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So for several years now every time I crossed the bridge over the Kaw in North Lawrence, I've noticed The Village Witch, a shop in a small stone building. The stone architecture and big red doors were something I've wanted to photograph every time I passed by in the car. With comfortable temps and a sunny sky, Kaysia joined me this afternoon to go "shoot the witch".

More photos were taken along the way. Click on the photo above to see the rest.

Lately it seems like there's hardly time to catch my breath. And I know I'm not alone in this regard. Here's a little of what's going on in our crazy home, which might help explain why it seems months go by between updates.

Andrew is pulling all A's and one B+ in school. Now, I'm not that guy who drives around town with the "My kid is an honor roll student, blah blah blah" bumper sticker on his car. I just won't do it. But this one deserves mention. Andrew puts in the time and his grades show it. He's also recently taken up the soprano sax and is slated for a solo at the next concert. He's also taking an extra hour at school and is there at 7am every day for Chorale. And tomorrow he is attending an orientation for a volunteer program at the Lawrence Humane Society. ...You know, for a kid who seems to be pretty busy already, it amazes me how much time he finds to play video games.

Jessica is doing better with school -- first half of the year was kind of rough on her with anxiety and such. She loves her girl scout troop, which meets every couple of weeks. And if memory serves me correctly, she's having a friend over to spend the night on Friday. She's also been busy lately with her writing and drawing really branching out. Lots of makeshift books, paintings, stories, etc. My little delicate flower's latest masterpiece was left on the kitchen table last night. It's a picture book she made, titled "The Evil Me". ...Oh, Jess.

Kaysia has been working a lot lately, partially to save up extra $$ for her trip to Chicago over spring break. She and Taylor are visiting some of his family during the break. She's also wrapping up her classes this week with her final tests tonight and tomorrow night. Keeping her fingers crossed on that one. She's worked really hard on this.

Logann is beginning to carry my itch for the river. He's been watching the weather the last few weeks waiting for a decent day when he's here so we can grab the kayaks and hit the river. So far, our luck has been less than stellar. School is keeping him somewhat busy. Lately he's been doing a lot more driving, trying to get his skills sharp enough that he can pass his driving test and have license in hand before summer. Pride and fear both surface in equal magnitude when I think about that.

Martin is all about kindergarten. Though it wears him out most of the time. Lately he has been coming home from school, having a snack and either falling asleep on the couch or, more often, putting himself to bed -- sometimes before dinner. Waking him is pretty much an exercise in futility. Tired boy. He's always scheming something, though. It's not uncommon to find him wearing his swim goggles plus a pair of sunglasses, a sword strapped to his waist, a Nerf gun in one hand and a toolbox in the other, while wearing a cape and running from one room to another throughout the house. ...I've simply quit asking for explanations.

Jeannie and me? Let's see, there's work, then there's grad school, then there's work, and some more work. ...Okay, it's not quite as bad as all that. Just busy right now. Jeannie starts spring break on Friday (and there was great rejoicing). And while I'm not given a week off for spring break, I am taking off St Paddy's day so that Up a Creek can participate in the Lawrence Annual St. Paddy's Day Parade. We'll have a float -- of sorts -- promoting our kayak / canoe business that will one day allow me to quit my day job and retire early... right? Well, at least it pays for a new kayak now and then.

So, we're busy. But that's a good thing. No rest for the wicked? Meh. Rest is for squares. I'll rest when I'm six feet under. I just wish I had more hours in each day.

True, it was a great weekend. 62 degrees on Saturday! We actually went outside -- including Jeannie! ...and she didn't even cry! Seriously though, the break in the cold was very welcomed. Jessica and I even hit downtown that afternoon for some photos of an old building I'd been wanting to shoot for awhile.

Click on the photo above for a few others from Saturday.

One of our favored events of the year is the Lawrence Annual Daddy Daughter Date Night. Probably one of Lawrence's unintentionally best kept secrets, about 150 dads and their daughters gather at the Douglas County Fairgrounds for an evening of dancing -- at least, that's what we're going to say we were doing out there on the dance floor.

Every year sports a different "theme". Jessica and I have attended long enough to go through the 1950s theme, a Camelot theme, and this year a Mexican Fiesta theme. ...However, since I wanted to actually be able to keep this photo around for awhile, I had to decline wearing the 10-gallon sombrero for the photo.

We actually got to the dance 30 minutes early by mistake, so we took a slight detour and treated the girls to a mocha at Z's Espresso, just up the street.

Promptly at 6:30pm, the fun began. Dinner catered by Chipotle, a live DJ, and a Zoomba instructor leading the masses through a horribly awkward dance routine... what more could one ask for? The girls adamantly dismissed Craig and I on more than one occasion when they proclaimed, "Old guys need to go sit down for this song!"

And while this is high on the list of the dorkiest things I take part in, it's a wonderful evening, truth be told. 100+ dads on a dance floor -- dads who on any other day would be self-conscious and reserved -- working up a sweat trying to keep up with their daughters, just trying to hang on until the next slow song when we can get a breath. Very, very cool.

