Merry Christmas 2011!!!

Hope everyone had an awesome Christmas!!!  Jeff arrived Christmas Eve night + I was so happy to finally have him in Los Angeles!!!

 

On Christmas morning, I made pancakes from a mix made by my cutie nephews, Matt + Tobin in Vancouver.  Thanks boys!!!  They were oh so delicious + hearty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s my dad, fully enjoying their satisfying goodness.

 

 

 

 

 

My mom’s really over decorated Christmas tree.  It is decorated year round.  How is that, you ask?   Well, when Christmas is over, she puts an extra large bag over it + stuffs it into the garage…until the next year.  That’s for real.

Gift opening time!!!!  There’s my mom, my dad with his ever present camera in hand + our Kaori.

ZOOM IN.

Check out my mom’s ecstatic face:  Nothing says, “I’m a lady that loves to PARTAY!!!!!” more than that face.

My dutiful older sister Ashley always passes out the presents.  She is the eldest + most responsible after all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A toque (Canadian word for beanie!  Haha!  Another crazy Canadian word for y’all!) from Jeff + a vintage Inuit soapstone carving book!  Jeff knows me so well!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A series of expressive pics of my mom as my sister passes out the gifts – a mischievous giggle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hey, I wonder whose huge going to get that huge gift?!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What the heck??!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A book for Ashley to navigate her way around the ways of the mysterious Canuck.

One of my gifts to Jeff.  A Zuni inlaid tie pin of a perfect little cactus wren that I bought for him when I went to the American Indian Arts Marketplace at the Autry museum.

Isn’t it beautiful?!  And here is the artist himself, as he holds the cactus wren – Bruce Joe, ladies + gentlemen!!!!  Master craftsman extraordinaire!!!!  http://brucejoe-az.com/default.aspx

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family pic in front of the tree.

Close up of my Canadian toque.  I must have been saying something really intriguing from the look on Jeff’s face.

 

 

 

 

 

As we prepared Christmas dinner, we enjoyed the easy melodies of the piano, courtesy of Kaori.

A more cleaned up family photo in front of the tree.  Kaori behind the camera.

Here I am making a salad in front of the immense Christmas dinner spread with a lunatic smile on my face.  My mom’s word of the day was lunatic.  Everyone was a lunatic at one point in the day.

 

 

 

 

Little Aika + Haruto with the Christmas cake.  Look at Santa’s house!  That’s how Asians do it, y’all!!!!

Jeff + I are SO happy to be back together again!!!!!!!!!

Today was all about straight up chilling.  Here is my dad + Jeff enjoying a Korean period drama together. A regular bro down.  This picture sums up the fact that everything fares very well in the Nishino household.  How was your Christmas/holidays???  Warm wishes + missing everyone!!!!