Snow Day

Yesterday it snow for the first time for us here in Oregon. During Christmas break they had a huge storm with lots of snow but we missed it all while we were in AZ. Wesley and I were so excited to get outside and play in it. We waited until Bradley fell asleep and then went for it. We had snow ball fights, made snow angels, and made a mini snow man. Then we came in and had hot coco. By the late afternoon it was all gone. It was so much fun.

3 day weekend!!!

Last week Orrin had a 3 day weekend (MLK day) so we decided to do something fun on Monday. A few of our plans didn't work out so we ended up checking out this place we had heard about. The place is call Oaks Park and it has be here in Portland for over 100 years. In the summer it is a little fair that has rides and games but in the winter the roller rink is the only thing opened. It was fun to watch Wes try roller skating for the first time. He didn't last very long but he said it was lots of fun.

Our Primary Boy!

When we got back home to Oregon Wesley got to go to Primary for the first time. He just made the cut off by 2 days. He did so good. He sat down in his seat and said "bye mom". But it was way harder for me to leave him. I had to stand out side peaking through the door to make sure he was ok, and of course he did great. When Orrin went to pick him up from class he didn't want to leave. I can't believe we have a child in primary already. WOW!!

The Weddings

We were lucky enough to be able to also attend two of Orrin's sister's weddings. Shirley and Mike were married on December 30th (wesley's birthday) and Julia and Kevin were married on January 2nd. We were so glad that we were able to attend both of the weddings while we were in town.
sisters and sister-in-laws

brothers and brother-in-laws

It was so much fun to be able to spend lot of time with the family. At both weddings Wes kept asking to see the "Princess" (the bride). Wes had lots of fun playing with all his cousins and Brad got to meet all the cousins his age that were born this last year. There were 6 babies born in 2008!


Playing while preparing for the receptions

Wes Turns 3 years old !!

To celebrate Wesley's 3rd birthday we decided because we were in the beautiful Arizona winter weather that we would go to one of our favorite places and have a picnic at Usery Pass. We grilled up some hamburgers, played at the play ground, and hiked up our favorite little hill. We love how beautiful and peaceful it is at Usery we were glad we were able to make it out during our trip home. After we came home we had cake and presents. I had Wes pick out the cake he wanted from a few different pictures and I made a race car track cake. He loved this cake. Wesley loves being 3. It's his favorite number! I think he got that from a Jack Johnson song that he listens to constantly in the car and in the song it says "Three, it's a magic number".

Bradley's Baby Blessing

On Sunday December 28th we blessed Bradley. We blessed him at my parents house and we had both Orrin's family and my family there. We are so blessed to have such a supportive family and appreciate everyone coming during the busy holiday and wedding season. We are also so blessed to have Bradley as a new member of our family. He brings so much joy and a sweet spirit to our home.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we opened presents at my parents home then went to Orrin's parents house for the rest of the evening. It was so fun this year because Wes really understood what was going on and was so excited.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve my family always has a nice fancy dinner lit by candle light. This is one of my favorite events at Christmas Time. Great Grandma and Grandpa Adams also came over for dinner and to meet their newest great grand child - Bradley. After dinner we read and acted out the story of Christ's birth. This time Wesley was a Shepard, Brad was baby Jesus, my brother Blake was Joseph, my sister Em was Mary, and cousin Brinlee was an Angel. After the story we opened our Christmas Eve gifts (which are always Pjs).

Christmas Parties in AZ

The first party we got to attend was the Glenview Ward (the ward I grew up in) Christmas party. It was fun being with my family and also seeing old ward members. The theme of the party was the Polar Express so the kids got to wear their PJs to the party and got to see Santa


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We also attended the annual Grandpa Mackey Christmas Party with all of Orrin's Uncles, Aunt, and Cousins. We always have lots of fun at this party while we read and act out the story of Christ's birth and sing songs. This year Wes was the Angel that spoke to Mary and Bradley got to be Baby Jesus.

We also had the annual "Mackey Sibling Party" where all of Orrin's family gets together and exchanges gifts. This year we did a gift exchange game that was lots of fun while all the grandkids played. Here is a picture of Wes and his cousins Gavin and Carter playing with the little gifts they got.

Trip to Arizona !!

We got to spend 3 weeks in AZ for the holiday season. The time flew by so fast. We were so busy with all the family events we didn't have much time to rest but we had so much fun. We were so lucky to even make it to Arizona. Wesley, Brad, and I flew out first, during Orrin's finals week so that we could give Orrin time to study and to get more time in AZ. Because of a change in the flight by the airlines we almost didn't make it to the airport in time. Lucky we found out in time (1 hour before flight was to leave and still at home). We were also lucky that we were all packed and the flight was delayed 20 mins. I was able to fly through security by asking people to let me cut in line. I just started throwing things through the scanner. I am sure everyone thought I was crazy. I was so stressed already flying by my self with both kids, Bradley being so young, and with the flight being changed made it even more stressful. We made it right as everyone started boarding. I am sure that Heavenly Father made everything fall into place for us to make it home to AZ. I am pretty sure if we missed that flight we wouldn't have been able to leave Portland at all because of the huge snow storm that hit right after we left. It doesn't normally snow that much in Portland so the city and airport were not that prepared. It was also a miracle that Orrin made it out. His flight was delayed 3 hours because they were waiting on a machine to de-ice the plane. After he took off they canceled all flights out of Portland. We were so blessed to make it home for the Holidays.