Swimming and sliding

Pure. Water-logged. JOY!!

A little escape to downtown Portland

On Boxing Day, Paul and I escaped into downtown Portland to buy some suitcases. Well that's the excuse we gave anyway. We ended up having a lovely couple of hours browsing the bookshelves at Powell's, noshing on Voodoo donuts, and checking out Portland's food truck scene. All in all a perfect couple of hours that went by way too quickly!

And then it was Xmas!!!

We weren't sure if Santa was going to be able to find us, but he sure is one clever guy. Not only did he find us in Portland, but he got everything just perfect. He brought Elliot and I both our very own kid iPads and bicycles for Claire, Evan and Kathryn just exactly like we all wanted.

But that's not all he left behind! He tore a little bit of his Santa suit on the fireplace screen and also left snowy footprints on the hearth. He ought to be more careful!

And after everyone got up, we all exchanged presents, and El and I got heaps of cool dinosaur books and stamps and stencils and cool Imaginext dinosaurs with armour and little men that ride on them. Elliot even got a three-in-one dinosaur Lego!

But that was just beginning!! For the rest of the day, we played with all of our new things, rode bikes and scooters in the back yard, visited with Bob and Linda and Great Uncle John and Great Aunt Ginger, and had a fabulous time jumping on Kathryn's new bean bag.

And we still had dinner! Uncle Ryan worked really hard all afternoon cooking up some delicious prime rib on the barbecue. And Auntie Jen was busy making cheesy potatoes and brussel sprouts (okay so not really my favourite, but the adults sure went on about them!)

All in all a pretty okay day, if you ask me. ~ Oliver

The Firehouse

Uncle Ryan is really awesome! He's a fireman and drives a firetruck and even slides down a fire pole. And lucky for us, he showed us all around and let us try on his fireman uniform (the helmet is really heavy!!) and ride in the firetruck and sound the siren and try out the jaws of life, and he even put the ladder all the way up up up on the firetruck.

If I don't become a paleontologist when I grow up, I think I'll be a fireman instead. ~ Elliot

The Thomeyer Gang and the Great Christmas Tree Heist

Introducing the Thomeyer Gang

Dingo Diego (don't let the innocent smile fool ya, he's a master of distraction)
and Evan Rude (the brains of the gang--this guy is all business!) 

Claire Bear Malone (this girl is a master of disguises and as tough as they get)
and Baby Face (he may look sweet, but trust me, you don't want to see him angry)

Having found the perfect tree, the Thomeyer Gang casually cases the joint.

Evan Rude and Dingo Diego sneak out the tree whilst Claire Bear and Baby Face cause a distraction. 

Flanked by the enforcers, Dingo and Evan quickly smuggle the tree to the get-away car.

Claire Bear made quick work of the old guy who tried to stand in their way.

Evan: Phew! That was a close one.
Claire: Nothin' I couldn't handle.

Back at the hideout, the boys unload the goods.

Elliot: I sure hope Big Mama likes what she sees!

Big Mama looks satisfied.

 

Big Mama: Not so fast, boys! That tree needs decorating!

The gangster life is exhausting!

Matching Jammie Photo Shoot Craziness

After a big trip to the North Pole, we were all hungry. Time for a stop at a brew pub that Ryan had been wanting to try out before driving back to Portland. Maybe it was the glee from meeting Santa. Maybe somebody slipped something into their hot cocoa. Whatever it was, this was the result:

P.S. Thank you Linda for the adorable matching pajamas and slippers! So CUTE!

The Polar Express

And then it was time for one of the really unbelievably exciting things we'd all been waiting for: a ride on the Polar Express all the way to the North Pole to meet Santa!

It was a long journey, but we're finally at the North Pole. So where's Santa???

So some of the kids were a little shy when it was finally their turn with Santa.

But not Elliot, he had quite a few things to say to the big fella.