New Year's Ball

January 2, 2015 -  I can’t believe that 2015 is finally here!  What better way to inaugurate this year’s blog posts than photos from the New Year’s Ball?
A quick word about 2014:
2014 has come and gone and the year brought forth a lot of change and growth within the dynamics of our family.  God has been incredibly gracious to us this year.  I was so thankful that we were able to able to celebrate and bring in the new year together.  That said, I am very excited to see where the Lord leads us in 2015 as we continue to grow and mature!
Okay, I could go on and on reflecting over the past year, but let’s get this party started!  It’s time to celebrate the new year with one of the biggest social events of the season…the New Year’s Ball!

I always have to throw in some still-life shots. ;)

This enchanting passageway led to the beautifully decorated dancing floor:

I always love the sense of “space” that lights strung overhead create and how their dim light adds to the ambience of the room.

This one photo captures the many forms of socialization that occurs at these dances.

Little gatherings of people engaged in conversation, hugs with friends, and photos being taken – in my case, while standing on a chair.

Larissa, Emma, Daniele

Sara, Brittany, Marjo

(Same as above + Larissa’s outstretched hand)

Marscel and I

The Regency outfits were absolutely stunning!

Josiah and I

Alexa

Alexa and Meghan

Micah & Larissa

Danielle and Mr. Martin

Hannah, Melanie, Rebecca, Sarah, Mrs. Thomas

DANCING

“There were more Dancers than the Room could conveniently hold, which is enough to constitute a good Ball at any time.” – Jane Austen, 1799

We danced many of the favorites from the Regency time period

Watching a dance demonstration

The evening ended with an encore dance, “The Scottish Polka.”

Driving home

Belleville’s decorated main street looks like it came from a story book

Thank you for your continued interest in our family and our blog over the past year – I look forward to sharing future posts in the coming year!
– Andrew Wong

New Year’s Ball Dance Videos

January 2, 2015 - These are the dancing videos from the 205 New Year's Ball.  The dances are called by Jeremy Suermann.

You can find a YouTube playlist of all the videos from this ball here.


The Young Widow




Jefferson & Liberty
Video of "Jefferson and Liberty" from the 2015 New Year's Ball.

You can play the entire playlist of videos from the evening here:
Comical Fellow
The "Comical Fellow." Features a reenactment of Mr. Collin's "hop" in Pride and Prejudice. :)

Barbarini’s Tambourine
The fun and fast paced, "Barbarini's Tambourine!"

The Hole in the Wall
"The Hole in the Wall" is an elegant English Country Dance also featured on Stately Steps "Regency Era" DVD.


The Ragg
A fast paced dance that is a personal favorite.


Ship’s Cook
The very energetic, "Ship's Cook" is a modern dance from the 2009 film adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma."



The Duke of Kent’s Waltz
The last dance of the evening was the very elegant, "Duke of Kent's Waltz."


The Scottish
"The Scottish" is one of our group's favorites, so it was no wonder that it served as the evening's encore dance.

New Year’s Dinner

Christmas

December 25, 2014

2014

2013

Hmm…so we were much more color coordinated last year.

Checking out my new office chair

I’m sitting in it now as I write this post – ah…it’s so comfy with the armrests and lumbar support! :)

Knowing Noah is knowing Fox Racing

This is totally my kind of t-shirt

Welding gloves. 

This afternoon we headed to my Aunt & Uncle’s to get together with family and exchange gifts.

The next three photos are sorted by increasing size and friskiness:

Note: Her Christmas sweater, the scarf, and the bells in her hair.

My uncle and expectant aunt

We’ll be sharing photos of Keera at the next Christmas!

I love how my cousin briefly interrupted his romping to quickly photo bomb this picture!