Photos, finally

Finally able to get some Christmas photos online! We had such a fun time seeing all the family and spending Christmas in Oregon.

Who is that?

Tom and John trying out their new look

Nathan Sandy...the newest party goer

We all took our turn cuddling David (my cousin) and Beth's new baby, Nathan

Great grandpa and grandma McCool

Self portraits

Christmas Eve Dinner and Dixons presents

Anxiously waiting

Tough guy

Yoda comes to life

Emily feeding her new Furbie

Tom enjoying his presents

Te Chai Te

First stop was Wednesday night to Matt & Bethany's fantastic tea shop. Really nice to catch up and see old friends again!

Office party

The Child Health Nurses at the Christmas party

Waiting

We had an Excellent time in Oregon with all the family. We got in last night, but unfortunately our luggage didn't. As soon as it arrives, which is hopefully tonight, I'll put some pictures up!

We wish you a Merry Chirstmas

We are all checked in and packed and ready to go! Just a few hours of work Tues. and then off to Oregon. Definitely looking forward to a break, seeing family, and getting away for a bit. We'll be there until the 26th, come back and work (kind of) for a few days, then it's off to England on the 30th for more parties!

Narnia

We went to see Chronicles of Narnia last week and it was fantastic. Mr. Tumnus is still my favorite and makes me want to find a nice faun friend too. It was even better having read the books recently (in preparation for the movie coming out) because we understood what the little things (like a lamppost in the forest) meant. Anyhow, go see it when you can...we went to a Wednesday night 9:30 p.m. showing and only had to share the theatre with a few people!

Girls on the Run

Sebastian and I did our big 5K race today. It was freezing cold, but after a few minutes of running, we warmed right up. Sebastian did so well and finished in 42 minutes, and for a 9 year old, that is pretty great! We had a nice run with the snow on the ground through some neighborhoods and around a lake up a few hills and off to the finishline. Sahar even came out to join the audience, after a 12 hour night shift, which was so nice to see her too! With 1400 young girls (and a couple boys!) it was an encouraging run and exciting to see that many girls involved. We rounded the day off with a warm lunch at Cosi complete with S'mores (it even has a real fire to warm them on). Now we've finished our nap (6 am get-up for the race), and are watching Dances With Wolves for the 100th time. Actually, the show has been on each weekend and we have watched it in 3 minute segments over the last 2 months. Tom is finished with his classes now and just has some big papers to finish up before heading to Oregon and then off to England for well-earned break!

More snow

We got another two rounds of snow this week. The first was lovely and pretty and managed to stay around until the second snow a few days later. It was a bit more icy which isn't so fantastic cause it had melted a little. Either way, the snow is great and it's still here. Most schools and some federal government places were closed or late, so I actually made it into work earlier on a snow day than normal! The cats are perplexed with the snow and not really sure what to make of it, but are really sweet walking through it.

Christmas in DC

Tom and I went into DC tonight to see the Christmas Tree and other decorations. Really pretty downtown...and pretty cold. They say we're supposed to get snow tonight, but I'm not so sure.