Christmas in Portland

Tyson and I visited my brother Tim's family in Portland, Oregon for Christmas. It was SO FUN and provided a much needed break from our hectic work/school schedules. My parents flew in from New York to be there as well. There is nothing greater to be around during the holidays than family.

Danny and Tyson showed off their exceptional piano skills for everyone . . . by playing the one song they knew over and over and over and over . . . . yes, very inspirational.

Mom, Jill and I made the Christmas dinner- Jill and Mom did most of the work; my biggest contribution were the rolls I'm holding up . . . some of which were rather small since I had to cut off the parts that got burned!!! We could all use a little less carbs anyway, right?




Derek was ordained a Priest while we were there. It was neat that Tyson and my Dad could be there for it. Derek has gotten quite good at basketball. We got to watch two of his games while we were there.


Tim surprised Tyson and I with some tickets to the Blazers game. Neither of us had ever been on the club level before. We definitely took advantage of the free buffet that comes with these seats. It was a fun game to watch-- plus the Blazers won. In the picture of just me, we were trying to get a shot of all the food behind us, but apparently my camera flash was dying that night . . .