the surprise and the snow

I failed to mention that Matt and I surprised my parents...they didn't know we were coming up for Christmas! We timed it right to arrive into town right about the time everyone was getting off work. Our family friends and my sister and Derek planned a casual dinner at the fave little spot a few blocks from my parents house. We literally got out of the car from our 17 hour drive and walked into the restaurant where my family has just been seated. I was too excited to remember to take any pictures! But the first couple below are us walking back to my parents from the restaurant (well, I was technically getting a piggyback ride from Curran and Kels was driving :) In the restaurant, Kels asked to see my rings and tried them on (oops! they were a little tight and we laughed our you know what's off going to the bathroom so she could soap them off! Hard to tell but her finger was turning purple) *Ironic how a week later she got her own ring! :)




It snowed like nobody's business while we were there! (16 inches or so...record snowfall for more than a few decades) Once again, we were thankful in the timing of our drive being perfect to avoid the worst part of the storm! But let me tell you, it made for some awesome sledding! We walked a few blocks down to the park where there is a HILL that I'm sure God created for kids and adults alike to enjoy some serious sledding fun.








We had little discs, a couple snow skates, and my mom's radio flyer wooden sled that she had when she was a kid! Great fun had by all :)
*I would have loved to play with my new camera with snow pictures (white balance, etc), but it was snowing so hard, I didn't want it to get all wet. I would have needed an entourage to follow with umbrellas, etc. No one volunteered. Plus, I wanted to bomb the hill and easily placed my digital point and shoot in my jacket pocket :)
**stay tuned. one more post to come with the lincoln city beach edition of Christmas 2008, and more importantly my sister's engagement!!