Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
July 2, 2010
July 1, 2010
possible enlargements
I "think" I might enlarge these to 11x14 and put them in our dining area. Those who know me well know how hard it is for me to pick out photos and then actually do something with them in my home. You would never guess I am a photographer by looking at our walls. But these two jump out at me and I think I'm going to just do it.
Can you tell I'm having a very hard time focusing on my work?
Can you tell I'm having a very hard time focusing on my work?
June 29, 2010
i can't help it
I have so many things I need to be doing, but I keep messing around with our camping trip photos. I just can't help myself!
August 18, 2008
Big Bear - Day 3
Our last day at Big Bear was very short and pretty uneventful. The kids and I checked out around 11am or so. I took them down to the front of the resort for some photos before leaving.
By the end I wished that we had come up with Daniel for the whole trip. It was so nice to get away for a couple days and to be in such a pretty place.
Day 2, with Daddy
Our hotel was in walking distance to the Big Bear Village area. We decided to walk around and see if we could find a place to eat.
Did I already mention "The Poky Little Puppy"?
Oh my gosh, this kid dawdles. But he wants to walk and look at everything. The "other one" just whines and cries almost the whole time we go anywhere... "Pick me up", "I'm tired", and so forth. So annoying.
They had this great little ice cream/candy shop with true kid size cones. Mini cones. Just perfect for our little munchkins.
And then this nice man saw me trying to get a pic of Daniel with the kids and asked if I'd like him to take a family photo. It was pretty funny because he asked me by sort of selling himself, telling me that he had been the yearbook photographer and is very comfortable taking photos, would we like a family photo? I will tell you that I wouldn't hand off my camera to just anyone, but you know when its coming from the heart and this man, I could tell, was really trying to do something nice for us. I was so grateful and look what he got:
Even funnier, we ran into each other later and he quickly approached me to ask me questions about what I might do that I know so much about the camera and setting up shots. He said it really struck him that I knew what I was doing and he was curious. I proceeded to tell him that I am a professional photographer (will that ever come easy for me to say?) and that I photograph babies, children and families as a part time job while staying home with my kids. Anyway, he went on to tell me that he has always had an interest in photography and during his kids' childhood he was always the one taking photos - he was hardly in any photos himself. That is why he felt the need to ask me if I'd like a family photo taken because he knew what it was like. It was such a nice conversation I had with this gentleman. It made me feel good that he recognized something special about me and there was that connection and understanding of how it feels to be missing from the majority of the family photos. I really appreciated that he stopped us both times. What a nice man.
And on that same note, I almost always stop people and ask them if they'd like me to take a photo for them so they can be in the photo too. Most people will take me up on it. I love doing this. It started back in my Disney days as I would walk to my location. I'd ask Guests if I could take a photo for them. It makes me feel good.
Back to day 2...
Driving in to Big Bear on our first day, it was late afternoon and I kept seeing these gorgeous flowers alongside the road. I must have been driving into the sun because they were stunning with the light shining through them. I wanted to photograph them SO BAD. So I tried...
And you know what? My captures are okay. But they don't do these flowers justice. I look forward to trying again someday. Oh, and I also found out these are called hollyhocks. My new favorite flower.
My daughter broke out of her whiny funk for a moment to pose for me. I didn't even ask her to. Maybe she was jealous of the camera being pointed on the little man so much. :)
We came across the cutest little cottage. Again, those same flowers. But no sun shining through them here.
We had also run into Daniel's co-workers at this point and while attempting to take a shot of just Daniel and I (wouldn't that have been nice too?), the kids crashed the party and insisted on being part of the photo. I'll never turn that one down either and I love this shot:
Again with the flowers:
Quite possibly a couple of my favorite shots ever of the kids:
And that's it for day 2, in photos anyway. Only a few more left for day 3 and that's it. Wow! I don't think I've ever posted so many photos from one thing before. And now I have a whole bunch of 4x6 to print too! Yea!
Did I already mention "The Poky Little Puppy"?
