This year, I was so excited to decorate for the holidays in our new house. I went to Marshall's after Halloween and they had so many cute Christmas decorations. I bought some new ones for the new house, especially now that we have such a cute fireplace and mantle now. I decorated the weekend before Thanksgiving because I knew we were going to be in Eugene during Thanksgiving and I wanted to enjoy my decorations when we got back. I also was planning on doing a three step decorating project this year which really worked with setting up inside decorations first, then the outside decorations, and then the Christmas tree. That way I didn't get so burned out.
We went to Al's Nursery on Brandon's 5th birthday and picked out a Christmas tree. As always we really enjoyed the Christmas decorations although Brandon was a bit disappointed as the Christmas train was not working. Olivia was really into Santa Claus (which made me hopeful that she would enjoy visiting him in real person). We picked out a nice big Noble Fir about 7 feet tall and nice and fluffy. We have 10 foot tall ceilings in our new house so I was excited for a big tree.
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| Looking at Santa at Al's |
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| Admiring the Christmas decorations |
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| Big Santa |
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| Liv loved the big balls on the sleigh |
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| Snowman! |
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| The sacred Christmas train |
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| Liv loved this decoration with all the presents in the sleigh |
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| Our Christmas tree this year |
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| Brandon in front of the Christmas tree |
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| Helping me decorate the Christmas tree |
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| Such good helpers! |
The next Christmas event we had was going to Brandon's Santa visit at his school. Santa was running a bit late (due to all the flooding and a time miscommunication) so we had to wait a bit but it was worth it in the end. The kids had a lot of fun seeing both Santa and Mrs. Claus (who Liv really took to). Olivia was a bit scared at first but warmed up to Mrs. Claus and Santa pretty quickly.
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| Waiting for Santa |
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| Silly face! |
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| Brandon and Santa and Mrs. Claus | | | |
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| Olivia 2 and Brandon 5 with Santa |
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| Talking to Santa |
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| Olivia still is not sure |
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| Then she held Santa's hand |
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| One last shot |
We went to Macy's Santa Land (something we do every year) which is the oldest Macy's in downtown Portland. We love the decorations, the electric train, and the fact that Santa lets you take your own photos there (so you don't have to buy their's). This year, my good friend Amara was in town and went with us. We had a lot of fun and the kids picked out a few new ornaments for the tree which is always fun.
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| Shaking Santa's hand at first |
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| They both didn't want to sit on Santa's lap rather wanted to sit on the chair |
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| Still made for a cute photo! |
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| It was hard to get everyone looking at the same time! |
We wanted to go the Zoo Lights during the week night as we though tit would be less crowded but we were having record flooding and it pretty much rained hard most of December. We finally got some clearing in the weather so we decided to go to the Zoo Lights. This year they made it really easy and we were able to buy our tickets online so we did not have to wait in a long line like in the past. We were even able to book our tickets for Saturday's train the night before after we checked the weather. We decided to do a 4:45 train because we figured the earlier we went the less crowded. We were very happy with our decision and were able to walk all around the zoo with hardly any crowds (until the end). The kids loved the Zoo Lights and I enjoyed them immensely as well. We saw a few animals (a cougar that was out prowling and the bats). All in all, a very fun time!
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| At the entrance to the Zoo Lights |
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| Brandon is excited for the Zoo Lights |
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| All aboard with the train in the background |
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| Olivia and Brandon zoo lights 2015 |
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| Liv liked the lights |
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| Walking through the maze of lights on our way to the train with hot cocoa |
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| All ready to get on the train |
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| Zoo light train selfie |
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| The train lights |
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| Light display |
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| Brandon enjoying himself |
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| Walking through the tunnel of lights |
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| Seeing the bats! |
Our last Christmas activity before we headed down to Corvallis to spend with my family was going to the Holiday train that departs from Oak Parks near SE Portland and goes along a rail road track near the water and into the starts of downtown Portland. It is a old steam engine they restored and decorated with holiday lights. They have Santa and singing and caroling on the train. We went once before when Brandon was 2 and really into trains. The kids both really liked it and had a lot of fun. Olivia loved that Santa had a candy cane for her too (she loves Candy Canes).
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| Waiting in line for the train |
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| On the train |
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| Excited on the train |
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| Drinking hot cocoa on the train |
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| Mommy picture on the train |
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| Downtown Portland |
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| Seeing Santa and clutching her candy cane |
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| By now this was old news as this was the third Santa we saw |
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| Telling Santa what they wanted for Christmas |
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| Big smile! |
The next day, Sean and I had some much needed adult time while we sent the kids off to daycare. I continued to do laundry and pack to get ready for Corvallis and we went out to Happy Hour at Thirsty Lion which was really fun. That night, we went to Brandon's school Christmas program which was really cute and sweet. They sang many songs and it made us feel in the Christmas spirit.
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| Olivia at Brandon's school Christmas program |
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| Angel Brandon |
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| Singing Silent Night |
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| So cute on Stage |
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| Then of course Olivia wanted to try on Brandon's angel costume and thew a tantrum when we had to give it back |
