Cushing Christmas 2008

This 2008 Christmas the Cushing's went up to Oregon Country to visit Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Walt. I had not been home for Christmas in over 10 years, and this year, it was very busy at their house! Uncle Eric and Aunt Katie were coming in, Jon and Kate were living there, and Uncle David and Sarah live just down the street - so it would be a season full of family! I had all kinds of dreams of what we would do in the mild Oregon weather...hiking, maybe visit the Coast for a beachy Christmas, bike rides, ect, anything to escape the winter cold and snow. I was in for a wild ride, as this was the year that Oregon had it's worst ice storms in 40 (yep, that's right) years. We arrived at SLC International Airport and were delayed a little over an hour, but the kids were wonderful! Delta and crew were trying to decide whether or not they would be able to get the plane into PDX safely due to the current and impending weather - luckily, our plane was the last flight to get in, otherwise, I am not sure we would have made it! Uncle Eric and Aunt Katie came in a few days later, and it took them 8 hours to travel the 70 miles from Portland to Grandma's house in Salem! Can you believe it? Needless to say, it was a crazy start to a long week. Once we were safely unpacked and assigned rooms, (assigned due to the number of people that were and would be staying there for Christmas), we learned that Grandma Cindy had lots of activites planned.

Here are some of the things we did:
Made gingerbread houses
Took many dips in the hot tub (which was a real lifesaver during the times we were stir crazy)
Had a "live" Nativity
Cooked too much food
Ate entirely too much food
Watched the HBO series John Adams
Watched the snow fall - riveting, I know
Watched more snow fall
Saw Valkyrie - recommended, even if you don't like Tom Cruise
Saw Bedtime Stories - recommended for the little ones
Watched Colton play with his remote helicopter
Received real Olive Wood Nativities from Jerusalem - Awesome!
Shopped
Played racquetball and pool - activities that the boys enjoyed
Spent time with family

So, as you can see, we packed quite a few activites into this 7 day Christmas trip, and had a wonderful, if not chaotic time. It is always good to spend time with family, especially during this time of year!