Carrie Saindon's Photo Journey

Our Valentine's Day

2012-02-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

Our Valentine's Day this year was really sad. My father-in-law passed away unexpectedly February 9th - 5 days before Valentine's. He was a quiet man but a great man. I love the way he loved my family. He was always on the look out for something he knew we might want or need. He bought flowers for the kids the last time we saw them because he knew my little girl loves to pick wild flowers. I love that he ate 3 pieces of cake at our wedding (after 3 different bridesmaids offered to get him a piece not knowing that he had already had one.) I love how he sang to my babies when he held them when they were little bitty. I love that he taught me about it being "boo boo" outside (cold) and about the "wow wows" (the dogs) - definitely things the kids have picked up and will carry with them. I love that he would tell me his old stories of his army and railroad days after the kids were in bed and my mother-in-law had fallen asleep on the couch. :-) I love that he was always up for a good game of cards. I only got to know him for a short period of time (about 6 years) but I love that he was a part of my life.

I hope to get some of my favorite pictures together of him and the grand babies to post very soon but for now I will post our Valentine's pictures. We took these about a week or so before Valentine's day with my photo mom's group. Our Valentine's Day was definitely filled with love and memories this year but definitely very sad too. We love and miss you so much Papa Bob!!!

Hugs and Kisses - An I Heart Faces Challenge

2012-02-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

I loved this sweet hug between my friend and her little girl at my friend's 10 year wedding renewal. Little Miss B had had such a great time playing and dancing. She was absolutely worn out and it was so sweet to see her dance with her Mommy near the end of the reception. I loved this moment!!

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You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Weddings - The McDaniels 10 Year Wedding Renewal {Mckinney Area Wedding Photography}

2012-02-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to take pictures at one of my best friend's 10 year wedding renewal this past weekend. And I had an absolute blast!! Everything was so beautiful! She did an amazing job putting it all together and she looked absolutely stunning!!! I was so honored to be a part of it all!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this weekend:

And here is just a closer look at some of the amazing details she put into it all. She really did a great job with the whole renewal! I know it's been an amazing 10 years for them and I wish them many, many more amazing years in the future!! Congratulations Kristy and Philip!! Love you guys! :-)

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To check out more pictures, "like" my new facebook page Carrie Saindon Photography.

More About the Heart Project

2012-01-31T20:57:00.000-08:00

My little Heart Book Contributors

The kids and I have joined in with an amazing group of bloggers to contribute to a fundraiser for the American Heart Association called the Heart Project. Jamie from Hands On: As We Grow has brought together over 70 bloggers and their kids to collaborate on an awesome eBook called the Heart Book. Each of us worked to create (over 100) heart-themed craft projects to share in this book. I have seen a lot of the pictures in this book and I have to say these women are so creative!!

How to get the book: Just make a $5 donation to the American Heart Association and receive The Heart eBook as a free gift!!! You can receive your book throughout the whole month of February with your donation.

Awesome matching donation: Craftprojectideas.com will contribute $1 for every eBook that is received this month! That means in addition to your $5 donation/eBook gift, Craftprojectideas.com will donate another $1 on your behalf (up to $500!)! Please visit Craftprojectideas.com Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/Craftprojectideas) and tell them THANK YOU for being so generous!

The printed version: A full color print version of this book is also available for purchase! The book will cost $20 with $5 from every purchase being donated to the American Heart Association.

US $20.00

Order the Printed Version

AHA Donations: If you would like to make a donation to the American Heart Association without receiving the book, please click the yellow donate button below - every little bit helps!

How You've Made a Difference: Thanks!! (The totals are updated daily.)

Giveaways: To thank everyone for their generous donations, several of the bloggers will be hosting giveaways from now until Valentine's Day. We will be doing one on our blog on February 12th. We plan on giving away a copy of the eBook so please keep a look out for that. :-) Also check out all the other awesome giveaways that will be going on at these sites:

"Children's Toys" and "Window Light" - LensBaby Project 52

2012-01-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to go ahead and post weeks 3 and 4 of my LensBaby Project 52. Week's 3 challenge was "Children's Toys". This was a tough challenge for me. I would have thought it would have been easier since toys seem to be ALL over my house most of the time. :-) I actually tried two different set-ups before I decided on these pictures though.

