Christmas Eve

Logann, Peyton and Colin giving us silly faces before we started opening gifts.

Peyton being goofy

The kids walking on the step stools that Grandpa Dukes made for everyone.

Christmas Eve is always our time to spend time with the Dukes' side of the family.  This year we headed over to Amy and David's house to celebrate with them along with Sydney and Lincoln, David's mom Lois, Darryl and Sherry, Grandma and Grandpa Dukes and Brent and Jen with Logann, Peyton and Raegan.  We had a yummy dinner and then the kids opened their gifts.  All the cousins have a wonderful time playing together and they were all excited about Santa's arrival later that night.  It was so nice to spend the holiday with such a wonderful family.  We feel very blessed to have them all in our lives!

Polar Express

This year we took the kids to ride on the Polar Express Train ride in Hood River.  We had tickets to go last year, but as we were driving to the event Colin started throwing up in the car.  Needless to say we didn't make it last year, but the good news is we did make it this year.  My parents came with us and the kids had a wonderful time.  The kids wore their pajamas while they were on the train, we drank hot chocolate and ate cookies.  We rode the train to the North Pole where we then got to see Santa's house.  Santa and his elves boarded the train and asked every child what they wanted for Christmas and then gave them a silver bell.  We also got to sing Christmas carols and listen to the reading of the story of the Polar Express.  It was a cute holiday event and I'm glad we made it this year!

Colin's Class Christmas Party

Colin's class had a small Christmas party on the last day of school before winter break.  The party only lasted about 1/2 hour.  The kids played games, listened to a Christmas book and ate yummy treats.  The kids each brought a book that they then exchanged with another student.  Colin loved his book and had a wonderful time at the party. 

Colin's Christmas Program

Colin had his Christmas program as school earlier in the month.  A Christmas story was read, all the kids sang songs and then the performance was followed up by juice and cookies.  My mom and Sherry came up for the event.  The whole performance lasts maybe 15 minutes, but it was so cute to see Colin up on stage.  Last year he didn't sing at all and this year he got into it a little bit and I did see him sing.  Little kids Christmas programs are about the cutest thing ever and we love that his school puts one on every year.

Christmas Storybook Land

Every year the city of Albany puts on a holiday event called Christmas Storybook Land.  A group of volunteers provides a simulated walk through a Christmas lighted forest where you can view over 85 scaled down scenes of Mother Goose rhyme characters, fairy tale characters, and family movie characters, some of which are animated. In addition there are two huge train displays, and a Victorian Village and Main Street. At the end of your walk, you reach the North Pole and can visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus!  The event is completely free but they do ask you bring a food donation for those in need in the community.  The last time I went was when I was a kid and this was the first year that we took the kids.  We met Andria, Owen and my parents there.  The whole display was really impressive and the kids had a great time soaking it all in. 

O Christmas Tree

This year we went to a Christmas tree farm and cut down our tree.  We love having a fresh Christmas tree in the house during the holiday season.  You just can't beat that Christmas tree smell!  Last year was the first year that we did it and had such a good time, we decided to do it again.  The kids got candy canes and had a wonderful time picking out the perfect tree.  I definitely think this will be our new family tradition.