Oh my gosh, this kid dawdles. But he wants to walk and look at everything. The "other one" just whines and cries almost the whole time we go anywhere... "Pick me up", "I'm tired", and so forth. So annoying.
They had this great little ice cream/candy shop with true kid size cones. Mini cones. Just perfect for our little munchkins.
And then this nice man saw me trying to get a pic of Daniel with the kids and asked if I'd like him to take a family photo. It was pretty funny because he asked me by sort of selling himself, telling me that he had been the yearbook photographer and is very comfortable taking photos, would we like a family photo? I will tell you that I wouldn't hand off my camera to just anyone, but you know when its coming from the heart and this man, I could tell, was really trying to do something nice for us. I was so grateful and look what he got:
Even funnier, we ran into each other later and he quickly approached me to ask me questions about what I might do that I know so much about the camera and setting up shots. He said it really struck him that I knew what I was doing and he was curious. I proceeded to tell him that I am a professional photographer (will that ever come easy for me to say?) and that I photograph babies, children and families as a part time job while staying home with my kids. Anyway, he went on to tell me that he has always had an interest in photography and during his kids' childhood he was always the one taking photos - he was hardly in any photos himself. That is why he felt the need to ask me if I'd like a family photo taken because he knew what it was like. It was such a nice conversation I had with this gentleman. It made me feel good that he recognized something special about me and there was that connection and understanding of how it feels to be missing from the majority of the family photos. I really appreciated that he stopped us both times. What a nice man.
And on that same note, I almost always stop people and ask them if they'd like me to take a photo for them so they can be in the photo too. Most people will take me up on it. I love doing this. It started back in my Disney days as I would walk to my location. I'd ask Guests if I could take a photo for them. It makes me feel good.
Back to day 2...
Driving in to Big Bear on our first day, it was late afternoon and I kept seeing these gorgeous flowers alongside the road. I must have been driving into the sun because they were stunning with the light shining through them. I wanted to photograph them SO BAD. So I tried...
And you know what? My captures are okay. But they don't do these flowers justice. I look forward to trying again someday. Oh, and I also found out these are called hollyhocks. My new favorite flower.
My daughter broke out of her whiny funk for a moment to pose for me. I didn't even ask her to. Maybe she was jealous of the camera being pointed on the little man so much. :)
We came across the cutest little cottage. Again, those same flowers. But no sun shining through them here.
We had also run into Daniel's co-workers at this point and while attempting to take a shot of just Daniel and I (wouldn't that have been nice too?), the kids crashed the party and insisted on being part of the photo. I'll never turn that one down either and I love this shot:
Again with the flowers:
Quite possibly a couple of my favorite shots ever of the kids:
And that's it for day 2, in photos anyway. Only a few more left for day 3 and that's it. Wow! I don't think I've ever posted so many photos from one thing before. And now I have a whole bunch of 4x6 to print too! Yea!
August 16, 2008
Big Bear - Day 2
These are really just pics from the first part of our second day without Daddy yet. Daniel was in meetings until about 4pm that day. The kids and I were up early, found a Kmart, bought some Little Swimmers that I forgot to bring for Ethan, and then headed for the pool.
The pool thing was difficult because neither of my kids know how to swim. I had a floatie for Emma, but once she realized that she wasn't able to stand past the last step, then she really didn't want to go any further than the stairs. The entire pool was 3.5 feet deep except for the center which was 4 feet deep. I felt bad for Emma that I couldn't take her out into the pool. Ethan was so squirmy. He just wanted out of my arms. We were there for maybe 10 minutes when I started to think that we needed to head back to our room when a girlfriend of one of Daniel's co-workers showed up. She had been on the other side of the fence in the jacuzzi and I hadn't noticed her there before. Maybe she came over because she felt sorry for us, but I was so grateful when she came into the pool all smiles for the kids and then offered to take Emma around the pool. Whew! Grateful I was. We spent maybe another 20 minutes or so, each with a child and had a very good time.
We headed to our room, changed, and then went to McDonalds. I thought it would be fun to let them play in the play area that are in most McDonalds, but this one didn't have one. Oh well. Had a nice lunch out anyway and then headed back to our room for Ethan's nap.
