Merry Christmas 2015

Christmas tree spritz cookies that we made for Santa.

Girls opening presents at Grandma and Grandpa Rufener's house on Christmas Eve.

The girls picked out convertible mittens/fingerless gloves as a present for Tian and she loved them!

Christmas morning at our house... Emily was happy to find a chocolate orange in her stocking. 

Lauren was thrilled to discover a jar of spicy pickles in her stocking!

The girls were excited to see what was in Daddy's stocking too... there were lots of chocolate items! 

The girls were screaming when they discovered that Santa brought them each a giant Beanie Boo!

Shopkins from Aunty Carol and Uncle Joe!

Lauren had been wanting this book for a while. The girls both love to read!

Our Christmas present from Lauren. So cute!

Our Christmas present from Emily. We love it!

The girls spent much of the morning putting together toy sets. 

Emily carefully reading the directions. 

Birds eye view of the building process.

They work together well as a team!

Christmas day lunch celebration at the Kisors.  From left to right: Emily, Kali, Kaylin, and Lauren. The four of them wore coordinating shirts... it was totally unplanned!  The twin cousin connection is strong. :)

The girls were SO excited to receive Playmobil playsets from the Kisors! We love being able to spend time with our families during the holidays!

Candy Trains and New Taekwondo Belts

The second graders made candy trains this week at school. Here is Lauren working on her train. 

Emily working on her train.

The completed trains!

This week the girls also advanced to yellow belt with orange stripe status in taekwondo. They really enjoy going to class... Master Eric keeps it fun with a mixture of technique/form drills and games like paddle hockey.

Gingerbread Houses

 

Lauren and Emily love to decorate gingerbread houses during the holidays!

Girls concentrating on making every detail just right.

Emily working on her house. 

Lauren working on her house. 

The completed houses are beautiful! Emily's is on the left and Lauren's is on the right.

Christmas Tree 2015

We went to Al's Garden Center this weekend to pick out our Christmas tree. The girls always love to see the holiday train on display!

Justin and the girls in front of the Christmas Express. 

The pickings were a bit slim since we got our tree a little late this year, but we were still able to find a nice slender one that was easy to get into the house. 

Mrs. Claus held a storytime session while we were there and gave out candy canes. 

The girls love to hang ornaments on the tree!

The finished tree at night.

Sky High Sports

The girls recently went to Sky High Sports to celebrate their friend Abbie's 8th birthday! 

Lauren, Abbie, and Emily. 

Emily feeling strong! 

The giant pit of foam blocks was a hit with everyone.

Enjoying pizza after lots of jumping!

Elf Yourself

Every holiday season the girls' school does a fund raiser where students can get their photo taken as an elf! Emily chose to be an Oregon Duck elf. 

Lauren chose to be an Oregon Duck elf too!

Second Grade School Portraits

Lauren is in Mrs. Gamache's class.

Emily is in Ms. Steele's class.

Visit With Santa

The girls visited Santa at the shopping mall this week. Emily was thrilled to be on the Nice List!

Lauren was on the Nice List too. :)

Hugs for Santa!

The official 2015 Santa portrait.

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving... it's always been one of our favorite holidays. We are so thankful for our family and friends!

2nd Grade Music Performance and Junie B. Jones Musical

The 2nd grade music performance was this week and the kids did a great job singing! Emily is in the second row from the front, sixth person from the right. Lauren is in the back row, third person from the left. 

Lauren, Abby, and Emily after the show. They looked so pretty!

This weekend we went to downtown Portland to see a musical.

We saw the Junie B. Jones musical by the Oregon Children's Theater. It was a terrific show!