Grilled Cheese Grill and Voodoo Donuts

Every vacation to Oregon requires a trip to the Grilled Cheese Grill.  Seriously, this place is one of my favorite stops in downtown Portland.  The menu is killer (at least I think so), and everything I've had there is delicious.  Also, you get to eat in a retro double decker bus... so fun!  

I mean seriously, those tables.

The next stop was Voodoo Donuts.  I can't believe that for as long as I lived in Portland, I had never been there before.  It's such a weird donut shop, but I loved trying the different flavors of donuts that they had.

Apparently 2 pm is a busy time at the Voodoo.  We had to wait in line for 15 minutes before we could order our dozen.

Surprisingly, the captain crunch donut was my favorite.  The rest were super delicious too, though.

We swung by Paul and Lindsay's on the way home to drop off some treats.  It was fun to see their new house now that they are actually moved in!  The last time I saw it was clear back in October (over a year ago), and I only saw it through the back window. :)  They were closing on the house (it was vacant)... I was not a stalker.

Christmas Day 2012

First is stockings.

Then on to breakfast.  Donuts of course.

Then it is time to unveil the sheets for the kiddos.

 Colby's was all about Elmo this year.  He is OBSESSED with all things Elmo.

Then of course it is present time!! I gave Spencer a few seasons of the office, new headphones, tickets to go cart racing, socks and new undies (of course - he's the logical one in our marriage), and a remote control helicopter.  Spencer spoiled me and gave me a new apron, all ten seasons of friends, a sewing machine case, and a new attachment for my kitchen aid.  Love that man.  Colby got tons of cars, toys, stickers, clothes and shoes.

Christmas was a great day full of love and giving, and it was even better that we got to stay in our jammies all the day long.  The day pretty much wore Colby out!

 Love my boy.

Christmas Eve

This year we started the tradition of opening a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve.  We had some new pajamas for Colby already from Black Friday shopping so I thought Spence and I should join the fun as well.  Following we played NOEL and opened gifts.

 Then the evening continued with hot chocolate and donuts around the table by candlelight.  Grandpa read the Christmas story as well as The Night Before Christmas.

I love Christmas in Oregon.  There's something so comforting about enjoying the holiday traditions.  I hope Spencer and I can create the same feeling for holiday traditions for our children.

Gingerbread Trains

Oh Christmas Tree

 These three were the cutest little playmates

And I had to include this picture... they had so much fun together!

Christmas in the Northwest

As long as I lived in Oregon, I had never heard of the Christmas ships.  People volunteer to decorate their yachts and follow a path down the rivers in the Portland area many nights during December.  Since our family arrived just before Christmas, we were able to catch one of the last days of the ships.  We piled in the car and drove downtown and waited for them to arrive.  My pictures aren't great, but you get the idea.

 This is an awful picture, but I just wanted to document how many there actually were!

 One boat pulled up right next to us at the dock.  Obviously it wasn't a yacht, but it was fun for Colby to see.

Downtown Portland