{Project 52: Week 3}
This is my favorite picture of the ones I took. I love that she is reading to her bear. :-)

And I love how comfortable she got. :-)

This is one of the setups I had wanted to do. This is actually a picture I took Christmas day. I loved his expression but didn't love my edits of the picture. I was hoping to reproduce this picture today - but I couldn't find all the pieces to the track. :-( I'll have to keep looking.

Our week 4 theme is "Window Light". I will admit I took these pictures out of order. I switched them because "Children's Toys" was such a challenge for me. I liked how this picture turned out although I'm sure this probably isn't what they meant by window light. :-)

{Project 52: Week 4}

Reading Books to her Bear - An "I Heart Faces" Challenge

2012-01-23T15:42:00.000-08:00

I was taking pictures of the kids for my weekly Project 52 challenge and I caught her in the act of reading to her bear. I thought it was too cute. :-)

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You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

A Heart Project

2012-01-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

Our contribution to the Heart Project - Heart Sun Catchers

It's almost time for Valentine's Day so the kids and I have started incorporating hearts into our projects and pictures. Going along with our heart theme, my friend found a really awesome Heart Project for us to work on. She found the information on Jamie's Hands on as We Grow blog. Jamie is creating a “Heart Project eBook”. This collaborative project, involving more than 50 bloggers and their creative kid's craft ideas, will be a fundraiser with all proceeds going to the American Heart Association. The Heart Project eBook will be available by making a $5 donation.

Many participating bloggers will also host giveaways in conjunction with the fundraiser to raise awareness. I am considering hosting a giveaway in February as well - but more information is pending. :-)

You can also participate in this great fundraiser by submitting your own heart project by January 25th or by donating to the American Heart Association and receiving a copy of the eBook when it becomes available in February.

For complete details on this event, visit Hands on as We Grow. More information to follow.

My Hearts

2012-01-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

The kids and I had such a great day today. We played outside quite a bit because it was just such a pretty day. And I also set up my own mini photo shoot for them today. The idea was to take some cute pictures for both sets of the grandparents. It didn't work out exactly as planned - but I thought it ended up cute anyway. :-)

I had hoped to get both kids to hold the sign and have it read for both sets of grandparents. But this was the only sign picture we got today. The sentiment is definitely there but there was too much playing to be done. :-)

I had hung some hearts on the wall for our background and had the sign and some roses ready for them to hold in the pictures once they got up from their naps. But my kids who love flowers (especially little miss) wanted nothing to do with the roses and signs today. So we just went with it and ended up having a lot of fun anyway. :-)

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Linking up with "Miss Elaine-ous Monday"

Week 2 of my Lens Baby Project 52: "Letters of the Alphabet"

2012-01-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

I'm working on two project 52's this year. I am hoping it will help me build my creativity with my photography. I will probably just have one monthly post for my MCP Actions project 52 but I'll go ahead and share my Lens Baby project 52 pictures for the week. This week's challenge is "Letter of the Alphabet". Here is my interpretation of the theme. I would love any feedback you may have because I really would like to use this as a chance to improve. Thanks everyone!! :-)

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday.

Absolutely Beautiful Day at the Arboretum

2012-01-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

Today was such a beautiful day in January!! The kids and I decided to take advantage of it and met a friend at the Arboretum. We had such a great time! Great friend, lots of play time, and of course lots of photo opportunities - what else could you want! :-)

My friend and I are both planning on doing a couple of Project 52s this year for photography. We will both most likely be doing one through our LensBaby group and one we found on the Internet (through MCP Actions). Today we decided to focus on our first LensBaby challenge of sunshine. I had never attempted a sun flare type picture before and she had tons of great tips. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from today, along with my "sunshine" picture.