The holidays are over. The kids are back in school. Jeannie and I are back to work.  ...Bleh. Two weeks off work is just enough time to really get used to things and question this whole 5-day work week concept. (I think Jeannie and Craig have both heard my rants this week calling into question the societal expectations with regard to weekday versus weekend. Thanks both of you for your patience.)

In the meantime, we find opportunities to enjoy the time off.
Bottom line: work hard; play harder.

Consider this a mere historical account of our Christmas this year. I don't really expect this to be interesting for the masses, but years from now when no one can really discern one Christmas past from all the others, I'm hopeful this will trigger some memories of what was different about this year from the others that all muddle together. So here's a brief synopsis of Christmas 2008 in our home, from youngest to oldest:

Martin - thanks to our youngest, Santa is no more. At some point over the last few months Martin came to the discovery that Santa is just one big fat lie that parents continually manage to justify. He announced this to Jeannie almost nonchalantly in the kitchen one afternoon -- "I know Santa is really just moms and dads". Nonetheless, he still received presents from Santa, as did his siblings. This year Martin acquired a remote control helicopter (which he loved and then destroyed within 24 hours), a Harry Potter broom, his first set of comic book, and other gifts which just don't come to mind at the moment.

Jessica - big deal gift for her this year was a Nintendo DS, inherited in part from Andrew. She squealed for a good 5 minutes over that one. Also got a new scooter to replace her old, ghetto scooter. And some new art supplies,  including her first set of paints and a canvas. She's been very much into art over the past year and spends a good deal of time coloring, drawing, etc.

Andrew - The older kids know that as they get older, the gifts get better, but fewer in number. Andrew got his first camera this year. His photography class at school uncovered a new interest for Andrew, and he has a decent eye for composition. His first digital camera was well received and no doubt we'll be posting photos from Andrew in the near future. Also noteworthy, Andrew received the official Zombie Survival Guide. ...It just seemed appropriate.

Logann - Tough to shop for this year. So we got creative with Logann. This year he inherited an heirloom of sorts -- my leather motorcycle jacket. I bought it when I was just a little older than Logann and it's been through a healthy number of adventures (and a couple of mild cases of road rash). The one contingency was that he had to pass it down to one of his own. Also high on Logann's list was the Official Ninja Handbook. ...Don't ask.

Kaysia - this was Special K's first Christmas here. And at the risk of sounding too sappy, she made this Christmas whole in that it was the first one with all of our kids under one roof. ...Plus she's just really fun to shop for. In addition to the purple bathrobe which elicited a big squeal of delight, she found herself the proud owner of a travel GPS from Garmin. (Those of you who know Kaysia understand the phrase "directionally challenged".) Equipped with a "Go Home" button, hopefully this will make her driving adventures a little less frustrating when she misses three exits, takes a wrong turn and wonders why nothing looks familiar.

So Christmas Eve Day grandparents, Aunt Kathy and Craig, et al, came by for a visit. Taylor also joined us for the festivities. That night we celebrated with the boys. Then Christmas morning Jessica and Martin bumped Kaysia out of bed as we ventured downstairs to see what Santa (whose fictious existence we now fully accept) left for the kiddos. Then Christmas afternoon at the Bennetts and we're finally home to unwind for a week before returning to the madness of school and work.

That's it, in a nutshell. But honestly, I think that's enough. Time to settle in for a few days of nothing.

Not since Jessica was only months old have we taken the kids to a professional portrait studio for family photos. And while I'd love to say that is due to my raw skills as a photographer, it has much more to do with the fact that the task of trying to coordinate cooperation and simultaneous smiles out of our kids is something I would not wish on any poor, unsuspecting and underpaid studio photographer. And in that vein, after last night's living room studio session I've decided to post not only the picks, but also a handful of the shots that would have normally landed on the cutting room floor. Click on the photo below for a sample of what I'm talking about.

They might not be your typical family album fodder, but we had a blast during the shoot.

Every year in December Lawrence hosts an "Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade", which consists of about a hundred horses of all types pulling sleighs, wagons and stage coaches through downtown Lawrence. And typically, this happens on the coldest day of the year thus far. Not too bad of weather this year (as long as you don't ask Jeannie's opinion). God some good photos of the event. Just click on the image below.

This past weekend we decorated the house for Christmas -- which basically consists of pulling our fake tree out of the basement, hauling boxes of red and green stuff upstairs, then scratching our heads trying to figure out what to do with all the furniture that had to be moved to make room for the tree. With some Christmas-esque music playing in the background, the older kids decided they would show off their mad dancing skills. True talent, that is.

Jeannie has spent considerable time over the past few days painstakingly hand-sewing our names into Christmas stockings for our family. Over the last couple of years we have lost several that she made years ago, and as you know we have added a new family member this year (enter Special K), so Jeannie has been busy bringing our Christmas decor up to speed.

So here's a special thank you to Jeannie. We appreciate all the times you shove that needle into your finger. And the kids no doubt appreciate the new words they learn from you immediately afterward.