Happy Holidays 2015!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!

This year Jr. got a visit from her "not so secret santa" and got a new Alto Saxophone to celebrate the holidays. Her old saxophone had a rod and screw drop off after her last school performance. The part is in back order till end of January. Given she has other performances coming and the fact that she has wanted to graduate from a student saxophone to a professional grade one.. we relented! We are also tired of doing the pickup and drop off from her school because she has to haul this large saxophone case to practice. From February she can leave the student version in school and practice on the pro instrument at home!

These instruments are expensive. So this is the last one we are buying her. They tell us this will last 10-15 years. We have nicely informed Jr. that she will be buying her next saxophone with her own paycheck! 

So far she loves the sound of the Yamaha YAS 62-III. It is also lighter than her student version. Why a student version will be heavier is beyond me.

The Christmas holiday has started today. 

The kids were practicing their music this morning and with a lot of censoring I am pleased to announce that this version has been approved for the blog..

Our entire family wishes you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday!

Christmas 2011

We went through what has definitely a family tradition..

A sleepover at the cousins place and the kids opening gifts from under the tree after breakfast.

The hungry lions in front of their prey knowing that in a matter of seconds they get to jump on it!

The carnage of wrapping paper after the cubs are done unwrapping the stuff..

What happened in between..

and this year (as most years) one of the dads gets two of the same gift. When your life is an open book, guess everyone knows what to get you for Christmas?!

The little one wrote stories for the parents. One was Snow White written in her own words with Daddy substituted for a bad guy!

and the other was a cute frog family story.

We hope all of you had a very merry Christmas and are enjoying the holiday season.

We are slowly checking things off our to do list...

For starters we knocked off
- last minute gift buying for the kids and
- watched Mission Impossible 4 on Christmas Eve!

The theaters were relatively empty and the movie was a blast!

We had a good time with the kids showing their happy smiling faces throughout the day!

Our local adventures and checking off lists goes on over the next few days. Just shudder at the thought that our next break will have to wait till Memorial day! That thought can take a backseat for now as we try to live in the present..

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Happy Holidays

The kids have been insisting that our house have a Christmas tree. Considering that we don't have a doll display at home for the Navarathri Golu, told the kids that the tree is very similar to a golu and our ancestors who have banned us from doll displays will be equally angry for the tree display.

For now the kids have bought into that logic much like the rules of Quidditch..

Our cousins have a tree in their house (they also do Golu) and that means we celebrate with them every year.

We spent a quiet Christmas with the cousins and had the kids open gifts, watched a bunch of movies and all was quiet on the home front.

Took a few portraits of everyone at home (here are some samples) and the weekend is almost coming to a close.

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and are looking for a better and brighter 2011 !

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Santalogics

The study of how Santa will get down through the chimney to deliver gifts to Jr. and the little one.

LO: Is he going to come down from there?
Jr. : Yes!
LO: it is a good thing we dont have a fire. We don't want him to come down into the fire and die!
Jr. :That is why we don't light our fireplace
LO: But how will be come out if we have closed it!
Jr. :Santa can open the door from the inside silly.
LO: But we have a net! He will get caught in the net!
Jr. : He can cut the net you know..

The whole thing was so serious... should have caught it on video.

Jr. knows her mom and dad are the real Santa and they buy the gifts. The little one is so sold on Santa, Rudolph and the whole sleigh thing. She sincerely believes that the true purpose of every chimney is to receive Santa. She might want me to put a balloon and a sign on top of our chimney to say "this way Santa ->"

Jr. and the LO don't necessarily know Christmas with the whole Jesus birth concept. They know it is a time to be jolly, have gifts exchanged, good food, family reunions, etc.

Then again, they don't know Deepavali with the whole Krishna slaying the demon Narakasura concept. They know it is a time for fireworks, sweets, savories, new clothes and family get togethers, etc.

There is something to be said for raising your kids in a multi ethnic, multi religious, multi cultural environment!

This year we will get Santa an opener that can open the fireplace door from the inside and the latest brand wirecutters.. He deserves it!

A merry Christmas to all !!

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Happy Holidays

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas, and wonderful holiday season!

From all of us!!

I cannot wait to find out what surpise awaits me at the bottom of the tree!

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