I love this pathway and I had always wanted to take pictures here. There was hardly anyone there today so it was great to be able to snap a few shots while nobody was on the trail.

My sunshine picture of my Sunshine. :-)

We let the kids run around when we first got there. And I think they both really enjoyed getting outdoors. I love this smile on Little Miss. :-)

Ha! I tried running in front of the kids to get pictures of them walking towards me but when I turned around they were both chasing after me. :-)

This was a beautiful area that my friend found. And I don't know why but I became a little fixated on getting a shot of little miss through the flowers. :-)

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Linking our fun morning play date up with "You Capture"

Happy New Year!!!

2011-12-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

We got the party hats and noise makers out earlier today for the kids to play with. (I had these last year for a play date with my LensBaby group. So it has been fun to go back and look at the babies then and now.) It has been a fun year watching them grow so much and learning to talk so much clearer. I am looking forward to see what the new year has in store for us. I hope everyone has a great and safe evening! And I hope the new year brings lots of happiness to you. Happy New Year everyone!!!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T19:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!! This Christmas season was so amazing and memorable for us with the kids. We are so blessed! I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed day as well!

Holiday Bokeh Challenge

2011-12-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

My LensBaby moms group has had an online bokeh challenge the last couple of years. Last year one of my friends had a beautiful picture of her hot chocolate cup in front of the Christmas tree with heart bokehs rising as steam. I loved that picture so I attempted to recreate it this year. I love this challenge. Thanks for the inspiration Liesl! :-)

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You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Tis the Season

2011-12-18T12:49:00.000-08:00

This holiday season has been so much fun with the kids this year. They are finally old enough to start understanding some. They love Santa, the Christmas tree, Christmas lights, and the many Christmas TV specials. I love watching their excitement and starting our own Christmas traditions with them.

{Our Christmas Tree}

I wasn't sure what would happen with this year's Christmas tree - whether it would stay standing through Christmas or not. But so far so good. Our decorations only go from the top to half way down (since the ornaments look so much like balls). But they love the lights and get excited to see it every morning. :-)

{Visiting with Santa}

We have talked about Santa quite a bit this year and have seen him a couple of times. The first time we saw him was at the North Park Mall. We visited him for story time. And I have to say I was very impressed with how interactive it was. We will be going again next year for sure.

{Story Time with Santa}

{Trains at North Park}
We also went that day to see the Trains at North Park. They have the most amazing display of toy trains there.

{Scrooge}
We finished our Christmas visit at the mall with Scrooge. This was a little too old for us this year but we will try again.

We also had breakfast with Santa with my twins mom group. The kids got to sit on Santa's lap for pictures there - but as much as they like Santa they weren't so sure about being that close to him this year. There were no tears but no smiles either. (Of course I found out little girl has strep so that could have played a part in her not having as much excitement for Santa...but she did manage to give him a hug before we left.)

{Christmas Cookies}

We've also have had several test runs of making Christmas cookies for Santa this year. I've really enjoyed this with them. Each time they seem impressed with different steps in the process - rolling the dough, cutting out the cookies, adding sprinkles, eating the cookies. We will be making them one more time Christmas Eve. I hope Santa likes them. :-)

{Christmas Hugs}

But I have to say my absolute favorite thing so far this year has been the Christmas hug!! I hope we have many more of these. :-)

Merry Christmas everyone!! And I hope you all get lots of Christmas hugs!!

Christmas Bokeh

2011-12-14T11:49:00.000-08:00

One of the moms in my LensBaby group invited us to her house yesterday to take pictures that have that beautiful Christmas light bokeh. She set up some white lights covered with a shimmery white fabric in the background to give our pictures the "snow effect". I had been wanting to try this so I was so happy when she invited us for the play date. Here are some of the pictures I took while we were there.

