Christmas Story Land

On Monday evening we went to the Christmas Story Land in Albany. Here's the information if you are local and want to go:

December 5th to 20th at the Linn County Expo (Albany), families are invited to experience this festive atmosphere with over 1,200 Christmas trees and 70 scenes set up with traditional storybook characters. There will also be two train layouts, a Bear Country attraction, and Santa will be there.

Admission is free, but canned food donations are welcome.

Open from 6-8:30pm Monday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday from 10am - 8:30pm

It was a really cool place to visit (especially for free) and my girls LOVED it. It is held inside at the fair grounds' building, but it was still pretty cold. We may go again before the 20th and dress warmer the next time.

There are little scenes set up between the Christmas trees. Some (adults) might consider them a little cheesy, but Emma thought they were great and entertaining.

There were two large trains set up. That was the highlight for Emma and the men.

Mandy loved all the stuffed animals and the lights on the short little fences. We managed to coral her and keep her from scaling any props.

Who knew stuffed animals with lights on them in a cold barn could be so fun! Did I mention that all this fun was for free?

My parents were visiting for a few days this week and we conned them into going with us to the Story Book Land. My dad pointed out this display and said that it looked like him and my mom in a few years.

It was such a fun time and I am glad that my parents were there too. Yesterday we headed over to the beach for the night at the house my grandma has rented for Christmas. She has the house for the whole month, so we were able to go mid week and enjoy the spacious accommodations. Now we are really looking forward to Christmas when the WHOLE family will be there.

I didn't take many pictures at the beach house, mostly because I was feeling lazy. We did a little shopping at the outlet malls and enjoyed a breath taking sunset. The sunset was a moment I wished I could have captured on camera, but my husband was right, a picture couldn't have done it justice. The sky was a blaze with colors of pink orange and an intoxicating color of blue. The sand was wet and reflected the colors all over. Truly a beautiful and fun experience.