Snow activities with friends!

We've been taking advantage of the holiday weekend by packing as many activities into a few days as possible. And since we live in a popular vacation destination, we've had quite a few friends come into town for New Year's as well. Lots of fun activities!

On Saturday, we went into Sunriver with the Goodys and took Tristan ice skating for the first time. Talia and I spent most of the time huddled up in the fire room, but had fun cheering on the ice skaters!


Then yesterday, we all went to Black Butte to visit Trac, Dave, Lawrence, Britt & Sam at their cabin. Me and the kiddos stayed behind as Brian went skiing with Dave and Sam. We took a snow walk and then tried to ski down the mini-hills in the neighborhoods. Tristan wasn't quite sure about it, but Trac and Lawrence managed to do some mini-sledding!



And today, we met the Zervises (who are staying in Sunriver) at a sledding hill. Little did we realize, this hill was not for the beginner sledder. I'm surprised we didn't see more people get hurt! Brian and Tristan were only daring enough to go up a quarter of the hill. It was steep and fast! I stayed and chatted at the bottom with Falkie as we watched the a lot of near-crashes and people narrowly missing a gigantic collision. So glad for the decision I made!

Love this pic of Falkie and I. Definitely mommy fashion at its finest. I'm wearing as many layers as possible to keep Talia warm in the Ergo while Falkie is wearing her 3 year old daughter's hat. Classic :)

First steps!!

I can hardly believe it, but our little Talia has taken her frist steps!! She has moved so quickly from army crawling, to crawling, to pulling herself up on the furniture, to now taking a few steps at 8 months old!!! Yikes, I'm going to have my hands full in the next few months!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas has been so much fun this year as Tristan understands the holiday so much more and we also have another little one to share in the holiday season. I love this time of year already, and when you have two little ones who are just experiencing it for the first time, it makes even the more special :)

Brian's parents came to Bend again this year, which marks the fifth year for us celebrating in Central Oregon and our frist year as residents. My parents and Bridgit's parents weren't able to come this year as they have done the last several years, so it was strictly a George affair!

We had so much fun continuing in some of the traditions we have started, such as: opening up our new jammies on Christmas Eve and then taking the cousins' Christmas Eve jammies pic, a Christmas Eve feast and a Christmas walk in the snow after all the presents opening mayhem! Although this year, I believe we started a new tradition by having a super scrumptious breakfast casserole paired with crepes - definitely will have to repeat throughout the years!

Here are some pics of our family of four's first Christmas :)
Christmas Eve:














Christmas morning:



The best cousin pic out of about 15. Pretty sweet :)











Cars and trucks were a big hit with Tristan this year!




George/Goody family pic!

Tuckered out at the end of her first, busy Christmas day :)

Snow Adventures

It has been snowing nonstop since returning from Portland! Each day brings a few more inches, which means I am in absolute heaven!! We have been taking advantage of all the snow activities that we can do on a daily basis. Here are a few pics of us out enjoying the elements!

Such a peaceful look...

First snow day - love the look!

We made the Jeep into an all-terrain vehicle equipped with a sled, and took the kids to the nearby park for sledding and snowmen. Love this weather!!

And then the next day, we went back out for some more sledding!

And then again the next day...this time to make the world's largest snowman!

And again the next day (we just can't get enough!) - this time the "big boys" had to do some tricks on the sled :) And as you can tell, it has been getting progressively colder as the days go on - as seen by how much more we find ways to bundle up!

This time Brody got to come! And Tristan decided he didn't want to walk in the high snow, so got to have a piggy back ride the whole way - thanks, Dad!

Brian and Ryan reliving their sledding days. These boys love to try and outdo their last experience. Definitely got some air!

And another reason why Brian loves Bend...you can do this in your backyard :)