{My favorite little Snowman}

{My favorite Snow Princess}

{Some cuties from our group}
Seems like forever ago that mine would sit and pose for pictures so sweetly. :-)

Christmas Cookies

2011-12-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Some of our LensBaby friends came over today to make Christmas cookies with us. There were seven 2-year-olds here cutting out, sprinkling and decorating cookies. And I have to say they all did so good! I was so impressed with them. We have little chefs in the making for sure! :-)

Waiting for the cookies to come out of the oven...

Making a snowman...
{I think playing with the dough and with the sprinkles were her favorite parts.}

I was a little worried about doing this because of the possible mess. But I have to say the mess was minimal and we will definitely be doing this again soon. In fact, we will be doing it again in 17 days (Christmas Eve - let the countdown begin) so we have some cookies for Santa when he arrives. (And hopefully I'll get some good shots of my Mister in action too.)

Christmas Feet

2011-12-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge is "On Your Feet". Since we've been having so much fun with our Christmas tree and mommy is picture happy around the tree, I caught a few picture of our Christmas "Happy Feet". :-)

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You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Listening to Christmas Music

2011-12-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

My friend and I got the kids together this past week for a musical Christmas themed play date. We decided it was a good time to introduce them to all the fun Christmas songs. We used You Tube to listen to the songs and then we did a fun Christmas activity that went along with each.

Song: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
Activity: We dressed up like Rudolph with antlers I found at Target and painted our noses red.
(This is Little Miss's favorite because it has Santa in the video. She calls this one the "Ho Ho Ho" song.) :-)

Song: "Jingle Bells"
Activity: We all had jingle bells to play along with the song.

Song: "Frosty the Snowman"
Activity: We made snowmen out of marshmallows and pretzel sticks.
(This was probably the biggest hit of the day.)

Song: "The Little Drummer Boy"
Activity: We used wooden spoons and couch pillows to play our drums along with the song.
(Little Man loves this song. He always wants to watch the "Baby" video since it has Baby Jesus in it.)

Song: "Oh Christmas Tree"
Activity: We decorated our Christmas trees.
(I found this idea for felt Christmas trees on Pinterest. I thought it was so cute and super simple to make.)

Song: "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow"
Activity: We used our snowflakes to dance with the music.

Lunch: We had reindeer quesadillas.
(Left over turkey instead of reindeer inside though.) ;-)
We had a ton of fun!!

Oh and I have to share. Our friends made us this advent calendar and yummy cookies as well.
(I'm so excited about this calendar! She is so creative. Check out all of her Nik's Naks.)

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Linking up to Tot Time and Wordless Wednesday.

I Heart Faces Challenge WINNER! Yay!! :-)

2011-12-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to have had my picture chosen as one of the I Heart Face's winners for the "Bust a Gut" Challenge. I always love entering their contest each week and seeing all the great pictures that are submitted. Hehe...and I'm a little giddy about being chosen as one of their finalists. I feel very honored actually. Thanks Amy & Angie for hosting such a fun contest!!

This picture was chosen for 8th place. :-)

Happy Fall!

2011-12-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

I know it's time to say goodbye to Fall and to bring on the crisp, cool fireplace weather (which I love!) but it was nice to get one last chance to get some Fall pictures in with my LensBaby group this week. We went to a small Elementary school park in McKinney and took a few pictures of the kids in the leaves. But mostly the kids played on the play ground there. I asked them later if they had a good time and they told me "Yeah, yeah!" so I think it it's safe to say we all had a great time. :-) Here are a few of our pictures from the play date and Happy Fall!

More Christmas Fun

2011-11-29T20:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas is definitely one of my favorite times of year!! So I couldn't pass up the chance to go with a friend to take some more pictures of the kids dressed up in their Christmas cuteness. We took the kids to the Heritage Museum in Frisco and had such a great time!! Here are some of my favorite pictures from that day.

Of course I enjoyed taking pictures of my babies. But it was also fun to take pictures of my friend and her little girl. She was trying to get some pictures for her Christmas cards. I'm so glad she took some great pictures that day though. I didn't get to share any of mine with her since my computer was on the blink. :-( But it was still a lot of fun! Isn't her little girl's outfit just too cute??

