Family Photos and Santa

#7688—The girls helped “Stuff A Squad” after school on Friday, December 8.

 

By Allan Olson

Every week for the last forever, because I’ve lost count, I’ve been busy on the weekends. Last month it was hunting and holidays, this month the theme is kids and holidays. My wife wanted snow on the ground for family photos, so why didn’t we do it before all the snow melted and it was tad warmer? I have no idea.

We got up bright and early for a Saturday (but far later than last Saturday) at about 7:30 a.m. Our intent was to take our family photos outside, in the back yard, before the harsh morning or noon sunlight could create issues with shadows – if we were fortunate enough to get some sunlight. So we got kids up, made them put on the nice new sweaters we bought for the occasion, loaded up the vehicle and made the long trek to the backyard. It might seem silly to start the vehicle to drive us all to the backyard, but I knew it would be cold and it was a given that everyone would be complaining, and if they went all the way back to the house to warm up, we would never get done.

My wife set the kids up how she wanted them, and we started snapping pictures, rotating kids in and out of the vehicle and into and out of the camera frame. Typically Abigail is the easiest to shoot; she steps into the frame and everything is natural. It was not so this time; she was cold and apparently was not up to her charming camera-self. Marcus and Nikolai were difficult, too – the oldest because his photos looked like someone was hurting him, and Marcus because he tries too hard to smile and ends up with some awful smirk or forced facial expression. We did a couple rotations with all three of them in the cameras frame as well. 

Alivia proved to be a one-shot wonder – my wife took the shot and the first take was perfect. I said you never take just one shot, so I took several more, but ultimately it was in fact the first one that was the best. 

Then we moved on to the four of them, and then the six of us, and finally my wife and me. Those group shots were a total disaster, but still we figured there would be some that would work. Since it was still early in the day, I fired up the computer and the dropped the photos. Before long I was getting crabby. The photos looked… well, not great… except for Alivia’s – hers was perfectly cute. I showed them to my wife, and between the two of us, we systematically started deleting. I think we had over 100 frames to go through, and by the time we finished there were only about 20. I told my wife that we were going back out. Of course, that didn’t make the kids happy because they had already changed out of their sweaters and back into their Saturday “I’m lying around” clothes.

Out we went again for “take two.” Yup, the vehicle was out there again, too, to keep anyone who wasn’t in the frame warm. We started the re-takes one by one, and finally we got what we were pretty sure would be pictures we would like – including the family frame. Back in the house, I downloaded this batch onto the computer, and this time they were given the seal of approval. All of this makes me very thankful for digital cameras.

Less than an hour after the second round of photos, I was on the road to Bemidji. Nikolai had to go to BSU campus and I had a couple places to stop before heading to Cass Lake to see Santa. In Cass Lake, I took care of some office work connected to my previous stops, and then headed to visit with Santa. 

For our kids – we never really did the whole “Santa” thing – the kids went to the Santa event a few times, but not really for Santa – because we have been honest with them on that front, thankfully they didn’t spoil it for others. My niece came over and brought her daughter along – she was all excited about seeing Santa and the princess that was helping out. I took photos of her and everything else that was happening before making my way back to the office for a while, and then later went back to get Nikolai.

My niece and her daughter came over for supper, and my mother-in-law arrived in preparation for a trip to the Twin Cities with my wife and Abigail (for her Shriners appointment). 

The three of them left for the cities on Sunday morning, and after they departed I went back to sleep and did not get out of bed again before 10 a.m. – quite a change from my routine. The rest of the day pretty much sped by. Alivia and I left for my great niece’s dance recital, and on the way we stopped for a plumbing part for the new dishwasher. Afterwards, we visited with my brother and convinced him to come and help install the dishwasher so I wouldn’t wreck it. I think the entire process – from start to finish – took him maybe 30 minutes. I’m quite certain it would have taken me significantly longer. After the installation was complete, Marcus and Alivia loaded it with dishes and gave it a spin.

This weekend we will be going to the Big Bear Wrestling Tournament, and hopefully sometime during the week we will find a Christmas tree.

Please remember to watch out for the buses that will be carrying our most precious cargo. Also, snap a photo or two to preserve a lifetime of memories. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! Feel free to drop me a line at cltimes1@arvig.net or stop by the office for a visit.