Merry Christmas 2011

Emily (left) and Lauren (right) were so excited to wake up on Christmas Day to find that Santa had left presents under the tree!  One of their favorite gifts this year were Beauty and the Beast and Rapunzel figurine sets.

New games to play!

The girls loved their gifts from Aunty Carol and Uncle Joe, especially the wrist watches!

Painting on their new double sided easel!

Decorating their own wooden dolls with jewels and glitter!

In the evening we went over to Grandpa and Grandma Rufener's house for dinner and more celebrating.  Lauren enjoyed playing the bells while Grandma played the piano.

More presents!  Grandpa and Grandma Rufener are going to take the girls to Build A Bear to create their very own stuffed animals which is sure to be a great time.

Christmas Eve Celebration at the Kisors

The fabulous foursome!  From left to right: Kali, Emily, Kay, and Lauren.

Enjoying the feast!

 Kay and Kali helping Emily and Lauren unwrap their gifts.

Lauren (left) and Emily (right) were exhausted after the celebration but made sure that they set out cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer before going to sleep!

Holiday Staycation

We took some time off during the holidays to relax and enjoy!  One of the places we went to was the Oregon Zoo to see ZooLights... the girls LOVE christmas lights!

This year we rode the train!  I sat next to Emily and she said it was the best train ride ever.

Girls enjoying the view of the hippos.

Our friend Hazel flew into town from Colorado for the holidays and came over for a play date!

Enjoying the slide!

We also went to see the lights at the Portland International Raceway. The displays were beautiful although the girls were a bit disappointed that they could not get out of the car.

Eleven pipers piping!

On Christmas Eve morning we drove up to Mt. Hood Ski Bowl to go tubing. The girls are becoming tubing pros!

Winter Candles

Lauren (left) and Emily (right) singing a holiday song they learned at preschool!

First Picture With Santa

Lauren (left) and Emily (right) took their first picture with Santa this year! Lauren was so excited!  Emily was mostly excited but a bit nervous at the same time.

Swimming and Sliding!

This weekend the girls went swimming at the Southwest Community Center pool.  Lauren is on the left looking into the water next to Dad and Emily is swimming on the right.

The girls loved the water slide!  Emily is at the top of the stairs waiting for Dad and Lauren to make their way up.

Lauren liked to go down the slide with Dad.

Adventurous Emily went down the slide all by herself!

Christmas Tree Hunt, Part 2

After an unsuccessful tree hunt a couple weekends ago, we decided to go to Al's Garden Center to buy a precut tree.  They had a great selection of beautiful trees and a fancy electric train display that the girls LOVED! Lauren was too excited to push the train button again to pose for a picture.  

The girls picked out some new ornaments to put on the tree this year. Here is Emily hanging a sparkly red bell pepper ornament.  

Lauren hanging a sparkly navel orange ornament.  

Lauren (left) and Emily (right) also decorated their own ornaments this year!

They went to a ceramics shop a couple weeks ago to choose and paint their ornaments.  The ornaments were fired in a kiln and we went back a few days later to pick them up.

Lauren painted a snowman and Emily painted a snowflake.  

Our finished 8 foot noble fir!

Chocolate Orange Snaps

This week we baked Christmas tree cookies!  Emily came up with the idea and we decided to try out a new recipe that combined two of the girls' favorite things... chocolate and oranges!  Emily decorates her cookies with great care and concentration.

Emily was so pleased with her cookies!

Lauren tends to decorate her cookies more quickly in a freestyle kind of way...

The finished product... chocolate orange snaps!  They were delicious.

Snow Tubing at Mt. Hood Ski Bowl

View from the car as we drove from Bend to Mt. Hood.  The weather was gorgeous!

Lauren, Dad, and Emily geared up and ready for tubing!

 Emily going up the conveyor lift tube tow.

 Lauren going up the tube tow.

 View from the top!

Justin and the girls at the bottom of the hill.  We used the two person tubes so we could ride together!

Video of Mom and Emily going down the hill... we are the third sled from the right.  

Justin was brave enough to video tape one of his rides down the hill with Lauren!

High Desert Museum

During our stay in Bend, we visited the High Desert Museum.  Here are the girls enjoying an interactive woodpecker exhibit.  

Checking out the lynx!

Emily (left) and Lauren (right) loved this exhibit about how birds use their beaks as tools!  They practiced picking up different objects using various types of tongs.  

There was also a neat indoor play area!  Here is Lauren walking up towards the eagle's perch and Emily going down the slide.

 Lauren going down the slide...

Girls at the entrance to the rock tunnel!

We also walked around downtown Bend in the evening and discovered this cute japanese statue!

Wanoga Sno Park

Lauren, Dad, and Emily at Wanoga Sno Park!

Emily carefully walking through the icy snow.

Lauren sledding down the hill with Dad.  Emily was a bit timid at first and said she just wanted to watch.

Close up of Lauren and Dad sledding.

Emily eventually agreed to give sledding a try and she loved it too! Everyone had a great time!

Video clip of Lauren sledding with Dad...

Video clip of Emily sledding with Dad...