Bust a Gut - An I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-11-24T10:52:00.000-08:00

The challenge for I Heart Faces made me laugh this week. The challenge is called "Bust a Gut" - how appropriate for Thanksgiving!! :-) But they actually want pictures of people busting a gut laughing. So I found this one of the kids from this summer that makes me smile every time. I hope you guys enjoy. :-) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

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You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Ready for the Holidays

2011-11-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

Have I said how much I love my LensBaby group? One of the moms had the most creative idea to set up several little Christmas settings on the porches of the historic houses at Chestnut Square in McKinney. It turned out so cute! Talk about a great opportunity to get some cute Christmas pictures! The kids and I had so much fun with this. Thanks Sara!!

Learning About Fall

2011-11-10T19:22:00.000-08:00

We decided to teach the kids about Fall this week. We had lots of fun things planned but we could tell the kids were just a little off because of the whole time change thing. So it was definitely a low key, flexible kind of day.

We started with a nature walk. We told the kids they could pick up whatever leaves, sticks, rocks, etc they could find and put it in the basket.

Haha...but little miss decided it was a game and mostly played keep away with the basket. The other kids had to chase her down to put their stuff in it. :-)

The nature walk didn't last nearly as long as we thought it would so we moved on to our sensory bin. We had it filled with pumpkins, pine cones, fall colored tissue paper and all of the treasures from our nature walk.

The sensory bin wasn't a big hit though so we moved on to our Fall bowling. We used our pumpkins from our bin to bowl with. The kids all found different ways to use the bottles and the pumpkins. It was fun to see what all they came up with but the bowling fizzled out fast too.

These cornucopias were actually the surprise hit of the day. After all of the movement type activities fizzled quickly we decided to have a low key day and we pulled these out. The kids all seemed excited to place their stickers at just the right places. Who knew?? :) {This one is Little Miss's.}

And this one is Little Man's. The extra benefit is we now have our table decorations for Thanksgiving. :)

We continued to try the sensory bin and bowling throughout the week. They played with them some but for short amounts of time each time. Here are a few more pictures I took throughout the week.

We also went ahead and created bird feeders from pine cones, peanut butter and bird seeds this week. This was an activity we had planned for tot time but with it being muddy outside and the kids being so tired we decided to skip it. But so far no birds??? Maybe it's too cold?? Or maybe they don't like the cinnamon smell? (Hehe, those are the only pine cones I could find this time of year.) Oh well...Happy Fall! :-)

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Linking up to Tot Time and You Capture's Fall Challenge.

Pumpkins at the Arboretum

2011-11-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

Last week we got a chance to go to the Arboretum with one of my mom friends. And we had such a good time! It was the perfect place to take the kids. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the pumpkins and in Texas Town. And we (the moms) actually got to enjoy a nice walk. It was so beautiful there and we actually got a chance to talk - so nice!! If you've ever tried to carry on a conversation while chasing 1 and 2 year olds, you know a whole conversation hardly ever happens. :-) We really enjoyed ourselves.

Oh and we got those elusive pumpkin pictures for the year. I had tried a couple of times this year to get some good pumpkin pictures, but the kids are so active now days that they just don't have time to stop and pose for me. So my friend and I figured out a tag team method. :-) We let one kid out of the stroller at a time and while one of us was taking a picture, the other one did everything we could to make that kid smile. Here are some of my favorites of the day.

{The Arboretum has such a beautiful pumpkin set up each year! And my friend did such a great job of getting him to smile for us. He was really enjoying himself. :-) }

{She didn't seem to feel just right this day though and really didn't want her picture taken. My friend's little boy was so sweet though. He let her play with his pin wheel which made her happy while I took a few pictures.}

{After our pumpkin pictures we walked over to Texas Town, which is filled with little houses for the kids to explore. He really enjoyed playing and climbing on this covered wagon.}

Our Halloween Carnival

2011-11-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

We had such a blast this Halloween! The kids are at that perfect age where they are starting to "get" all the holiday stuff which makes it so much fun. After enjoying our Trunk or Treat party the night before Halloween, we got to go to a Halloween Carnival with our LensBaby mom's group. All of the moms in the group are so creative so it turned out extremely cute.

