2013 – the year of the “white” one 😀 was the first truly white Christmas we had here. I have HIGH hopes for this year though.
That year hubby made this for me to wake up to in the back yard before the snow got too bad. The house across the street looked horrible that year, but NOT when it was under a blanket of snow. The “new” (2 years now) neighbors who purchased that house have made some rather nice updates.
Unfortunately, being in a cul-de-sac, delivery tracks leave MANY tire tracks at this time of year to mar the beautiful snow cover.
Even Rudolph was shivering that year! Last year as he was donated to charity😀
The first day after the storm was absolutely gorgeous though!
The duck pond behind the neighborhood was truly a work of art.
Obviously we hadn’t gone anywhere – no tire tracks!The fish ladder was like glass with the cold and ice.
The Festival of Lights is a great way to kick off the holiday season. It’s ALL Volunteer and NON-Profit. It began as a fundraiser sponsored by the Rotary Club to help get the city out of debt and then took on a life of its own and now helps with scholarships and special projects. The festival runs every night from just before Thanksgiving to New Years. So, if you have company in town for Thanksgiving it’s a great jump start to your holidays. You can drive your own car or take a horse drawn carriage ride through the displays. They have also coordinated a local radio station to listen to as you view the displays. The night we went through the fog was moving in early so a few of the pictures look a bit “smoky”.They have the world’s tallest (41 feet, 16,000 pounds with a working jaw) nutcracker built by a local company, 500,000 lights, 90 animated displays, 3D displays, horse drawn carriage rides through the displays and a Holiday Village with Santa, hot cider with a bake sale as well as a synchronized light show in the courtyard. The displays depict fairy tales, the military, patriotism, the local logging industry, local vineyards, local fishing and the traditional Christmas songs and scenes. People come from all over to see it. Unfortunately for locals, it doesn’t change much, but is still fun every few years.
That year 3 of my favorite munchkins were coincidentally there the same night we were so I had to snap a few pictures of their discussions with Santa. They have grown SOOOOOOOO much! The two oldest now tower over me!
Every year we also go to the Tinsel Town Timber Parade and the last couple of years the Eagles have had a float entered, but this year it started from our garage. The past couple years have been REALLY cold, but this year added in the fog making it REALLY eerie. The first set of pictures is from 2 years ago and the last 3 are from this year.
The fire truck below is the same one as above which really shows the fog difference!
