Ready or Not... Here Comes Christmas!

It's been a busy December. Here's a photo album that includes the twin's school music program and holiday pancake breakfast; a visit from Grandma and Grandpa; and Portland's Christmas Ships Parade, as seen from our friend Rich and Gail's house on the Multnomah Channel.

Winter Break officially began on Friday. The kids are convinced that Portland is the only place on earth that hasn't had snow yet.... they're holding out hope for a white v. wet Christmas.

Coming next: Jake's Lego Robotics Tournament and more holiday festivities.

A Busy Thanksgiving Weekend

We started off with a Thanksgiving morning neighborhood soccer game. It was pouring rain, but that only made the outing more fun. We're sure one of the teams won, but don't ask us who! Click here for game photos.

After a little exercise, we focused on bulking up with turkey and all the fixings in preparation to hit the ground running on Friday to kick-off the official start of the holiday season. Black Friday is definitely NOT our thing, so we opted instead for Portland's xmas parade, a trip to the tree farm, and the annual tree lighting in Pioneer Square.


Click below for more photo albums detailing Friday's adventures and the rest of the weekend...

ALBUM 1
ALBUM 2


We may have overdone the tree a bit this year. It took us almost 4 hours to find, cut and drag it back to the car. What with its 8" diameter trunk, it covered the entire top of our van and nearly hung off the sides. It was a good 10" too tall and barely fit through the door, not to mention being a tight squeeze for our tree stand! It was the deal of the century at just $15, but the cost savings only lasted so long... the lights we had on hand only cover the top 1/3 of the tree. Needless to say, the 35+ feet of cranberries Emily worked so hard to string didn't make it very far either! It appears to be growing as it settles into the living room. Other than that, it's absolutely PERFECT!

Saturday was all about getting the tree fully decorated, dinner with friends, and taking in a really fun Improv Show called "Puppets v. People". For Jake and Emily it was officially classified as "research" for their Destination Imagination team, but mostly it was just insanely funny.

On Sunday, Jake's Lego Robotics Team, the "Biker Bunnies", had some community service work to do... here are photos of the group installing "Idle Free Zone" signs at their school as part of their campaign to reduce air pollution and encourage kids to walk to school instead of driving.

Also included in Album 2 above is some of Drew's recent handiwork as part of his Tech. Ed. class.

If Santa is planning to add any elves this year, Drew should definitely be in the running!




For us it's been a wonderful holiday weekend - great weather, great friends, great adventures, etc. None the less, we can't stop thinking about the really unfortunate passing of a great neighbor, friend and colleague of Pat's last Tuesday... Nancy was the victim of a homicide that has yet to be solved. We're so very sorry for her family and the loss of such a wonderful, vibrant person. We walk past her house daily and will miss her greatly!

On a happier note, Happy Birthday wishes to Aunt Judy, and later this week, to our good friend Martin in Quebec. Happy Holidays to all!

Duck... Duck... Turkey!

We participated in the Willamette Sailing Club's Wild Turkey Regatta this past Saturday. Drew and his partner Vickie won, while the rest of the Jubilee crew - or as Emily called our Ranger 20, Jubiwee - placed third. The weather was great (for Oregon in November) though a bit more wind would have been helpful.


Since we were all moving through the course at a rather slow speed, it helped that race organizers threw several dozen rubber ducks in the water. Scoring was based primarily on the collection of ducks, and we had a couple of excellent scoopers on our team! Here are some photos.

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween Weekend... here is a photo album to prove it. Six jack-o-lanterns were carved; three parties were attended and enjoyed; Drew competed in his first sailing regatta; and the kids took in a record-setting trick-or-treat haul.

Between Barbie, Agent Jake and the Turtle Man, the scales were tipped just over the 25lb mark with candy by the end of the evening! (Now it will be repeatedly sorted, counted, hidden, swapped and argued-over for weeks... at least that'll slow down their consumption rate just a bit.)

Reports from the Field: Tips from the Halloween Pros

Jake and Emily have recently completed a writing assignment on their favorite holidays. Turns out they both picked the same one and have some timely information to share below.

Also, here are a few photos that include Drew at sailing club getting ready for the Halloween Day Youth Regatta and the twins and friends preparing for Science Fair.



Halloween, by Emily My favorite holiday is Halloween! I like to trick-or-treat because you can hang out with your friends, get exercise, and see everyone’s houses and how spooky they look. Another thing I like about Halloween is the costumes. There can be scary ones, hero ones, girly ones, and there also is my costume!

This year, I am going to be an 1960s Barbie. My third favorite thing is candy. There are too many types to name, but my favorites are 100 Grands, Take 5s and Twix.

My favorite spot for trick-or-treating on Halloween is the Wilcox neighborhood because you get tons of candy and it’s safe for kids. You get so much candy that you might need two bags. Another good neighborhood for trick-or-treating is the area around Bridlemile. Wherever you go, my safety tips are don’t trick-or-treat without a grown-up unless you are older (13 or up) and have a cell phone. Going with a group of friends is a good idea, and don’t go to houses you are not familiar with or ones that don’t have lights on. People who have their lights on usually have the candy!

Halloween is lots of fun. You get to be creative with costumes and decorating, eat tons of candy and visit friends you might not get to see very often. There are good neighborhoods in our area for trick-or-treating safely with friends, and this year, we will have the whole weekend to celebrate. Hopefully the weather will be nice for being outside, and we will all have our costumes ready* before the big day!

*no pressure Grandma Janet!

Halloween, by Jake My favorite holiday is Halloween. One reason I love this holiday is because you get lots of candy. You also get to wear cool costumes. Dressing in scary costumes is what I do best, but this year I am going to be a secret service agent. My plan is to trick-or-treat with my friends in the Wilcox neighborhood. I’m trick-or-treating with 7th graders so that I can stay out later and get more candy.

One of my favorite parts of Halloween comes after trick-or-treating. After you finish trick-or-treating, you can have contests to see who got the most candy and trade for the kinds you like best. I hope I get a two-foot long gummy snake, but these are very rare. Chocolate bars are very common. So are gummy worms and sour gummy worms.

Halloween is the 31st of October, and it is the best day of the year. Eat candy, wear costumes, stay up late and have fun! These are the reasons I like Halloween.

Only 22 more days til Halloween!

It's been a beautiful sunny, dry week here, so we took advantage of a no-school day today and visited the Pumpkin Patch with our neighbors. Here is a photo album.

End of Season Swim Party

Special thanks to our friends the Keims for inviting us to be a part of their neighborhood end-of-season pool party. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and one last dip (and slip) before Fall officially arrives.


Our crew gave the party - and especially the slip & slide - two very soapy thumbs-up!


In other news... Jake and Emily have decided to join the 5th grade band. Concert dates have not yet been announced... they're going to need a bit of practice first!