Tis the season!

Brace yourselves folks, this is a LOOOOOOOOOONG one. But worth it, I promise!

Well, I am writing this from my rowboat, as I paddle down the river that is the road formerly known as Evergreen.... just kidding, but honestly - has anyone seen a rainbow lately? Because I'm starting to feel the need to build an ark! This storm is INSANE. It seems like half of Oregon is flooded, the coast had hurricane force winds (Tillamook had 130mph) and it has rained just shy of 5 inches here since Saturday. Listening to the rain come down right now outside, I'm thinking that we will hit 5 inches REAL quick! So, in case of an emergency, remember your seat bottom may be used as a flotation device!

Aside from the glorious rain, we have been having loads of fun lately. Now that we have all (mostly) recovered from our round of colds, we've been back on track - the crazy busy track that is! Saturday, we woke up to a gorgeous sight - snow falling out the window!!


Unfortunately, it didn't stick, and quickly turned into rain that hasn't stopped. That evening was our ward Christmas party! It was tons of fun, and Keegan was able to talk to Santa Claus! He did much better this year, last year he wouldn't give Santa a second look, much less ask him for anything. It may have helped that "Santa" was our old bishop, so he knew Keegan pretty well. I'm so excited that Keegan is really getting into the idea of Santa Claus! I loved believing in Santa, and I'm so glad to share the magic of that belief with Keegan. We also made some candy cane reindeer at the party! Keegan's turned out pretty great :-)




Sunday was FABULOUS! We had a good day at church, as usual, with some great testimonies being shared in sacrament meeting. After church, we continued with a little tradition that Zach and I have done for 3 years now. We went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra!!!! WE LOVE THEM, and their concert this year didn't disappoint. We went with my family, and this year was my sister Jessie and my brother Josh first time!!! Josh plays guitar, even the electric guitar (back down, ladies), and so the concert for him was pretty cool. You wouldn't believe how fast their fingers move on those guitars! If you ever have the chance to go, you definitely should, it is the BEST way to start your Christmas season. It was AWESOME!!!! Sadly, they don't let you take pictures at the concert, but we did take some on the way there in the car......can you say too many adults in too small of space?




Tonight, for Family home evening, we decorated our tree! Well, sort of. We let Keegan put up some decorations on the bottom half of the tree - he did a great job, and I only rearranged a few of them!! I also got some of my decorations up (namely my village, which is now complete with the addition of a building that says "Jackie's Tree Farm! cool, huh?), so I will throw a few of those pics in too so that I can feel proud of my accomplishments..... you will just have to suffer through it :-)





Sorry this was like a mile long....