Little Japanese Girls

You might be aware of the fact that a couple of weeks ago, earlier in December, Nick went to Japan for work.  While he was there he picked up a couple of kimonos for the girls.

(Well, he says they're not kimonos... they are yukatas.  But I googled it... and do you know what a yukata is???  A yukata is a summer weight kimono.  Who knew there were summer vs. winter kimonos???)

Nick gave them their kimonos for Christmas.  At first they were like "oh, wow, pink clothes" and they were tossed under the tree.  That is, they were under the tree and then one of the girls decided they HAD to wear them... and what one does the other must do.  So, all of a sudden we suddenly had little Japanese girls in Yukatas running around our house.

But... it seems the yukatas were possessed by little Japanese girls who had been taught karate.  It was right at the moment that I snapped this picture that those little girls grabbed on to Zoe.  Do you see it?

And then suddenly Ana was taken over too.

There was a lot of hi-ya!

There was kicking.

There was punching.

There was magical jumping.

At this point Ana had had enough of the Japanese girl karate game.

She desperately tried to escape before Zoe started trying to split boards... er, um... cardboard boxes... with her bare hands.

More Merry Merry

Christmas Day began with the girls snuggled in their beds.  Santa made his drop off and it was like a bit of magic was left in our living room.

When the girls woke on Christmas morning the fun began with the dumping of the stockings.

Santa came through with the coveted Ariel/Little Mermaid doll that Zoe saw when we were last at Downtown Disney.  That Santa must have connections with Mickey Mouse!  (Santa also brought Ana a matching Snow White.)

Nick captured a shot of everyone busy with present opening.  He also caught Ana's ever sagging pjs.  I guess those will need to go right in the donate bag. 

6 fairies, 7 princesses, and additional Rapunzel, plus the larger Ariel and Snow White.  I think our house has reach the quota on fairies and princesses.  Nick is now fully entrenched in the world of being a dad to 2 girls.

The aftermath... not so bad.  But... that was after the wrapping paper was collected and bagged up and before the cardboard started to pile up!

The rest of the day we were in the presence of a very cute pirate and a lovely pink princess.  Ana actually didn't remove that pirate outfit all day long.  She is the queen of dress up.

And with that... the camera was put away.  You can trust that we enjoyed the day.  We had Christmas dinner here at our house with my Aunt Pru and Nick's parents.  My brother-in-law, Gene and his family (Andrea, Larisa, Alex, Nina, and their Grammy and Poppy) came over for dessert.  We had a full home.

There are no pictures.  That should probably suggest that we were oh so busy with cooking, and family, and Christmas magic.  And when it was all done the next day brought us calm. Everyone in pajamas at noon. Random "things" found scattered about. But, there was a complete sense of calm.  A perfect follow up to Christmas.

Merry Merry

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve filled with fancy dresses, church service, family time and flying wrapping paper.

The girls happily modeled their Christmas dresses that they had received from Nanny (their Great Grandmother).

We set the timer and tried for the family photo.  I commented for yet another year that I couldn't believe I still hadn't invested in a tripod.  This year I added a remote camera clicker to my list of "I really should get..."

This year I made do with an end table, a cardboard box, and the camera auto timer set to 12 seconds.  Next year...  our family pictures will be taken with a small tripod.  (A package was under the tree "from Ana")  But, I imagine I'll still be saying "I can't believe I never went and got a remote."

We went out for a nice early dinner and then headed to church for the Christmas Eve service.  The girls and their cousins behaved remarkably well for and evening service.  A LONG evening service.

After church we went to Nick's parents' house to exchange some gifts.  The kids were all giddy with the excitement of Christmas beginning... but they let me herd them onto the steps to try for a photo.  A dozen (or hundred) clicks later this was about the best result.  (Next year we have to ask Alex not to unconsciously tickle Ana's neck. heehee)

Grandma and Grandpa's tree looked lovely.

I tried one more time for the perfect cousins photo.  Almost.  Do all 8 year olds think it's fun to make faces like this in pictures?  6 pictures by the tree and this was Larisa's best face.

I caught a sweet (but blurry) moment of Grandpa and Zoe.

Moments later chaos ensued.  I don't think I could tell you what presents were openned even if my life depended on it.  Fun was definitely had.

We ended the evening with this rather miraculous event.  5 children (aged 8, 7, 5, 3, and 2) all sat down with one activity.  No adults aimed them in this direction.  They just grabbed Nina's bendaroos and situated themselves on the round rug.  There was quiet and concentration.  Bendaros may just be made of magic.

Post Blizzard Snow Photos

After our Sunday blizzard this is what Monday looked like.  I think an entire Winter's worth of snow was saved for this one day.

Zoe ran right out the door and greeted the snow with what I will say looked like a big hug for a long lost friend.

Ana was a bit more tentative.  She spent a good 20 minutes keeping her post on the front door step...

spoon in hand...

because, you know... snow... it's what's for lunch.

I ventured out into the road to get a look at what was going on around the neighboorhood...

and to check out our freshly plowed road.

We were curious to see exactly how much snow we got... but our ruler was a little too short.

A quick run in to find the tape measure and we could see the measurement was about 15 or 16 inches (depending on what area of snow you measured).

Snow snow snow... and clear crisp blue skies all day long.

Zoe couldn't get enough.

Playing in the snow is serious business.

After Daddy finished the sidewalk with the snow-blower Ana took a little walk.

Don't we look like a family that enjoys snow?

(By the way... one of the happy smiles in that photo is totally faked.  I can tell you one person in that photo is definitely NOT a fan of being out in snow.)

Taking Photos in a Blizzard

I received an e-mail early this afternoon from Stuart Chirls (the editor of the Madison Patch... my favorite local news website).  He asked if I "could shoot any images outside your front door and send them".  (We're in the middle of a "blizzard" and the Acting-Govenor has declared a State of Emergency)

So... I started clicking away.  My favorite shots during my day are the first shot of each trip outside.  I love the progression of the fallen snow. 

1:45 pm

3:00 pm

4:30 pm

6:00 pm

7:30 pm

*edited post and added one more at 10:15 pm.  A few more inches!

I'm so happy Stuart e-mailed.  It really made an interesting snow day photography project.  It was a challenge to get the camera set so it would take the photos with the heavy falling snow and then also in the snow and dark.  The photos taken from our doorstep under the awning cover were definitely the clearest.

And...if you go look at the Madison Patch article a lot of my photos were added to Stuart's article on today's snow.  If you click through my photos all say "credit Colleen Bohensky".  I'm a little embarassed to admit how excited that makes me.

Picture the Holidays - The Day After

The house is calm. Everyone is in pajamas at noon. Random "things" can be found scattered about.

But, there is a sense of calm.

A Message from Santa

We received an e-mail from Santa through Joy (our Elf on the Shelf). It's nice to know that Joy is safely back at the North Pole with Santa until next year. 

It's also nice to know that at least Santa is able to kick up his feet and relax on Christmas day.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day with their families.  Merry Christmas to you all!