Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas in Portland

I've have had so much going on this past week it's felt overwhelming to try to blog it all. David and I decided to take a train to Portland for Christmas, which was just beautiful. I felt like I was riding the polar express as we chugged through thick falling snow, which turned the trees white. I saw a bald eagle perched on the top of one of these trees; regal, the ruler of the land.

In Portland we gathered on Mom's living room floor and opened presents. I like this picture because everyone is acting weird, except for Mom and her boyfriend, who are clearly into each other.
Below is my sister and brother. We always laugh a lot when we're together.

Family foto op. And no, my brother really isn't that tall. He was standing on his tip-toes.

I saw four families while I was in Portland. I saw my Mom, her boyfriend, my brother and sister. I saw my Dad and his girlfriend, and we hung out in the hotel lobby and went to Portland City Grill. I saw my stepmom, and we went to breakfast, hung out at the hotel, watched a movie. I saw my stepdad, his wife, and my sister, and had dinner at their house in Hillsboro. I saw my good friend Annabelle (who's pregnant) and her husband and sister, we went to coffee and Hubers. I saw David's sister and her husband, who stayed with us in the Benson downtown. It was a whirlwind trip, but so wonderful to see my family. No matter how disjointed everyone becomes, I feel so happy and thankful to have so many people to love in this world, and so many people who love me back. Every single one of them made me the person I am today.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

right on, Kristin! That is the right attitude. Some people have a limited, together family that is dysfunctional (and others have achieved the ideal, everyone gets along, one love for 60 years like my folks), others have rather, uh, extended ones, and feel loved by all of them. We all have to roll with what life gives us. Sometime you just have an expanded family - and yeah, mom and her boyfriend are truly into each other, though you should know we still are weird sometimes. :-) (You should have seen us dancing to hoedown music, just to go out of our way to be weird!) People who are comfortable being silly are some of the happiest people.

Dan-Eric Slocum said...

Thanks for sharing your time together. I love blogs from travels. I plan to blog during my London trip.

Colleen said...

Gosh! That looks like so much fun. I also had a hoot of a time with my family... and now I miss them. Good pictures, Kristin. They really show your families personality.

Contact Travis said...

such great pictures and sounds like a crazy trip, but so wonderful you are on good terms with ALL parts of your family!