 3 times on Sunday, never lasting much more than 30 minutes.  Great times though, and good memories.  Here's some pictures. 

Amy's first real encounter with snow: 

Trying to catch snowflakes on our tongues.  As Lucy from Peanuts says..."I never eat snowflakes December snowflakes" (her brother Linus' reaction: "They taste pretty ripe to me!")

Our retreat indoors resulted in some nice art projects, and this sturdy garage for some of Sam's cars.  As the sign says, "STOP PLEASE" (meant, I think, to stop Amy from walking on it and knocking it over).  This still sits in our living room, 3 days later.  

Sam's snow angel (the process):

Sam's snow angel (the result): 

Trees and Stuff

On Saturday we drove out to Estacada and visited St. Nick's tree farm.  It was (as you can see) a beautiful clear day (a bit cold, but very clear and sunny).  We wandered through all the trees to pick the right one.  They all start to look the same after a while.  We finally found one, cut it down, and took it home.  Then the fun began.  This is really Amy's first time being conscious of having a tree in the house and for a 1.5 year old, its a big deal.  Enjoy some pictures of our tree hunt and subsequent decorating fun.  Cheers.