Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas. The kids woke uo a little after 6, but had to wait until 7 to see what Santa brought. They had very full stockings. They each got a stuffed guinea pig, which they loved. They both got an Indiana Jones lego set. Jack got a Beaver helmet and uniform set. Ellie got a giant nerf gun. After a big breakfast and some play time we headed to Eugene to our best friends' house. The kids got to play and then they put on a nativity play. The Hakalas joined us for dessert and the play. Then the grownups watched a movie while the kids played. It was a great day. On the way home Ellie said her throat hurt which after 4 long days led to the discovery her strep throat was back. At least she got to enjoy Christmas.

Ellie had an Oregon jersey in her stocking.

Jack's helmet, jersey set was his favorite present.

Pancho and Julie

Liz, you are so good at making tin foil crowns!

How's that meat Pancho?

Natalie was the narrator

Ellie was an angel

Jack was one of the three kings(notice the chuck e cheese crown and bowling pin for a gift)

Jack with the other kings(Ben and Max)

Lucy and Sam aka Mary and Joseph

The Cast: Hakala, Fulton and Dacar kids!

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. My mom and Doug's parents came to our house. I made a ham dinner. After dinner we opened our presents. The kids were sooooo excited. The grand finale gift was from Grammy, the kids finally got a Wii. That was so cute to watch because they opened it and just sat there in silence, they didn't think it was real and then started screaming. Of course Jack also got some legos and a Beaver football. Ellie got some DS games and remote control helicopter. They had a great time!

Dinner, about the only time we sit at the big table.

The fun of opening presents

Doug got an ipod touch

Doug gets to set up the Wii

We got a family game. Doug and I also got a gift certificate for a night away at Salishan :)

They really never thought they would get a Wii

Jack got right to work building and this year didn't need any help!

Santa Brownie

Ellie wanted to try out all the sports

Doug and I

Linda

Wayne and Martha

Ellie and Jack

Zoolights

Zoolights: We go to zoolights every year. This year we went with our best friends the Fultons. We drove together in Don's van, which brought back memories of our road trip to Disneyland. This was their first time at Zoolights. We had a great time and stopped at Red Robin for dinner afterwards!

Warming up in the penguin house

Riding the zoo train!

A furry friend, hey was there a line to see this guy??

Oh, the monkey. Let's just say this was quite a story!!!!

The Family shot

Julie and her kids

Jack and Ellie

All the kids!

Julie my best friend from college!

The van! We have so many memories in this van!

Helping in Jack' class

The day before Christmas vacation I got to flex my time and go help with gingerbread houses in Jack's class. It was so much fun to get to be a mom and watch all of the excitement. Jack was very happy to have me there and so proud of his gingerbread house.

Christmas Tree

On December 6th we went to my mom's house to cut our Christmas tree. We always cut our tree down at her house which makes getting our tree extra special. It was really cold this year so we had to bundle up and make a quick selection. We cut one down for my mom and then the kids helped grammy decorate her tree. We got our tree finished just in time for bed. It is always so much fun to take out the ornaments and talk about all of our memories!

Civil War 2009

Civil War 2009: About a year and a half ago Jack decided he was a Beaver fan. He has always had quite a mind of his own. The rest of the family is Duck fans. The kids really like to watch football so we enjoyed the game. Of course, us Duck fans were a little happier at the end of the game! It was fun to dress up for school and the kids look great in their competing apparel.