Christmas 2008!

We headed down to our condo in Bend for a week this year for Christmas with my parents. Brian's mom was supposed to join us, but got stuck at home because the weatherman called for snow all week. We really missed her! Dan flew in Christmas Eve, but barely made it. PDX was closed a few days earlier in the week, so we were watching the news and weather closely. He eventually made if safe and sound and actually got in earlier than expected on standby! The whole trip was a lot of fun and a much needed vacation and week of work! We drove down to Portland Friday night to break things up because it's a 7 hour trip from Seattle. It started really snowing in Vancouver on the way down, so it got a little exciting. I love driving in the snow! We left for Bend Saturday morning and didn't have any trouble over the pass, thank goodness! Good 'ol Max will get us anywhere! Sunday and Monday Brian and I skied. Sunday was a little rough on us both. It's been two years since we've skied and it had rained the morning of, so the snow was really heavy and not groomed. Plus there was a lot of fog so you really couldn't see all the bumps and moguls in front of you. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard because we were falling on every turn the first run. By the third run we got our legs working and the rest of the day was a little better. Saturday was MUCH better! We had 6 inches of new dry powder that was a lot of fun to ski in. Tuesday my parents went skiing and had a gorgeous day, new snow the night before and sunny! We went into town to visit Karen Bandy, the lady who sold my wedding ring to Brian. We try to see her every time we're in Bend. She's so sweet and it's fun to catch up with her, plus she cleans and polishes my ring and it looks brand new! Christmas Eve Brian cooked an amazing Prime Rib dinner and later we watched Griswald's Family Christmas Vacation, a Lewis tradition. Ashley also got her new Christmas jammies. Christmas morning we had everyone over for breakfast and opened gifts, except for a few that "Santa" was going to bring for Ashley later. Church was at 11:00 and after mass Brian dressed up as Santa and gave Ashley the rest of her gifts. He gave us all a good laugh! We borrowed a Santa costume from my aunt and uncle. It didn't have a beard to go with it, which I think actually made it more hilarious because she recognized him, but was wondering why he was dressed so ridiculous. He even went as far as stuffing a huge pillow under his belly that came up to his chin when he sat down. We have video, but it's on our camcorder and not the camera so I think it might be difficult to get it on here, but you have to see it! Santa tried not to spoil Ashley because she already had a ton of toys, but she did get a cell phone (She loves to talk on the phone and it's one you can record your voice on so Grandpa left her a message that she can listen to when he's away) a baby doll, purse (she loves to carry anything around that has a handle such as a bucket, gift bag that's taller than her, her diaper bag so Grammy figured it was time to get her a purse. She also got a stuffed dog that sings "Jingle Bells" from Bonnie and Al that is a riot, she loves it and asks us to play it again and again as she dances to it. She also got a Little People build a playground set from my mom's boss. She always gets her gifts on special occasions and it's so sweet. She has a Granddaughter of her own, so she knows how to spoil! Friday we packed up and traveled all the way back to Seattle. We left at 10am and got into Seattle about 6pm, a very long trip home! I was on call starting Saturday morning, so I needed to get back. I do have to say that I am very pleased at how well Ashley did in the car. She entertained herself very well for such a long trip!





















Christmas dinner at the Pine Tavern. When we sat down the manager came to our table with a bottle of champagne that my mom's boss had bought for us for Christmas. It was a very sweet, thoughtful thing to do, thank you so much Jim and Deb!!