We had a lovely Christmas :)

This year, unlike last year we had the opportunity to be around family and friends much more during the holidays.

Christmas Eve we had Herman's sister and her family over for a delicious pot roast if I do say so myself. For it being our first time ever making a pot roast, I'm rather proud of the results. We had a lovely meal and hung out for a little while until Riley got tired.

Herman and I have a mini tradition each year. We go to the Dollar Tree together each year with the goal of filling the other person's stocking, and have a $10 limit. We then open these stockings on Christmas eve. Herman did really well with mine, as the store has plenty of nice smelling things to enjoy. Herman got a mix of useful things, as well as practical jokes.

On Christmas morning we opened our presents together and delighted over the spoils.

From Mom: A picture of a place Herman loves, and a beautiful cross for me

From Lu and Jim: Delicious smelling bath luxuries, for both of us!

Even the cats got presents

My Elf Slippers

Gift Cards to our favorite places. Not shown are Tim's which came later

From Grandma and Grandpa - Cookbooks to inspire new dishes
My husband loves me! He got me Mamma Mia, after telling me it was sold outHerman enjoying his obsession - I got him the brand new Munchkin games.

We then headed out to Herman's sisters for a Christmas brunch and more presents. It was so cute seeing Riley open his gifts and play with them. Herman was able to break in one of his munchkin gifts from me, and I got baby play time! :)

The blocks we got him... how tall can we make it???
Herman and Riley playing with the Naked Sheep - note the pure joy on their faces
Riley goes to school

After a quick trip home to make a salad, we were off to the Shanks, some very dear friends of the family. There we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner, complete with every holiday food imaginable. After dinner we played Taboo, and all had a blast.



We then returned home for a quiet evening alone.

The next night was dinner at another dear family friend's house and we enjoyed dinner and great conversation.

So all in all, a wonderful holiday for both of us, and we hope your holiday was filled with love, laughter and joy.

xoxo
The Hartmans

Winter Storm 08

Well our "arctic blast" as the news is calling it is still in full force. It was snowing even just this morning. We will have a white Christmas this year, even if it is warming up :) Enjoy some pictures

Herman standing by his truck, all snowed in.
Scraping ice off of the windows
The tree outside our windowIce that formed on the snow

Herman hasn't been working this week, as the fleet trucks do not have 4 wheel drive or chains, and chains have been required all week long in the PDX metro area. This means that this week we've been able to get out and about as Herman is Alaskan and has 4 wheel drive in his truck. We've been all over the Portland area, even when it was almost impassible. The evening with freezing rain was quite an adventure. We had to stop every 5 minutes as the windshield was icing over faster than his defroster could keep up. Poor Herman had to stop and scrap his windshield and clean the ice off of the wipers. Our trip was long, and as it was still snowing and the roads were tough, it was quite the adventure.

Now its Christmas Eve, and we are cleaning up the kitchen after a delicious dinner of pot roast and rolls. For our first time ever making a pot roast I think we did a fantastic job. We had Herman's sister and brother in law over with their baby boy, and celebrated quietly at home. Tomorrow we will go over to their house for Christmas Day brunch, and then we're off to an old family friend's house for Christmas dinner and games and fun times. This should be a lot nicer than last year when we were all by ourselves for Christmas.

Well its time to open our stockings, our Christmas eve tradition, so for now... wishing everyone a blessed holiday season.

xoxo

The Hartmans

A three week winter break

Well its official. We are having 3 weeks of winter break this year.

This is the view from our windows almost all week long.
It has snowed all week this week. On one hand I love it, I always love snow, and on the other hand, it is a huge pain, because I was mid unit with my students and needed to finish before break started.

As we did not know day to day if school was going to be canceled the next day, it was hard to make plans, and the road conditions kept me on house arrest, except for a few time I was able to sneak out quickly. I very quickly became bored. But, as a result of all that boredom, (and the newly found time) all the Christmas presents were purchased, wrapped, sent off, and Christmas cards were even completed and mailed as well. Herman's gift was purchased, and the house cleaned. Now all I need to do is that stack of grading I have been putting off for so long.

Herman had to work this week despite the weather, and has remained safe so far.