These are the things that I want to remember about our Christmas this year:
*We tried our best to have a "green" and smart Christmas. We bought most of the gifts used off of craigslist and the gifts were wrapped in paper table cloth that I reused from my ward's Relief Society Christmas dinner. It was frugal and we saved a lot of waste. Our kids were thrilled with their recycled gifts! I think that this will be a new Jefferies tradition.
*Some silly things that Joshua said:
"I think that Santa Claus should be translated because he is SO nice!"
After coming with us to purchase some neighbor gifts, including Books
of Mormon for our closest neighbors
"are we going to doorbell ditch those Book of Mormons to
our neighbors?"
Good idea, Joshua...good idea.
*The Saturday before Christmas (the day we were supposed to drive to Utah) it snowed 6 inches. That's A LOT for Portland, where snow rarely falls on the valley floor. This was after a whole week of school was closed due to about an inch of snow. The forecast was saying that it would warm up to 40 on Monday or Tuesday, so we decided to postpone our trip until Monday. That whole weekend was sublime! It kept snowing and snowing. Boy was that great! We sure did enjoy it.
*Since it rarely snows here, they do not have very many plows for the streets...thus only the freeways and highways get plowed. The streets in our neighborhood were so snowy! I decided to pull out my old cross country skis!! Oh heaven. Toby was delighted when he saw my skis. He really wanted to come with me, so I rigged up a harness out of webbing and rope and I pulled him around the neighborhood in a laundry basket. Just for future reference, the laundry basket worked GREAT! (I wish I had pictures...insert mental image here). He had a smooth, comfortable ride and it pulled along the snow like a dream! (We have been trying for years to figure out a way to pull our kids while we XC ski. I think that Toby will want his own skis soon though.
*On Sunday night while we were sleeping, an inch of freezing rain fell on top of our six inches of snow. Church was definitely canceled for the second week in a row. It was such a beautiful sight that I bundled up and went outside to take pictures.
An amazing and lovely sight to see an inch of ice covering EVERYTHING. You will have to click on it to get a closer look.
After a while, Brent came out to join me.
This is a small piece of ice that we broke off the ground and brought in to wash it off. AMAZING!*By the time Monday and Tuesday came around, the weather did NOT warm up. Instead it snowed 6-8 more inches on top of the snow/ice combination. Needless to say, we were not heading to Utah. Even if we wanted to, the roads were all closed. Even the airport was closed. Bummer.
*On Tuesday, we got very brave. We had been planning dinner with my sister at her house on the other side of the Metro area, and we decided to give it a go. We were very confident that we would be fine because a) we grew up in Utah and know how to drive in snow and b) we have all wheel drive on our car and chains in the back if we needed them. Our over-confidence got the better of us. We were driving along a side road in a residential country estates area in south Lake Oswego, outside of the Urban Growth Boundary (if that means anything to you)...and we didn't have our chains on yet. It was still daylight, but the roads in the shade and they were JUST. TOO. SLICK. There was nothing for it without chains on. So, yes I KATE (who took my drivers ed road test in a February blizzard in Utah at 6:30 am) admit that I was over confident in my driving abilities and that driving in Oregon in the snow is MUCH worse than driving in Utah in the snow (since the road are unplowed). And...the our lovely new car with all wheel drive slid into a 5 foot ditch on the side of the road. Again I wish I had a picture, but this picture that I found on the web just about explains it:
...except in our case, all 4 wheels were still touching the side of the embankment. We were truly stuck. There was no way we were getting out. I was even doubtful that a tow truck could get us out because it was so deep and the roads were so slick. Nevertheless, I called my sister and asked her to find me a phone number for a towing company. Several people drove past, asking if we were OK and confirming that: YES, we would need a tow truck. We were worried that we were going to be stuck there for hours waiting...when lo and behold a very large, shiny, new and expensive diesel truck pulls up with a nice man inside who says "I can get you out of that." He proceeds to whip out his towing rope and pulls our car right out. Words cannot express my gratitude both then and now for this nice stranger in a rich country estate neighborhood. This experience broke down a few bad stereotypes that I had: a) there are no more nice people out there who stop to help, b) extremely rich people don't care what regular people are going through and the big one c) people with huge diesel trucks are disgusting, polluting and self-indulging (I am really sorry if this last one offends anyone...I grew up in the city where this kind of truck didn't even fit in people's driveways and if you haven't noticed, I am a bit of a greenie). Rest assured, I am so grateful now that there are people out there with big diesel trucks, because they are the ones that can help in these situations. What a nice Christmas gift: to break down the barrier of pride and prejudice and gain increased love and understanding for humankind.
