We went on a trip to Southern Oregon to spend the New Year with my family. The kids did great on the drive and we only had to stop one time on both the way down and back. Above is a picture taken on New Year's Eve of me with all of my older siblings (from left to right: Marisa, Katrina, Jay and Kolleen).
When we first arrived, Aunt Kolleen and cousin Aralia, Aunt Marisa, Uncle Jay and Grandma Dawn were all there to greet us!
Our kids got to have another round of Christmas with opening lots of gifts:
Cousin Aralia was such a great helper:
I included a few pictures of my family that were taken over Christmas (before we arrived).
Cory and Kolleen:
Ulrich (who had to head back home to work before we arrived) and Katrina with Aralia:
My Aunt Pat (Grandma Dawn's sister), Uncle Frank and cousins Olivia and Tom
New Year's Eve:
At Cory and Kolleen's house for the big New Year's Eve party:
My good friend, Jill with Shaylie and her son, Mika:
My sisters:
After Tycen and Shaylie partied with everyone at Kolleen and Cory's for a little while, we took them back to Grandma Dawn's and fed them dinner, gave them a bath and put them to bed. Grandma Dawn then came back home to watch the kids while Scott and I were able to go out and spend some time together before going back over to Kolleen and Cory's house to bring in the New Year with all my (older) siblings. It was a lot of fun and a great way to celebrate the beginning of a new decade :).
On our last night in Southern Oregon, we were invited to my Uncle Hal and Aunt Natalia's house (I didn't get any pics of them) for a wonderful dinner.
My cousin Alek with Shay Shay:
On our last day, we went in to Ashland and had lunch at one of my favorite sandwich/salad shops, Grilla Bites.
We then headed to Lithia Park and walked around a little bit, played on the swings and watched the ice skaters. What a great ending to a fabulous trip:
Marisa and her boyfriend, Garrett:
Again, we had such a nice time! It's always so great to see all of my family (on my mom's side) at once, which doesn't happen often enough. We completely took over Grandma Dawn's house and she was more than accomodating, as usual. I don't think anyone got much sleep while we were there, but it was so worth it. Thanks, again, for everything!! We love you all so much and can't wait to see you again!