Once Ethan woke up, we sat on the balcony watching other people swim. It was so nice to not be working. To just sit on the balcony and relax. I don't allow myself that very often. It seems I am always working.
Then I got it in my head to take some pics of the kids... Imagine that?
This shot of Ethan is one of those that takes me years ahead, seeing my little boy more grown up. It could be the muscle shirt here, but I also see the athletic type. It makes my heart sad to jump ahead like that.
And like the rest of this trip, I got more shots of Ethan than of Emma. Sometimes its just like that.
Isn't he a doll?
And then Daddy came back for the day:
More to come with Daddy...
August 15, 2008
Big Bear - Day 1
I finally just put work stuff aside and started working on some Big Bear photos from a couple weeks ago...
So Daniel's company has company meetings twice a year and sometimes they get to meet in fun places like this year, in Big Bear. I originally had no intention to go with him. It was just too long to be away from work when I knew I would be very busy and I also didn't know what I would do with the kids on my own for five-ish days. I WILL NOT go hiking or the like by myself. But last minute, I decided to meet up with him half way into his trip. I actually drove up to Big Bear by myself which if anyone knows me and knows my strong dislike for driving, (not to mention the anxiety it causes me), then you would know that was HUGE for me to do by myself. I did pretty well in fact. The kids were great for the ride and it really was okay.
So day 1 (for us) had us meeting Daniel and his co-workers at a regional park where they were doing some team-building excercises and then having a picnic dinner. Here are a couple pics I took of his co-workers "team-building":
Nothing spectacular, but I did have fun trying to catch the sun. I wish I could've gotten more of his co-workers, but you know, its just really hard to watch the kids and take photos of other people. Anyone else feel that way? At least when I'm trying to take shots of my kids I have my "eye" on them, so to speak.
After dinner we went for a little hike along the water. It was getting pretty dark by then and photos were a bit of a challenge for me, but this one makes me happy:
We have a photo of Daniel and Emma walking along the beach when she was maybe two. I would love to scrapbook those photos side by side one day.
And almost all of my photos of Ethan share this same theme... All that comes to mind is the "Pokey Little Puppy". That is Ethan in a nutshell.
He is so darn pokey! Dawdles. Looks at this and that. Watches bugs. Cracks me up. And sometimes annoys me too because "c'mon already!". But he's a doll and I just love this little guy to pieces.
I just remembered something that although I don't have a photo of this moment, I want to write it down now while I'm thinking about it... On the way to our little hike we passed some guys toting their kayaks (sp?), obviously coming in for the day. They put down their kayaks for a bit of a break and here comes along our curious Ethan. He gets right in the middle of it and when the guys pick up their kayaks again Ethan tries to help them. He has his hands underneath the kayak, grunting, really putting his back into it. Absolutely cracks everyone up. Why I didn't take a picture of this, I don't know because I probably could have swinged a decent shot. Anyway, so we shoo him out of their way and then, our cutest little boy in the world son puckers up his lips towards one of the guys for a kiss. No one really knows what he is doing, but his mamma knows. His mamma is lucky enough every once in a while to get that sweet little face in hers, with lips all puckered and cute. How these guys could resist, I don't know, but of course I was there to move him along. It was so dang cute I tell ya!
Okay, so back to a couple more photos... These were taken by one of Daniel's co-workers for which I am grateful to have.
And yes, that's me sporting my super-duper back-breaking new lens. THAT I LOVE, I might add. It is a killer on the arm though. And I'm sure someone out there is looking at this photo thinking that I'm carrying this lens incorrectly. Seriously, awesome lens, but very awkward to haul around too. Woe is me. :)
Well folks, that its for day 1. I'll get cracking on the next round soon. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!
So Daniel's company has company meetings twice a year and sometimes they get to meet in fun places like this year, in Big Bear. I originally had no intention to go with him. It was just too long to be away from work when I knew I would be very busy and I also didn't know what I would do with the kids on my own for five-ish days. I WILL NOT go hiking or the like by myself. But last minute, I decided to meet up with him half way into his trip. I actually drove up to Big Bear by myself which if anyone knows me and knows my strong dislike for driving, (not to mention the anxiety it causes me), then you would know that was HUGE for me to do by myself. I did pretty well in fact. The kids were great for the ride and it really was okay.
