Monday, December 22, 2008

Christmas 2008 in Arrowhead



Welcome to a glimpse of the Porter Campbell Strickland McFadden Venick (!) Christmas celebration, wonderfully hosted by Jen and Shane at their home in Lake Arrowhead.


Merry Christmas from our Family to Yours!





One of several highlights this year is that for the first time Zach has a boy cousin, and in fact he has two! Here's Campbell playing ball while celebrating his first Christmas with cousin Zach.



Santa showed up jolly as usual with gifts for the kids...



...Grace was so happy with Santa's gift...



Then Santa had a surprise for us all!



Lake Arrowhead was blessed with over three feet of snow, which made for the perfect wintry Christmas setting, made driving fun and every trip outside an adventure!



Uncle Mike and I agreed to a sledding duel for speed accuracy and distance...guess who won?



Mike has created a record of baby Campbell's first time on the sled.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008


A special thanks to Larry and Linda for hosting a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner at their home in Lake Arrowhead. We arrived Wednesday evening through dense foggy conditions that shifted to hail and sleet that blanketed the mountain with a white substance that easily passed as snow for the kids. For our families I believe there is nothing more enjoyable than watching Olivia, Zach and Grace come together and play as cousins - reminiscent of the days Jennifer and I would bond with Kristen and Kelly as kids.



Linda can orchestrate a Thanksgiving meal with the best of them; we Porters are so blessed to have merged our Thanksgiving tradition with the Stricklands. This year, Larry and Linda arranged a photographer to take a family portrait - great idea - and Shane got the boys involved in a 9 on 9 flag football game - my ribs are killing me so next time I'm up for golf! Honestly though, V, Grace and I love our time with Jen, Shane, Livvy and Zach, and are already looking forward to Christmas in the mountains!

To all: If you have a favorite moment from the 2008 Thanksgiving holiday, please share it with us as a comment. And be well!