christmas of cousins

Let's start with Rune.  Just let that smile melt away the thousands of miles, hours of waiting, stress of re-booking, and constant uncertainty of weather on the Delta.  There it goes, gone.  Thanks baby.

Now the fun of Christmas in Portland had begun.  I arrived shortly before Whitney and Gwen.  Mix together four adults, two two-year-olds, a baby, and two dogs.  Now sprinkle an little freshly grated nutmeg on top.  That's some good nog.

The first stop with Whit and Gwen was breakfast.  These two cousins were very excited to see one another and hit it off right away, of course.

 

 We had all arrived just in time celebrate this guy's birthday.  

Christmas Eve was celebrated with a candle-light service.  Gwen and Eury loved the battery operated candles for the kids.  As more a traditionalist, Rune preferred the actual flame.

This guy know how to rock the Christmas pajamas.  That velour, that applique, those subtle silver snowflakes.

Santa was spot on with tradition this year.  He remembered all the walnuts and how they needed to be hung in the stockings.

Though this was Eury's and Gwen's third Christmas, I'm not sure that they understood the walnuts before this year.  They were very interested in cracking them open to find the note from Santa inside.  The note told them where Santa hid their presents.

Gwen helps Whitney find the special note.

Having received identical dolls, both girls especially loved the bottles.

She was starting to get the hang of the walnuts.

Eury enjoyed the book while Rune preferred the wrapping.

While stuck in the Bethel airport on my way to Portland, there was an icon salesman also stuck in the airport.  He set up his wares and was making the best of the situation.  These beautifully painted wooden eggs caught my eye.

Rune was pretty enamored with them as well.

Seeing this Walker family tradition carry on to the next generation is pretty spectacular.

Eury's last walnut took her up to her room, where she found her new bed.  Though she said she wanted to sleep in her crib, she never did.  The transition to bed was pretty solid.

 Rune was one jolly little Santa baby. I was reminded of Eury's first Christmas and her Santa dress.

The key to a good convergence of cousins is a good tea party.  The girls were very sweet with their excitement and use of their tiny tea cups.

 

The tea parties didn't stop there.  Our friends Sarah, Kira, and baby Abby joined in one morning for even more toddler tea time.

It was pretty much a scene of motherhood.  

The scene was no different on the other end of the table.

The girls' favorite game seemed to be the apron strings.  Suddenly the popularity of May poles became clear.

Gwen and Eury have almost the same age difference as myself and Rachel.  It was pretty cool to see their relationship developing.  I hope they get to grow to be best cousins, it is such a special relationship.

 Eurydice drew on the wall and was cleaning up her offense when Gwen came to help.

The Dino ride at the Asian market was just perfect for two two-year-olds.

We were able to take a little girls' afternoon and share our tradition of conveyor-belt sushi.

One day to get out with all the babes we decided to just take a drive up the Gorge.  It was a very foggy day.  But that added to the very Pacific Northwest atmosphere.

Rachel drove the sleeping kids around so that Whit and I could walk up to Multnomah Falls.  It was beautiful, as usual.

The view at Vista House was fog.

Eury enjoyed running around at the nearly deserted stop-over.

This post is brought to you by matching dinosaur pajamas.

The next morning was clear and sunny so we decided to try the Gorge again.  It's such a nice drive on historic highway 30, to do it two days in a row is still fun.  This time we struck scenic gold.  It was the perfect way to wrap up my last day in Oregon.

The night before it had snowed.  Though snow is fairly common at higher altitudes in Oregon and Washington, it is pretty rare in the Willamette Valley and in the Gorge.

The sun had melted streaks of the snow, but parts were preserved in the shadows.

It was so nice to get to spend the week with these two ladies, it had been so long, and was much appreciated.  Lives have gotten a bit busier since we were all living life together, but the genuine sweetness and love is still strong.

Thank you Whitney (and Gwen) for coming to share life and make one epic Christmas of cousins.

Thank you Josh and Rachel for hosting such a wonderful holiday.  It was so very lovely.