{One of the mom's came up with the cutest marshmallow game where the kids had to try to eat the marshmallow off the line. And she loved it!! I don't think she had ever tried marshmallows before this but they were a HUGE hit!}

{Another mom brought Halloween bowling which Little Man seemed to love. He would set them up all by himself to knock them down again and again. This will definitely be something we do again soon.}

{And of course there was a Fall theme set up to take pictures with. With as active as they normally are, I was surprised they "posed" for me. He sat next to it like he was a seasoned model. Hehe...and I bribed her with a cookie.}

{There was also a cute bean bag toss game. The kids didn't quite use the bean bags as planned but they sure did enjoy playing with the Halloween wrapped toilet paper rolls!}

{We also had a pumpkin patch sensory bin and a "drop the spider in the pumpkin" game for the kids. All the moms did such a great job! Especially since it can be so hard finding games for such a young age group.}

{And of course mine both enjoyed the cookie table. :-) Oh and one of the mom's made the Halloween bunting for us - so cute and creative!!}

{And I have to add one more picture of her Halloween costume. I am not sure that I got any other pictures that had her complete costume down to her ruby red slippers while she was looking at me. :-) }

We had such a great time! I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year!!!

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Linking up to Tot School, You Capture, and Wordless Wednesday.

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

This year we went to the First Baptist Church of Gunter's Trunk or Treat celebration for Halloween. And we had such a great time! I was so impressed with their setup - there were bounce houses, and games, a hay ride, trunk or treating, contests, and so many fun things. And everyone we met was so nice. It was definitely a great time! We went with our little Dorothy and our Cowardly Lion. I know I am totally biased - but they were so cute!! :-)

{It was so great to be able to just relax and enjoy the hay ride.}

{The kids had their first taste of cotton candy. They loved it!!}

{They quickly discovered "Pop Pops".}

{And this year they both really "got" the candy thing. So much fun!!}

A New Toy

2011-10-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

Look what Little Man found today. Grandma and Grandpa brought this down to us for when he is a bit older, but he found it in the garage and decided it was time to play with it.

Luckily though he thinks you're supposed to ride it like this (which means I can save the panic attacks for later). :-)

He had a blast playing with his scooter until sister woke up. Then we all went and played in the backyard for a while. Here are a few more fun pictures I took while we played.

{Also my submission for the Paper Mama "Face" Challenge}

Let Them Be Little - An I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-10-21T05:55:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is "Let Them Be Little". I really love these moments of their lives - the moments where they are having so much fun doing the simple things in life. I hope I always remember these moments. And I hope their lives are full of these moments.

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You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Tickled Pink - An I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-10-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the I Heart Faces challenge this week is all about pink. I hope this never touches her life. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those that it has.

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You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Pumpkin Fun

2011-10-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

{P is for Pumpkin}

This week's "Tot Time" was all about pumpkins. We had so much fun! We started with our "P is for Pumpkin" pictures which quickly turned into pumpkin rolling. The kids discovered if they put their pumpkin down on the top of the hill it would roll all the way down. It became a very fun game. My friend and I really enjoyed watching them laugh and giggle as they chased their pumpkins. :-)

{Rolling Pumpkins - Not planned but a HUGE hit.}

Then we came inside to read and sing songs. The plan was to read "5 Little Pumpkins" and sing the Pumpkin songs that I found here. But today this didn't work very well for us (although we enjoyed the songs during bath time later). So we quickly moved on to our pumpkin patch.

{Our Pumpkin Patch}

{Cups to transfer our "grass" from the pumpkin patch.}

The kids really seemed to enjoy the pumpkin patch. They picked the pumpkins, played with the grass (packing peanuts) and just had an overall good time. We decided to let them just play and explore with this for quite a while. Here are some of candid shots from our pumpkin patch play.

