Christmas in Oregon 2008

This Christmas was a very fun, sad, strange and exCiting time for our family. It even started off kind of weird. We were planning to leave for Oregon the Saturday before Christmas. We were, however very worried about the weather and we were trying to watch it to make sure we would not get caught in a storm on the way through the Siskiyou(si, ski you! as we call it) mountains near Ashland. It had also been snowing a lot in Portland so that made it hard to figure out too. There is nothing that I dislike more than snow driving. We had a bad rollover accident when Dallin was a baby so I get very stressed out about it. Especially if Peter is driving because then I drive him crazy with my constant panic attacks and back seat driving. So after looking into it we decided to stick to our plan of driving on Saturday. The next morning my oldest sister called at 6:30am. I was still sleeping and tried to ignore it. Finally after calling 3 times by 7:00 I finally answered and she said there was a big storm coming into Portland and everything would be snowed in until Christmas so we better get going. I had not even started packing and Peter was already at work. Peter's brother Larry also suggested the same. So we moved quickly and as I frantically packed, Peter talked to his boss and came home.

We were on the road at 10:30am. There was a lot to do, but we were racing the clock. We drove for long stretches of time only stopping 2 times the whole day which got us there in 9 1/2 hours instead of 10. There was mostly just rain and slushy snow and we got through the mountains by 3:30, just barely squeezing through before the temps dropped. Then we were still racing to get to Portland. By 7:30 we rolled in just as the snow was starting to stick to the roads. After that we really were snowed in for days. Phew! It was snowing the whole week before we got there too. I heard that nothing like this had happened in 40 years! It was fun because we didn't tell Peter's parents that we were coming a day early and showed up as carolers at their door. They were very exCited. It was so fun to hang out with Larry, Lori, Mark, Luke, Andy, Lucy, Larry D's family and John's family for the week! There was tons of visiting, pool, Warcraft, Bean Game, Soduko tournament, and Rock Band(more on that later). Then there was the food, I stuffed myself the whole week and it was worth having to hit the gym even harder now, Yum!

Because of the snow many family activities were cancelled, but we still got to do a lot. On the 22nd we had the Dickinson relative party, which was great as usual with a talent show and lots of yummy Honey Baked Ham. During the party I got a phone call that my grandpa (Mom's dad) had passed away. I had braced myself for the news for a couple of weeks so when Peter handed me the phone, I knew right away what it was and didn't want to answer it. For the next couple of days I really struggled to keep myself together and enjoy the family time, but found myself choking up every time I thought about it. I couldn't seem to make any decisions or think clearly, but Peter and Lori were very compassionate with me and gave me the support that I needed. The hardest part was coming to terms with the fact that we would not be able to drive to Idaho Falls because of the weather for the funeral. I84 was almost constantly closed because of ice and snow.

On Tuesday, a bunch of the boys decided to brave the snow and drive to the mountain to take advantage of the great ski weather. I had been planning to ski, but I was way too faint hearted to make the drive so Peter and Dallin left me behind. Dallin improved his skiing a ton and had a blast. He never complained about being cold or skiing being difficult, he just enjoyed every moment to the fullest degree possible(video coming). Apparently by 6pm everyone was ready to head for home, but Dallin was the only one who wanted to keep going. So much like his dad.


That day there was an opening through I84 so my mom and dad decided to take their chance to get to Idaho. They stopped by for a quick hello and goodbye for about 10 minutes and that is all I saw of them the whole time.


On Christmas Eve the snow was melting a little bit so we drove to Salem for my family's get together. We missed my parents but had a great time visiting and having our gift exchange. Eden even got to make cookies for Santa with her cousin Shelby and aunt Laurel. Our kids totally enjoyed being around cousins and playing the whole time.


Christmas day the kids woke up to finally get all the gifts they have been thinking about for the last month. Dallin and Eden would open a present get exCited for a moment and then look for another gift. Tanner on the other hand would open a gift and want to play with it. He would get mad if we tried to encourage him to move on so by the time the other kids were done, Tanner still had a big pile of unopened goodies. Carter enjoyed trying to eat all of the wrapping paper on the floor. Peter and I had already gotten our gifts from each other so I wasn't expecting anything else, but I was surprised to get a really nice hair straightener from him. I guess I have been talking about getting one for over a year so he took some initiative, what a sweetie. He does not often surprise me so it was extra special. Dallin and Tanner enjoyed lots of new cars and trains, and Eden a doll house and princess barbies.

The day after Christmas I met up with my best friend Angeliou for lunch, it was great to catch up and our Benihana dates are becoming a tradition, how fun. Peter took the kids to Larry D's house and the kids had a total blast playing with cousins some more. I met up with them there and then Peter and I headed over to a nice restaurant for the annual Hedman dinner and white elephant exchange. By this time the roads were beginning to clear up so that was nice. The Dickinson family got Guitar Hero for Christmas so we stayed up late a couple of nights rocking out. It was so fun. Of course I loved singing but I also discovered that I love to beat on the drums, probably for the same reason I love to kick box! I kinda want to learn how to play real drums now. We played so long that my eyes were doing funny things afterward from the scrolling music notes. It made it super fun because almost everyone got into it.

On Saturday morning we got up early and dressed for the funeral. We met with my siblings at Laurel's house and it was such a blessing to be able to watch my Grandpa's funeral over the Internet. It was a beautiful service, but I did miss being able to be there to hug everyone and say goodbye. We made a nice lunch afterward and enjoyed some more time together.

Sunday we drove back, sad that our trip seemed so short. Tragically, I realized that I had forgotten my battery charger for my camera, so I was without the whole time. I was so sad. I copied some from Larry's camera though so here are a few that I did manage to get:



Peter's Grandpa Hedman and Carter. This is the Grandpa that sent us the funny letter.

This is Eden and Miranda singing Jingle Bells for the talent show. They did great and at the end they shouted "Hey" and nodded their heads so that their headbands fell off. It was cute. Eden really looks up to Miranda, Lucy, and Shelby.

Zora and Eden ready to play in the snow

Peter's Grandpa Dickinson with Carter. He cherishes every Grandchild and Great-grandchild.

Christmas Dinner with the Dickinsons.

Christmas morning trains and race car tracks.

Look at all those presents! Santa visited 3 families so the tree was overflowing.

Eden loved the jingle bell pony tails that Aunt Lucy gave her.

Train tracks at Uncle Larry's

Happy cousins Tanner and Lindsay.

Eden and Miranda had a lot of fun making this mosaic.

Silly girls!

Traditional Christmas morning on the stairs picture.

That pretty much sums up our very different Christmas.