Frozen Lashes

The news stations are calling it an ARCTIC BLAST but where I come from, this is just another normal winter day. The temperature is not unbearable (-3 celsius) and the snow is just another factor of WINTER - again - where I come from. The problem is the roads. They are icy and slick, perhaps due to the lack of ploughs or de-icers here in Oregon. But all that said, it makes for a fun snow day, or so I thought!

We took the kids out on Sunday night while it was still blowing snow. Maya hated it and couldn't get the concept of a SCARF but Declan seemed to enjoy it. As I was sledding them around our abandoned street and Jeremy was taking pictures, I heard him make a quick judgement "I guess we won't be moving back to Canada anytime soon!" Maya was complaining because she was cold and there was snow in her face, so I decided that it probably wasn't the time to tell her all of the stories about when I was living in Alberta and my eyelashes would freeze together as I was waiting for the bus or train to arrive. Nor did I think it appropriate to tell her about how my sister and I would make an igloo-fort from the snow-drifts on our front lawn. Perhaps Maya will never understand THAT kind of winter! We only stayed outside for a 1/2 hour or so before coming in for hot cocoa, which turned out to be Maya's favorite part of the adventure.

Soon after the hot cocoa, Jeremy and I started making our Ginger Bread house. Jeremy was the Structural Engineer for this project and I was the Architect, Exterior Designer, and Landscaper.

Here is Maya playing with the Christmas balls. Need I say more?

Jeremy and I had the pleasure of having a night out on Saturday. We went to his company Christmas party and because there are over 250 employees in the Portland office, we all had to wear name tags. My question was "Why can't they make holiday name tags glittery or festive?"

This was a house that we saw at the Atheletic Club where the party was that was made out of real ginger bread and candy.

And the ARCTIC BLAST continues....until next week at least. Stay Tuned for more Christmas highlights.