Christmas in Oregon

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! We hope you all had a wonderful day and are enjoying all the goodies of the season. We've been gone for two weeks but back at home recovering from a great trip to Oregon.

On the 17th of December, we woke up at 5:15am and drove to Cincinnati to ride the big airplane. 4 1/2 hours later, we arrived in Seattle, WA and spent a 4 hour layover in the kid zone. Then, took a quick flight to Portland and finally after a two hour drive, arrived in Corvallis, OR.

We were headed to Grandma & Grandpa Anderson's house for Christmas. Lucas was elated and could hardly wait to get there.

Here is a photo of one happy boy after dinner in Seattle. This is where Lucas discovered that tarter sauce should not be opened with his teeth. If only I had the camera to capture his face when it exploded into his mouth. Mike & I laughed for a good five minutes while Lucas tried to figure out how to get it off his teeth without using his tongue...french fries, drool, fingers, napkins, sleeve...it was hilarious!
After a yummy fresh fish dinner, we headed to the kid zone for a few hours. We thought it would be a wonderful place to burn off some energy and catch a cold to take to the Grandparents. Boy, if only we would have known how good we were at catching and giving colds...sorry Grandma!

Hide-n-seek was a hit.
Axel learned how to slide too. So brave!
Finally, we were on our way to Oregon. This was Axel's second time on a big airplane and much more aware this time around. He was a little charmer flirting with all the pretty ladies!
This was old stuff to Lucas so he slept.
After 17 hours of traveling, we made it!
First on the agenda: Decorate the Christmas Tree
Serious business.
Okay, not too serious. Grandma does an AMAZING job decorating the entire house at Christmas. She makes it so magical!
The cranberries only kept Axel distracted for a moment.
Then, he wanted in on what Lucas was doing. This was Axel's first Christmas and he sure was a real helper when it came to "decorating."
And re-decorating with Daddy's help. :)
16 stockings and yes, we had all 16 people home on Christmas morning.
Lucas still hard at work.
Axel hard at work too especially when he thinks no one is watching!
This is round one of all the photos. Still to come...trip to The Ranch, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Morning, etc.

We love you.