We had a really nice, happy, and easy two-week break from school for Christmas and New Year's. My parents were here for three days; Steve took some days off from work, and we had fun adventures. We went to the Children's museum and the zoo for animals and Zoolights. We went hiking and played outside at the Arboretum, the Rose Garden, Forest Park, Laurelhurst Park, and up to Council Crest. For New Year's Eve, we went to a party at our friends' the Zabaglios, where we made noisemakers, ate good food and champagne, and counted down to "midnight" at 8 pm. We went bowling and simultaneously watched the Steelers on the giant tv screen. The kids and I also baked granola, buckwheat pear muffins, cranberry bread, banana bread, cookies and more cookies. And we went to the library and checked out a veritable mountain of books. It was good. It was tiring - I find two children to be much more exhausting mentally than one - but nice to have the chance to hang out with Sebastian and for the children to play with each other.
On one of our hikes, we took our gingerbread houses into the park and smashed them to pieces. That was great fun and very memorable for both children. :)
Another of our hikes was with friends Mary and Rowan up to Council Crest, where we could see beautiful, clear views of Mt. Hood, Mt. St. Helens, and other peaks. I hadn't been on that hike or up there since Steve and I did it with our families right before we got married here in 2005. Sadly, you can't see the mountains looming behind the children in any of my pics. :(
And now we are back to our regularly scheduled lives - Sebastian in school, and Liesl in a raft of activities. For the next six weeks, we will have swimming lessons, a dance class, art class, and weekly playgroup. Her first swimming lesson on Monday was a huge success - her first foray into the water without me, and she did wonderfully - no fear. She was super proud that "I did everything that teacher Kyle asked!"
No comments:
Post a Comment