Christmas Chaos

Put 2 small children and anywhere from 5 to 9 adults into our little house, then add one large green dragon, and you have chaos. Hilarious chaos, but chaos nonetheless. And so it was on Christmas Day when friend Barb brought the spectacular dragon she had created for the Portland Revels, a fun and fanciful annual holiday musical production.

The dragon's head, being worn by its creator, did not seem to worry Cedrus. Kestrel, however, was keeping an eye on the dragon from behind. Click to enlarge photos.

Auntie Fudge is terrified of all things reptilian, but fortunately brave, almost-3-year-old Kestrel shooed the dragon away before it could devour his beloved aunt. Perhaps he suspected his daddy was inside the dragon costume. You can see the action here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8528199@N07/?saved=1 or here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ7Ze9IhSMg

Before the dragon made its appearance, Kestrel's almost-1-year-old brother Cedrus had entertained the crowd with the hand motions, at least some of them, to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. For the ultimate in cuteness, watch this video:http://www.flickr.com/photos/8528199@N07/?saved=1 or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlBqKQeLmIQ

Christmas 2009 was a vast improvement over 2008's when we were snowed in without power and could not get out our driveway much less get anyone else in, except dear friend Irv who hiked down from his house on the hill above us. I cooked a chicken and sweet potatoes on the wood stove and Johnny took some of it to the linemen who were working round the clock to restore power to the zillions of customers without. The massive ice and snow storm had wreaked havoc across northwest Oregon and beyond. At 3 p.m. on Christmas Day, after four days without water because our well pump needs electricity, our power returned. That made it a good Christmas after all, but nothing to compare with this year's hilarious chaos with friends and family.