Good lookin bunch

It's that time of year again...time to bring out the camera, hang a sheet, clean up the kids and do my very best to capture images that will adorn our walls and head out in stamped envelopes to family members.

So, Grace if you'll just have a seat...



No honey...sorry. Mommy meant to say can you sit on the stool....um...



Hey turkey, turn around!

No! No! Get back here!



Ok, good. You're on the stool. Ok, smile for Mommy!

Hey! Keep still!



Sigh.

We did eventually get the shots we wanted:

Grace


Cameron

(Although we have not printed these since we're using his school photo. If we run out of those it's good to have a back-up)

Gabriel


The kids together


Family shot


Just Phil and I (we have not had a really good pic of just us since the wedding, I am really pleased with this shot)


And like last year when I put myself through this...I mean engaged in this fun activity...afterwards we ventured to the mall to see the man in the red suit

(Much better than last year's shot, don't ya think?)

Note; I just looked at last year's post about portraits and Santa...two things 1) Grace looks so much older now! and 2) I swore in that post I was never taking the kids to the mall on a Saturday during the Christmas rush again. Guess when I went this year? Haha!

Knitting news: I think I've about mastered the drop spindle. Look for a post in the near future featuring a little project that I made out of my own yarn! I got some bare yarn the other day and borrowed my mom's canning pot to try my hand at hand-dyeing, and I've also started my first adult-sized sweater. It's for my mom and while technically it's her Christmas present, we both know it won't be done by Christmas. The other things I have on my needles can't be discussed, but I should be loading them to Ravelry soon so if you have access you can see them there.

Driving news: Some of you may have been aware that I was to do my roadtest yesterday. Well, I don't have my full license. Not because I failed...but there was a miscommunication. Apparently when the guy I booked the test with said "Ok, your test is scheduled for Monday, November 26th at 9:00am" what he really meant to say was "Thursday, November 22nd at 9:00am." At first they tried to tell me that it was considered a "missed appointment" and that my road test receipt was no longer valid and I would have to buy another and re-book (another $50). Uh, no. Long story short, I had some words for the receptionist, the booking people on the phone and then the manager, who was understanding (her exact words "I understand your frustration, I'd be mad as hell") and got me booked in for Friday and approved my receipt to be "re-used". It doesn't change that Phil had to take the day off work for this, or give us back the crazy morning we had trying to organize everything so we could get my aunt's car (she had to work over in Halifax and Phil had to get her to work, get the car to the DMV) and all of us down to the DMV...but what can ya do? I hope this means that the stressful part is over and my test will be ever-so-smooth.
The irony is that had I taken the test on Thursday morning...both Phil and my aunt were not working and it would have been so easy to get it done. Grrr.