Twenty Years & Adventures With The Taylor Girls!

November 16th was my mom and stepdad Jim's twentieth wedding anniversary, and Megan had made a secret plan to fly out from Utah with the wee bairns to celebrate with us. We had to let Jim in on the secret so as to make plotting and planning go just right, but we all managed to keep Mom in the dark. (This is a monumental feat, as my mom is the nosiest and most suspicious person in the world when a special event involving her comes up.) After resorting to using my credit card so as to block Mrs. Snoop-Through-Everything-To-Crack-The-Code-And-Reveal-The-Surprise from sniffing out our trail, Jim drove Mom to work that morning, then raced home to join me in a rush-hour traffic snarl on the way to the airport to get Megan, Camryn, and Tamsin.

After a bit of a rocky start - the lion and elephant balloons we picked out didn't quite smooth over the "Stranger Danger" alarm we set off in little Camryn's mind at the airport, but the ice cream cones at IKEA did much to ameliorate the situation - we were headed into downtown Portland with two little girls, two big girls, a husband ostensibly on his way to a quiet lunch with his wife, and a "Happy Anniversary" banner for Mom that Megan had come up with at IKEA. A bullet was dodged when Jim called to confirm that he was almost there and then hung up immediately when Tamsin started chatting happily, and nosily, to herself in the backseat. We grabbed parking next to Mom's building and then raced through the rain to greet her.

Mom's back was turned and she was on the phone, trying to call Jim back when we tiptoed up to the floor-to-ceiling windows in front of her building's lobby and unfurled the "Happy 20 Years, Grandma!" banner. The inquisitive look on her coworker's face prompted Mom to turn around and check the window, and her face lit into a look of shocked glee when she saw her granddaughters waving to her in front of the banner. We all trooped through puddles to the nearby Italian restaurant to enjoy a hearty lunch, which was tastier and more filled with smiles and giggles than it ever had been before!

After showing the girls off at the office (coaxed through by M&Ms), we headed home to later meet Mom at the Cheesecake Factory, then home to rest up for the rest of the weekend, as Jim had secretly arranged for her to have the rest of the week off. We played games, went out on adventures to John's Incredible Pizza and the mall, even to the exciting jungle that is Costco (and more pizza), and then met Santa on a snowy (okay, actually just misty and a bit rainy) trip to the North Pole via the Polar Express! We boarded the train to the sound of jingling bells and carols and viewed the glories of the Columbia Gorge while sipping cocoa and eating a cookie each. Camryn and Tamsin predictably had more fun playing with the Christmas ornaments and Grandma and Pop-Pop than they did meeting the jolly old St. Nick himself. (Actually, meeting Santa in person on the Polar Express was traumatic to both girls, especially Camryn, Miss "Stranger Danger." She spent her Santa Time cowering in the safety of Grandma's lap.)

Out on the patio swinging with Pop Pop!

Shopping at Costco is made so much easier when I bring my basket along!

Getting a glimpse of Multnomah Falls on the way to the Polar Express:

Almost there!

Here it is, the Polar Express! Family on right:

Ken studies his Corrections Officer manual as we get underway.

What a cutie.

Although blurry, this picture captures my fancy -

it creates the feeling of a family speeding toward the magic of Christmas!

Soft evening light glows as we wend our way to the North Pole.

(It looks like there is some good fishing up there!)

Grandma, Megan, and Tamsin watch for Santa:

Awesome photographer Uncle Kenny shows off his skills:

Pop-Pop and Tamsin laugh together while Camryn spies

a Christmas ornament that needs touching:

The strangest use of apostrophes I've seen yet,

courtesy of the Mt. Hood Railroad women's bathroom:

Megan and the girls had to go back to Utah to see their husband/dad, as Karl had to man the roost while his girls were gone, but the goodbye was a temporary one - they would be back at Christmastime, and eagerly awaited!