Four Wonderful Days!

My parents came to visit for a glorious 4 days! It was sunny EVERY day they were here, which, let's be honest, never happens in the winter in Portland. We rode the tram up to the school and had lunch with Tyler, attended Addelyn's dance recital (the real reason they came), went to the coast, ate at Mo's, played games, talked, had a mommy/daughter lunch date, and just enjoyed being with each other. Addelyn absolutely loved the attention she received from her Nana and Papa R. I think she might have been putting on a show for them 80% of the time they were here. :) It was fun to have my parents all to ourselves... I'm not sure that has happened before and it was just nice to sit back and relax.








Awful picture of me, but cute of Addy. She calls the tram a robot. The whole ride up she was sooo excited and kept screaming about the robot!

First Dance Recital

Addelyn has been in a dance class this fall. It has been super fun watching her. Contrary to this video, she does really well! They had their first dance recital Friday. All the girls looked so cute in their little costumes. It was very fun to watch. Only problem... Addy didn't dance one step of the routine. haha Oh well! I think she had fun anyway.

Christmas Tree Picking

We continued our annual tradition of going to Fred Meyer to get our Christmas tree. This will be our last year doing this... as we will be going to a real tree farm next year! :) Yay! It has been fun and entertaining. We don't have a very adequate car for hauling a Christmas tree, so we always have to rope it through the windows... and Tyler has to climb through the window to get in the car. Addy had a lot of fun helping pick out a tree. We found the perfect one and brought it home! Addelyn helped Daddy get it in the stand and helped us put the lights on. We then sent her to bed because it was WAY past her bedtime. In the morning we let her put on her ornaments and she loved it. She is so excited about the tree and Christmas. It's so fun! I love the way fresh Christmas trees smell!

Thanksgiving

It seems to me that Thanksgiving is becoming more of a stepping stool to Christmas. Everyone is so anxious to shop the black Friday sales (which have now started Thursday) and to start getting ready for Christmas. I will admit, that at times I get caught up in this. However, Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday! It's time to spend with family, eat, laugh, play games, and relax. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Tyler's family this year. His Aunt Mary Kay and Uncle Curt came from Utah, Aunt Kris and Uncle Jon came from Washington, Grandma Oldroyd from Beaverton, and Grandpa and Grandma Bendixsen. I am so lucky to have married into such a wonderful family. I feel like I belong with them. I don't feel like I'm an unwanted addition. I know that I am loved by them and I love ALL of them as well.
With that said, Tyler and I were crazy enough to go to Wal-Mart at 10 pm to get some princess dolls for Addy that she will LOVE! We were also hoping to lay our hands on a trampoline for Tyler's mom... no luck. I think that was my first time ever going to Wal-Mart for black Friday, or Thursday in this case. I don't think I will ever do it again. There was not a single parking spot in all of the Wal-Mart parking lot, the attached parking lots belonging to Payless, McDonalds, and a few others were also completely jammed, as were the side streets. Anyway... I didn't take any pictures of the events of Thanksgiving... lame, I know! I just never got my camera out.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE...

THESE GIRLS!
I have no idea why we have waited over 3 years to have a serious girls night. We got a hotel, went to a fancy dinner, got fun drinks, painted nails, and stayed up talking 'til 3 am, followed by breakfast the next morning. We had a blast! I'm so grateful to have made such good friends here. I am sad to leave them in June. We will definitely be having more girls nights... I hope! I had many firsts that night... tried Sushi (which I loved!), experienced valet parking (also love), and being in Trader Joe's.













Thanks for a most fun weekend, girls! Love you all!

OMSI

Tyler was kind enough to ditch school today and hang out at home with us! It's nice that he can do that every once in awhile... or once. We decided to take the opportunity to go to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. I have never been and Tyler hasn't been since he was a wee lad. There were an abundance of kids... we counted 17 buses in the parking lot! It was a little overwhelming and hard to play with all of the stuff, not to mention maneuvering a double stroller through there. They have a special area for kids 6 and under, it was nice to have a little reprieve. Addelyn LOVED it! They have a sand box, a water station, animals, and much more to look at! Lots of fun was had!

Georgia's On My Mind

I visited Georgia this past week to spend time with my Grandparents! It was an added bonus that my Aunt lives there and I got to see her! Also, my sister, Jenna, came at the same time! I have only driven through Georgia, so I can't say that I've been there before. After being there I have a small desire to live in the South. There is so much "Southern Charm". The houses are all gorgeous with large porches and the red brick. So pretty! The landscape is pretty, just very, very pretty!
During the days we went to a beautiful park and had a picnic lunch, went to Aiken and walked around downtown, played games, made dinner, celebrated 11/11/11 at 11:11, went to South Carolina a few times, went to breakfast with Aunt Laura and cousin Kiana, and just enjoyed being together. It was great having Jenna there with me. We stayed up til 3 am "bonding", my first night there.










My grandparents beautiful Georgia home!










My view from the plane on the way home!

PS... I am kidding about that being their home. It was just a really pretty house we saw on one of our drives!
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for a wonderful trip! I had a great time! It makes me want to visit more often!

Family Pictures

Our good friend, Danielle, was kind enough to take family pictures for us. I don't think they could have gone any better! The weather was perfect, Addy was smiling, and we all looked pretty good! Thanks Danielle!