Jasmine

Our five-year-old niece, Jasmine, was in town for Christmas. I was amazed at how much she has grown in the past year, and even more impressed by how smart she is. As is evidenced by the above photo, Jasmine is also remarkably cute and has a magnetic personality. Not surprisingly, her presence helped make our Christmas especially enjoyable.


Thursday afternoon she hung out with her Aunt Kate, and the two of them had a tea party at our apartment. Jasmine remembered her aunt's special tea dishes from the last time she was here, and insisted that tea be served promptly at 4 PM, in accordance with British custom. Okay, not really, although I think it happened to be around 4 anyway.

She spent Thursday night with Katie and I, and we all had fun playing Candy Land and watching Anastasia. We ordered pizza, and after eating copious amounts of it, Jasmine promptly suggested having a "snack". She is definitely our kind of people. Being accustomed to the more humid climate of the Pacific Northwest, Friday morning Jasmine woke up with a series of very specific requests: "Chap stick, water, and a show."


On Saturday morning, Katie and I were able to see a Christmas parade in downtown Golden with Bruce, Mindy and Jasmine. It was absolutely freezing, but we had a good time. As you can tell, Jasmine is much loved by her two aunts. It's not hard to see why.

Aunt Kate made sure that Jasmine had a hot, holiday beverage to sip while we watched the parade.

These carolers show up at each and every Christmas parade in Golden (hosted each Saturday throughout the month of December, annually). Katie is convinced that they are, in fact, "plain" folk (e.g., Amish, Mennonite, Shaker, etc.). I must admit, it's difficult to imagine them dressing or acting any differently than you see here. The mutton-chops on the one fellow are almost certainly genuine, a factor which lends credence to Katie's theory.

Jasmine is so irresistible that the Golden Fire Department's dalmatian mascot couldn't resist giving her a hug.

We were sad when Jasmine had to go back home, but she certainly brightened our Christmas. We hope to be able to see Jasmine and her mom (Amy) again before going to Korea. Hopefully we'll have an opportunity to fly out and see them in January or February.