A Trip to Mt. Hood

We spent the day after Christmas at Timberline... our first skiing day of the season. Here are some photos of the Jubilee crew hitting the slopes, as well as enjoying their holiday gifts.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas came VERY early today. The kids were up before dawn, ready to seize the day! Here's a quick photo album that includes Christmas morning as well as the past few days spent enjoying the season with friends.

That's all for now... time to make more coffee and look for the living room floor! As Emily said in the note she left for Santa last evening, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING.

Tis the Season...

10+ inches of snow this weekend has not slowed down our holiday celebrations. On Saturday we braved the elements to attend a German Gleuhwein party. Click here for photos that include our host, Peter, lighting the Feuerzangebowle.

On Sunday, Emily hosted a tea and cookie party for some friends. It was intended to be a mom/daughter event, though she graciously allowed Jake and a couple of his friends to join in... after all, Santa could be watching and Jake did help make the cookies!

4 days of no-school...and counting

It just won't stop snowing! Here are some photos of the kids making the most of their unexpected time off... they've checked out every hill in the neighborhood; built snowmen, igloos and a number of sledding ramps, and continue to check the news regularly for the latest school closure information.


It's been 4 days and counting. If they're off again tomorrow, they won't be going back til the New Year. More snow is expected this weekend. Glad the mailman finally managed to deliver our tire chains!

It's Still Snowing!!!

The kids have been sledding all day. Click here for photos.

We have several inches of snow, making our street a perfect sledding hill... except of course for the occasional car/driver - who for reasons unknown - feels compelled to see if they can make it up/down our street without the benefit of chains or snow tires. They provide a little extra entertainment in between runs, though our neighbor is now missing a mailbox!

Portland Public Schools had reported its closure for tomorrow by 5 p.m., much to the relief of Jake and Emily who had not quite finished their homework for this week!

The kids finally had to call it a day when they lost their daylight... more hot cocoa anyone?

A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK...
We've been checking our boat journal to remind us what we were doing this time last year. We were moored in Vero Beach, Florida, and according to our notes, it was very hot and buggy there. Red tide was passing through the area, so lots of people had developed a mild cough. We were busy stocking up on provisions in preparation for crossing to the Bahamas, and watching the weather closely in search of a good crossing window. We had "snow" of a different sort while in Vero... Pat spent last Dec. 14th insulating Jubilee's refrigerator box. Styrofoam was everywhere! We were also doing a bit of holiday decorating as you can see below. Click here for more photos from last December.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow...

It only happens once or twice a year... snow reaches the valley floor. It started early this morning and is expected to continue all day.

The kids have their fingers crossed for a school closure day on Monday. Based on the forecast, they may very well get their wish! At the very least, there will be a lot of sledding and snowman-building going on around here today, not to mention great prospects for skiing next weekend. Mt. Hood ski areas have received more than a foot of new snow in the past 24 hours.


The winter weather held off for dad's office party last evening. Here's a photo album of Pat performing once again this year with the office band.

Click here for another photo album from a recent Destination Imagination parent meeting where the kids gave their moms and dads the opportunity to experience DI first hand.

Coming soon... more fun in the snow photos!

Robots and Recorders

Good news and bad for the Mechanical Hippos... they won a trophy for teamwork, but will not advance to the State Lego Tournament. Programming complications prevented their robot from completing all its tasks, but the boys didn't let this get them down. They scored great on their salmon presentation, got lots of attention for their "hot pink" t-shirts (Drew designed the logo, by the way), and most importantly had fun!

As for Jake and Emily, they've been busy practicing their recorders and kazoos in preparation for the 4th/5th grade holiday music program. It was quite a spectacular show celebrating holiday traditions from around the world. Songs were sung in many languages and there were even a few impressive solos by kids a bit more musically inclined than ours. Maybe next year Jake and Emily will get their big break!

Here's a photo album and another album from the lego tournament, music performance, Bridlemile pancake breakfast and more. Happy holidays!

Mechanical Hippos Prepare for LEGO Tournament

Drew's Lego Team, the Mechanical Hippos, is extra busy this week with last minute preparations for their tournament on Saturday. Here are a few photos of the team practicing their research presentation which focuses on the impact global warming is having on salmon and what can be done about it.

Go Hippos!