After playing in our pumpkin patch for a while, we tried a new game. We took our pumpkins inside and put them on a parachute and tried going to the left and right, in and out with it. This wasn't too successful for us today either. So we had lunch and moved on to our craft. I had prepared the craft I found here for us to work on.

{Our Stain Glass Pumpkins}

We have talked about, played with and sung about pumpkins ever since we had our tot time. I love this time of year. Happy Halloween everyone!!! :-)

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Linking up to Tot School and Wordless Wednesday.

Raise Your Hands - An I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-10-06T20:20:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is "Raise Your Hands". We were asked to enter a picture with hands that we love. And I have to say I love these hands. These are the hands of three of the four best little friends - who play together, who get messy together, and who are sharing their childhood together. These are the hands of my twins and my friend's twins. I definitely love these hands!

You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Birthday Cupcakes and Balloons

2011-10-02T19:06:00.000-07:00

Last week we got to celebrate the twins birthday with all of our LensBaby friends. It was so great to catch up with some of the moms I hadn't gotten a chance to see in so long. And I love that the kids have such great little friends. We are so glad to be a part of this group. Here are a few of my favorite moments from the party.

{Enjoying our cupcakes}

{And enjoying our balloons!!}

Painting Fun

2011-09-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

{Our little artists at work...}

{Love their techniques...}

{I'm seeing so much potential here. :-) }

This week we spent our tot time having some painting fun. I have to admit I've never been brave enough to try this at my house with the kids. We've done a few hand prints and such but I've never turned them loose with a paint brush before. My friend had this set up so well at her house though. I left without a single drop of paint on me. :-)

{The Setup}

My friend had set up a muffin tin of 6 paint colors to choose from for us. The kids each got a q-tip to paint with (I never would have thought of that). And then she taped some butcher paper to her fence for them to create on. They really enjoyed it! You can tell from the pictures they took it quite seriously. :-)

{The Clean Up}

Another awesome idea - my friend put soap and water in the kids water table to let them clean up with before heading back inside. The kids loved the bubbles and had almost as much fun cleaning up as they did painting. They even starting cleaning up all of the paint supplies for us - an added bonus. :-)

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Linking up to Tot Time and Wordless Wednesday.

My Babies Turned 2!

2011-09-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my babies turned two!! It just doesn't seem like it has been that long ago that we were holding them in the hospital. We were so amazed at how little they were - both under 4 pounds. Time has flown since then. And it has been an amazing two years!!

We celebrated their birthday with a party of course. :-) We had a Woody and Jessie (from Toy Story) party and the kids all dressed up as cowboys and cowgirls.

We started them out outside to get a group cowboy/cowgirl picture by the hay bail. They really seemed to enjoy themselves outside. (I was able to take these pictures outside but it was too hard to take pictures during most of the party - so I'm thankful for my family and friends who captured the rest of the party memories for me!!)

Then we came inside and played pin the tail on Bullseye with silly string. I think the adults had as much fun as the kids with this. :-) We then ate "ham"burgers and "slinky" dogs, had alien cupcakes, and opened presents - so much fun!! And I almost forgot we got to pretend we were "The Claw" and grab a gift from the Claw Box at the end. The kids had a blast!!! And I still can't believe they are already 2.

A Touch of Sun - An I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-09-17T05:44:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is "A Touch of Sun". With the weather being so nice this past week we have been able to go outside a little more which has been wonderul!! We have really enjoyed getting out in the evenings for some family time. This night Daddy put her on top of the mailbox so I could snap a quick picture. :-)

You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Loving Our New Swings

2011-09-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa bought us swings when we moved. And the kids are loving them!!! Thank you so much Grandma and Grandpa!! :-)

I have so many hopes and dreams for them. :-)

I hope they will...

LIVE

Every Moment...

LAUGH

Every Day...

LOVE

Beyond Words...

