Christmas is in the Air

The weather has been getting colder; I love to feel the crispness that comes this time of year. In California, we would only get glimpses of this crispness, but it still reminds me of Christmas.

We decided it would be nice to take family Christmas pictures. We got together with my sis and her hubby and took pics of each other. It worked out nicely. Here are some of my favorites:

My sister's pics turned out great also (but she probably wouldn't want me to post any on here).

It took us a while to figure out where to take pics, since we weren't going to pay to have our pic taken at a studio. We knew it should be indoor, since the weather has been gray and rainy. A few years back we did this same thing (taking eachothers pics) with a family who went to church with us and we just went to our Apt's office where they had a nice fireplace and decor. It turned out well then, and since my sis is now living at that same apt, we decided that would be the spot. The only bummer is that I wish it had more stonework on either side of the fireplace, because heads sometimes ended up in the fireplace or up against the orange wall (that and we aren't great at arranging ourselves). Plus we took these pics last weekend, so there weren't any Christmas decorations up yet. But all in all I'm pleased with how they turned out--and with Van's smile, it's looking more and more natural.

Does anyone else have suggestions as a nice (free) christmas backdrop around Portland? I will make note for next year. :)