*On Tuesday, we got very brave. We had been planning dinner with my sister at her house on the other side of the Metro area, and we decided to give it a go. We were very confident that we would be fine because a) we grew up in Utah and know how to drive in snow and b) we have all wheel drive on our car and chains in the back if we needed them. Our over-confidence got the better of us. We were driving along a side road in a residential country estates area in south Lake Oswego, outside of the Urban Growth Boundary (if that means anything to you)...and we didn't have our chains on yet. It was still daylight, but the roads in the shade and they were JUST. TOO. SLICK. There was nothing for it without chains on. So, yes I KATE (who took my drivers ed road test in a February blizzard in Utah at 6:30 am) admit that I was over confident in my driving abilities and that driving in Oregon in the snow is MUCH worse than driving in Utah in the snow (since the road are unplowed). And...the our lovely new car with all wheel drive slid into a 5 foot ditch on the side of the road. Again I wish I had a picture, but this picture that I found on the web just about explains it:
...except in our case, all 4 wheels were still touching the side of the embankment. We were truly stuck. There was no way we were getting out. I was even doubtful that a tow truck could get us out because it was so deep and the roads were so slick. Nevertheless, I called my sister and asked her to find me a phone number for a towing company. Several people drove past, asking if we were OK and confirming that: YES, we would need a tow truck. We were worried that we were going to be stuck there for hours waiting...when lo and behold a very large, shiny, new and expensive diesel truck pulls up with a nice man inside who says "I can get you out of that." He proceeds to whip out his towing rope and pulls our car right out. Words cannot express my gratitude both then and now for this nice stranger in a rich country estate neighborhood. This experience broke down a few bad stereotypes that I had: a) there are no more nice people out there who stop to help, b) extremely rich people don't care what regular people are going through and the big one c) people with huge diesel trucks are disgusting, polluting and self-indulging (I am really sorry if this last one offends anyone...I grew up in the city where this kind of truck didn't even fit in people's driveways and if you haven't noticed, I am a bit of a greenie). Rest assured, I am so grateful now that there are people out there with big diesel trucks, because they are the ones that can help in these situations. What a nice Christmas gift: to break down the barrier of pride and prejudice and gain increased love and understanding for humankind.Meanwhile, while we were getting removed from the ditch, another car slid off the road ahead of us. This one was not in a ditch, so several men got out of their waiting cars to lend a hand. Traffic was stopped in both directions. Brent went to lend a hand, while I decided NOW was definitely the time to put the chains on the tires. As I was laying out the chains next to the car, the road was so slick that even with the car turned off and parked...the car was slipping to the side of the road. It was a nightmare! But once again, several Oregonians who were a little more experienced with chains than I (chains are required by law on really snowy days in the Portland Metro area) came to my rescue and got the chains on before my car could slide any further. Whew. Once the chains were on, we were OK. It's amazing what a big difference they make! We made it to my sisters a few hours late, but everyone was unscathed including, thankfully, the car. And we had a wonderful dinner!
* Christmas Eve we had dinner with the Lovelands and the Mansius family. We feel blessed to have so many people looking out for us! Once again the roads were deplorable! But this time it was because the snow and ice were melting and turning to slush! It took us twice as long to drive anywhere.
* Christmas Morning was fun. We all slept in very late. We were exhausted. I couldn't believe when I roused at 9 am that my kids were still sound asleep! We almost had to prod them out of bed to get them to come down to the living room. But once they came, it was an awesome sight!
