Great-Grandpa's birthday

Audrey and Kate joined Lily and Cora for a picture with Great-Grandpa Darrel to help celebrate his birthday at a gathering at Great-Aunt Marcia's house.

Christmas outfits

Audrey and Kate model their Christmas ensembles before heading off to the birthday party for Great-Grandpa.

Decorating the Christmas tree(s)

Audrey and Kate helped decorate the Christmas tree they picked up yesterday, as well as their mini-Christmas trees Honey gave them a couple of years ago.

Picking out the Christmas tree

After saying their goodbyes to family following the ride on the Holiday Express, Audrey and Kate went to pick out a Christmas tree from a tree sale at the Archbishop Howard School, then helped start decorating it.

Holiday Express

Grandpa Dave and Judy treated the girls to a trip to see Santa on the Holiday Express today. Audrey and Kate were skittish about seeing Santa, but Audrey did manage to be brave and have him sit next to her when he came by. The girls and Lily walked around to explore the train a bit. It was a sunny but very cold day, and everyone got a little chilly as they went to watch the locomotive take off to pull the next load of passengers after their ride was over.

Beach trip

After spending the night at Lily and Cora's house after Thanksgiving, Audrey and Kate headed to the "beach house" for the rest of the long weekend. As with previous trips to the beach house, highlights for the girls included swimming in the condo swimming pool (they didn't have the pool to themselves this time like they usually do, though: lots of other kids swimming there), eating at Mo's (twice), and visiting the Newport Aquarium. They also walked around the historic section of Newport, watching people catching crabs and sea lions resting on a dock.

Thanksgiving/Cora's birthday

Audrey and Kate headed to Beaverton to celebrate Thanksgiving and Cora's first birthday at Lily and Cora's house. All of their grandparents were there as well. The girls enjoyed making Thanksgiving crafts, eating lots of rich food, and singing "Happy Birthday" to Cora and helping her open her presents.

Audrey and Kate spent the night with their cousins so they could get a head start on their trip to the "beach house." They and Lily put on a little puppet show in the morning before saying their goodbyes.