It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

This weekend, we got around an inch of snow which is persistently hanging around, due to below-freezing highs:
Brrr!

Despite the icy weather, we kept busy this weekend. Christmas tree hunting, parade attending, and the Jingle Bell 5k Run/Walk!

Above are all the cousins who traveled to Portland, OR to participate in this benefit event to promote and further arthritis research. Aunt Hiedie organized the team ("Hiedie's Holiday Hoofers") as her choice for the annual family gift exchange (Go to And the Skies Are Not Cloudy All Day to "meet" Dad's family). As you can see, we were careful to follow Aunt Hiedie's words of instruction as she handed us our bags of race shirts, Old Navy pajama pants, reindeer antlers, and Rudolph noses: "Feel free to not wear anything that makes you look beautiful!" This event occurs around the country, but our event was actually colder than the one in Anchorage!

Left to right: Uncle Larry, Susanna, and Melanie heading for the finish line in front of Portland's skyline!

Left: Micah--almost there!

Below: (back row) Melanie, Susanna, Mikaela, Lauren, Mama, Papa
(front row) Micah, Jonah

After the race, we relaxed at a neighborhood coffee shop, then went to Aunt Vickie and Uncle Larry's home to watch a movie, try our hand at Christmas trivia, sing carols around the piano, eat borscht (a family heritage--it's a Polish/Russian red soup made of beets, cabbage, broth, dill, and vinegar), play catch phrase, and race to unwrap four layers of wrapping paper (with gloves, hat, and scarf on) to get to prize chocolate bars!

That night, after getting home, we decorated our tree! Sadly, this year's trees at our traditional Christmas tree farm were all on the short side. The benefit, however, was that we didn't need a ladder to decorate!

I hope you are all getting in the Christmas spirit now! Just remember that, even with all of these fun traditions and festivities, Christ is the gift of Christmas and the heart of our celebration.