So day 1 (for us) had us meeting Daniel and his co-workers at a regional park where they were doing some team-building excercises and then having a picnic dinner. Here are a couple pics I took of his co-workers "team-building":
Nothing spectacular, but I did have fun trying to catch the sun. I wish I could've gotten more of his co-workers, but you know, its just really hard to watch the kids and take photos of other people. Anyone else feel that way? At least when I'm trying to take shots of my kids I have my "eye" on them, so to speak.
After dinner we went for a little hike along the water. It was getting pretty dark by then and photos were a bit of a challenge for me, but this one makes me happy:
We have a photo of Daniel and Emma walking along the beach when she was maybe two. I would love to scrapbook those photos side by side one day.
And almost all of my photos of Ethan share this same theme... All that comes to mind is the "Pokey Little Puppy". That is Ethan in a nutshell.
He is so darn pokey! Dawdles. Looks at this and that. Watches bugs. Cracks me up. And sometimes annoys me too because "c'mon already!". But he's a doll and I just love this little guy to pieces.
I just remembered something that although I don't have a photo of this moment, I want to write it down now while I'm thinking about it... On the way to our little hike we passed some guys toting their kayaks (sp?), obviously coming in for the day. They put down their kayaks for a bit of a break and here comes along our curious Ethan. He gets right in the middle of it and when the guys pick up their kayaks again Ethan tries to help them. He has his hands underneath the kayak, grunting, really putting his back into it. Absolutely cracks everyone up. Why I didn't take a picture of this, I don't know because I probably could have swinged a decent shot. Anyway, so we shoo him out of their way and then, our cutest little boy in the world son puckers up his lips towards one of the guys for a kiss. No one really knows what he is doing, but his mamma knows. His mamma is lucky enough every once in a while to get that sweet little face in hers, with lips all puckered and cute. How these guys could resist, I don't know, but of course I was there to move him along. It was so dang cute I tell ya!
Okay, so back to a couple more photos... These were taken by one of Daniel's co-workers for which I am grateful to have.
And yes, that's me sporting my super-duper back-breaking new lens. THAT I LOVE, I might add. It is a killer on the arm though. And I'm sure someone out there is looking at this photo thinking that I'm carrying this lens incorrectly. Seriously, awesome lens, but very awkward to haul around too. Woe is me. :)
Well folks, that its for day 1. I'll get cracking on the next round soon. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great weekend!
August 13, 2008
"bear" with me
I have SO MANY photos to post. I just can't find the time to work on them. But because I know my dad has been eagerly waiting for some Big Bear photos, here is one for now.
I'll work on more tomorrow Dad.
:)
I'll work on more tomorrow Dad.
:)
February 21, 2008
Not quite back...
...but wanted to pop in to say hi! and to say I'll be back soon with some mini-vacation photos. Went to San Diego for a few days and now we're trying to decide if we go to the mountains tomorrow or not. I'm not really feeling up to it, but I feel bad that I'm not.
So I'll let you know on Friday what we did and hopefully will have more pictures to share by then too.
But for now, here's a fave of the kids.
And here's a picture of our new friend, Mr. Tom Tom:
He was actually my Valentine's Day gift from Daniel and although I wasn't so enthusiastic at that moment, I am now in love with Mr. Tom Tom. He is seriously so cool.
It's late and I've got to go to bed. Hope you are all having a great week and thanks for stopping by!
So I'll let you know on Friday what we did and hopefully will have more pictures to share by then too.
But for now, here's a fave of the kids.
And here's a picture of our new friend, Mr. Tom Tom:
He was actually my Valentine's Day gift from Daniel and although I wasn't so enthusiastic at that moment, I am now in love with Mr. Tom Tom. He is seriously so cool.
It's late and I've got to go to bed. Hope you are all having a great week and thanks for stopping by!
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