Christmas In Portland

Here are a few pictures to give you a taste of what a wonderful Christmas we had in Oregon. We had Christmas Eve at Chris & Jess's house with our traditional tamale dinner. Now Erica told me that was her traditional Christmas Eve, but because we have been doing it for so many years, it is our tradition too. Even Jess felt we had to make them. On Christmas morning, we made Nancy's Egg dish and her Cherry Roll. It was delicious. Then on Christmas evening, after naps, we headed over to Jess's parents house for a wonderful Christmas dinner. Jess's brother and wife had arrived Christmas afternoon from Southern California, so it was fun to have everyone together. It was cold in Portland, so we spent most of our time inside. We did take a few walks. But, if you scroll down, you will see some of the dancing that went on. I can never convince Don to dance with me, yet he seemed to jump right in and dance with his adorable grandchildren. Maryn took her Barbie's to Bethlehem

Lucy was more interested in the more traditional manger. The four Ballanti's

The Grandparents with Maryn and Lucy.

Here is Chris with his Cowbell. It's been in the family for 35 years.

Tamale Making

Dance Dance Dance Ask Don if the song "I want a Hippotomus for Christmas" is going through his head.