Gather Round Your Tree Linky Party

Ahhhh...and so it was...fifteen minutes before we needed to be loaded in the van that I corralled the kids into the living room for a quick photo in front of the tree.  Everyone was dressed in their holiday best, all spruced up to attend a Christmas play.  No torn jeans or cowlicks this evening, no siree! 

The memo didn't reach the toddler's desk, though, and she brought her attitude to our speedy photo shoot.  Notice her absence from this first take?  And see Owen's hand placed nicely on his brother's shoulder?  Well, his brother just about came out of his skin, complaining of how uncomfortable it was!

"Take one of just the two of us," they said, and so I obliged (since the little ones were playing peekaboo with the toddler at this point anyway).  I'm still asked by random strangers if these two are twins.  They don't seem to mind, but I have a feeling when he's thirteen and she's eleven, it may be a little more bothersome to them. 

Since we had lots of time to kill-- you know, since it is such a breeze to buckle five seat belts in the cold at night-- Brian suggested this fun pose for the boys.  It took a few tries before they mastered it without wobbling, but they had a few laughs in the process.  (Notice the toddler has yet to make her debut?)

In an effort to speed things along, we decided to rope Brian into the action in front of the camera.  Alas, though Alaine at least appears in the photo, she is not happy and no one thought to mention to Gavin that putting bunny ears on his brother was not a good idea. 

I took a turn in front of the camera, too.  Alaine sat still for a few seconds, but by now, Benjamin was getting restless.  In fact, all the smiles appears a little weary.

"Okay, guys.  Let's try one more time." ~click~

By some miracle, we still got to the play on time!

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Now it is your turn to share your photos around the tree. 

You don't even need a blog to participate. 
You can link a Facebook photo, too (as long as it is marked open to the public).

 You don't need kids to participate either. 

Share a picture of your pet, your friends, yourself, or even an old vintage photo. 
As long as it was taken by the Christmas tree, it counts! 
 

The linky will be open through Christmas Eve.