Our 2nd annual Christmas 'P' tradition 2011

We realized upon arrival to the Pittock Mansion, in 2010 we went to Peacock Lane (a popular street in downtown where many homes have Christmas lights) with our friends the Bushchicken's aka the Hedgecock's.  Afterword (last year as well as this year) we stopped at Starbucks for their infamous spiced carmel apple cider = fatty goodness.  We thought it might be fun to start doing an annual December 'P' outing/activity every year . . . we'll see what we come up with this year. 

The Pittock Mansion is a mansion with an incredible view of Portland.  Each year the place is decked out in Christmas decor from all over so we thought it would be fun to check it out. Here are some pictures taken by Peter - our unofficial outing photographer. 

 
Here we decided to do our own version of the 'Kardashian Christmas Card'.  How'd we do?

And us actually smiling . . . 

Both families in front of the mansion and enjoying the view of the city. Hedgecock's oldest son, Jordan, took this picture and did a great job!

Christmas traditions

We are experimenting each year with new ideas of things we'd like to start as family traditions.  This year, Dan cut down our first Christmas tree.  They grow here like you wouldn't believe and you can get a good sized tree for about $20.  Love it!

We also decided to bake a ham (my first) and enjoyed eating it, picking at it etc. this week.  We have managed to maintain a tasty spread of treats and healthy snacks, make gingerbread houses (Dan's first in quite a few years) and visit the Pittock Mansion with friends.  I also thought it would be fun to start getting a Christmas book, a new ornament, and for good measure, a game as traditions too. We were successful on all counts this year. . . we'll see how well we do next year :)

My gingerbread house had quite a few roof cave-ins but luckily still managed to turn out okay.  Dan's was done with precision, structural soundness and a steady hand.  Both turned out great, and we had a lot of fun doing them together.