Pomerleau Family Blog: Early Christmas in McMInnville, Santa breakfast, and zoo lights!

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Early Christmas in McMInnville, Santa breakfast, and zoo lights!

We went down to McMinnville in the middle of December to have an early Christmas celebration with my sister's family and my parents before my parents left on their trip. My mom made some cookie dough ahead of time and the kids had fun rolling out the cookie dough and making cookies and then decorating them. We played some games (Sushi Go and Clue) and then had sandwiches and Hot and Sour soup underneath the Christmas tree (just like our tradition on Christmas Eve). It was really fun and the cousins had a lot of fun hanging out together. It was so nice to celebrate with my family early.

Fun making sugar cookies at Auntie Rachel's house

Rolling out the dough

Decorating the cookies was fun

Working with CiCi on decorating the cookies

Playing Sushi Go

Eating under the Christmas tree

Lulu was all tuckered out

The next day we had Breakfast with Santa at McMennamins in Wilsonville. This was the first time we had done this breakfast (usually I don't purchase it in time and it sells out quickly). The breakfast was awesome with a really yummy buffet style breakfast. The kids got to spend quite a time with Santa and he really interacted and talked to them for quite a while. We decided that this needs to become a yearly tradition.

Yummy brunch breakfast

Meeting Santa

Giving Santa a hug

Talking to Santa

Love her smile with Santa

All hugs for Santa

Olivia talking to Santa

Santa pictures 2018-best photo

Later that evening after Brandon had a basketball game we headed to the Oregon zoo Lights. We go every year and lucked out in that it had been raining hard most of the day but there was a brief clearing. It also was not super cold which was nice (unlike last year). We arrived early at 4:30 PM and had no problems parking. We were able to get through the entire zoo and go on the train and the carousel and get glow in the dark cotton candy in just over an hour. It was a very nice and fun zoo lights and it has become a yearly family tradition.