The boys had a great time with their gifts. We hardly got any pictures this year...odd. But it was nice. The real big surprise for the whole family was that Santa brought us a trampoline with a net enclosure!
* Christmas Eve we had dinner with the Lovelands and the Mansius family. We feel blessed to have so many people looking out for us! Once again the roads were deplorable! But this time it was because the snow and ice were melting and turning to slush! It took us twice as long to drive anywhere.
* Christmas Morning was fun. We all slept in very late. We were exhausted. I couldn't believe when I roused at 9 am that my kids were still sound asleep! We almost had to prod them out of bed to get them to come down to the living room. But once they came, it was an awesome sight!
The boys had a great time with their gifts. We hardly got any pictures this year...odd. But it was nice. The real big surprise for the whole family was that Santa brought us a trampoline with a net enclosure!We had dinner at my other sister's new house (she just moved here from Utah). It was lovely and we learned that if we mainly stick to the freeways the roads aren't so bad.
* The day after Christmas came with warmer temperatures, rain, gallons of slush in the streets, quickly melting snow and flood warnings for the whole area. Thankfully that blew over quickly with no flooding that we were aware of. But it was a weather roller coaster ride to be sure! At least it was better than last year spending Christmas Eve in the ER with Toby...
* The day after Christmas, the area rug I've been wanting from Pottery Barn went on sale big time! So I bought it. FINALLY. (yay!) This is what it looks like:
I like it because it is original, bright, artistic and so nice. My house is decorated with a lot of orange accents, light blue and a medium green. There are also very many botanical themes since I love trees and plants. This rug is a Japanese wood-block flower print. Very pretty. I am so happy that I will finally be able to finish decorating my living room!
Now, I apologize for the lengthiness this post! I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas and I send my love and best wishes for a wonderful 2009!
* The day after Christmas, the area rug I've been wanting from Pottery Barn went on sale big time! So I bought it. FINALLY. (yay!) This is what it looks like:
I like it because it is original, bright, artistic and so nice. My house is decorated with a lot of orange accents, light blue and a medium green. There are also very many botanical themes since I love trees and plants. This rug is a Japanese wood-block flower print. Very pretty. I am so happy that I will finally be able to finish decorating my living room!*OH yeah...and Joshua decided that he wants to go to Paris to visit the Louvre Museum. He has taken a liking to the art there recently (just random), especially "the MonLisa Smile" as he says. If anyone has figured out how to get cheap airline tickets for the whole family, please let me know. We really want to travel, but we just can't believe how much it costs to fly 4 people!
Now, I apologize for the lengthiness this post! I hope everyone had a very happy Christmas and I send my love and best wishes for a wonderful 2009!
9 comments:
What a wonderful and memorable Christmas, you will never forget it I am sure.
We are set up with something on our email that sends us the info on awesome flights, you can specify where you want or a general area. We got roundtrip tickets to Hawaii for only $350 a person, March with be awesome! Good luck and Happy New Year.
at least this will be a christmas to remember huh...sorry you didn't make it to Utah :(
you are amazing.
Well, my little green friend, as always, your blog entry has amazed me. What beautiful pictures. What a neat Christmas. What a narrow escape. I'm so glad you guys weren't hurt in your slide-off, and that you weren't stranded. Blessings all around, which you deserve. Happy New Year!
Counselor Troi - What an unforgetable Christmas. I can just picture you out cross country skiing around the neighborhood w/ Toby in tow! I am glad that you are all safe. Happy New Year to you all! -Skeeter & Tristan
Beautiful pics, Kate:) sorry to hear about your new car..the kids
looks so cute with their presents!!
Are you still frozen in? Sounds like you have had some memorable adventures.
I've tagged you to do the Six Random Things meme. If you haven't already that is. You can check it out at my blog.
Hey - I have to tell you that a friend of mine was reading my blog and took a peek at yours after finding the link. She said she spent like an hour reading your blog and now thinks you guys are the coolest family on the planet!
It sounds like you had a great Christmas. I am so glad you made it out of the ditch without any problems.