Can you tell they are having fun? I think this may be a new favorite thing to do. They definitely didn't want to stop when it was time to go inside. I had to tell them we could go back tomorrow. :-)

Our Day at the Beach

2011-09-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

{S is for Sand}

My friend created a wonderful "tot time" for us this week. We spent the day at the beach. And the kids loved it!! Of course we started with our "S is for Sand" photo shoot.

{Shells at the Beach}

The first thing she created for us was a sensory table - she put sea shells throughout their sand table. This was a big hit! All of the kids seemed to enjoy digging for them and just playing with the sand in general.

{Playing with Beach Balls}

Of course every day at the beach needs beach balls. The kids didn't play with them that much though. I think they were too busy with the sand and water tables. (We did play with the beach balls big time when we got home though.)

{Beach Umbrellas}

She had a really cute craft set up for us. She had umbrellas and sea shells set up for us to put in a hand made sand sculpture. My two enjoyed the umbrellas and the sand but weren't as interested in the craft itself. Her two made some awesome sand sculptures though. It's amazing how much difference 4 months makes. We will definitely be trying this again soon. ;-)

{Beach Ice Cubes}

Then she brought out some ice cubes she made with sand and shells in them. I thought this was such a neat idea - the kids all seemed most interested in the fact that they were "cold" though.

{Sweet Kiss at the Beach}

And who could resist a cute kiss at the beach. I thought this was so sweet!!! Little Miss has been so loving to every one lately. :-)

{Beach Day Out Takes}

We had such a great time! And I definitely got a little picture happy. ;-) Thank you to our friends for such a great day!

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Linking up to Tot Time and Wordless Wednesday.

Our version of "Back to School" - An I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-09-11T05:52:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is "Back to School". The kids aren't really old enough to go to school yet but we have started our own version of "Tot Time" - basically where I'm trying to teach them something new while we play. My friend and I who are doing this together start each session with a photo shoot so that we can make personalized alphabet flash cards for them. This week's theme was "B is for Bear". But it also makes the perfect "Apple for the Teacher" picture too. :-)

You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Fun Family Time

2011-09-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

Because we've had such a beautiful week, we've been able to enjoy going outside more in our evenings. It's been great!! And since I had made the kids fire trucks during the week I decided I wanted to get a few more pictures with them before they were destroyed. Here are some of our outtakes. :-)

Little man wasn't sure he wanted to take a picture in the truck at first but he quickly warmed up to it and gave us a great smile!

But my sugars wanted nothing to do with the truck so Daddy had to get her smiling for us.

They played chase. She just knew he was going to get her. :-)

Then he let her sit on the mailbox.

That was fun for only a few minutes and then she was ready to get down.

Then she, little man, and Daddy all started looking for flowers to pick.

That was the trick!! I put the truck next to some flowers.

Success!!! We all had such a great time! :-)

F is for Fire Truck

2011-09-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

{F is for Fire Truck}

We had such a great time at tot time with the kids this week. This week's theme was safety. We started with our "F is for Fire Truck" photo shoot. We took a nice walk to a fire hydrant down the road from us to take our pictures. I had made each kid their own cardboard fire truck to play with (which I have to admit I had so much fun doing). :-)

{F is for Flowers?}

{Stop, Drop, and Roll}

{Our walk}

The kids loved our walk. We could tell they loved the freedom to run and play as we went. They were having such a good time playing outside that they were only mildly interested in the fire trucks but it was well worth the trip. (Honestly I didn't get any good pictures of my little girl with the fire trucks so we tried again later with Daddy. Hehe...and the only way I could get her near the truck this time was by putting it beside some flowers for her to pick.) :-)

{Stop, Drop and Roll Games}

After our walk and photo shoot, we read our book and talked about how to "Stop, Drop and Roll". The kids loved this! And it was so cute to watch them all stop, drop, and roll on the floor.

Once we were done with this, we played with our red "Stop" signs (like in the first puppy picture) and matching green "Go" signs. We did this rhyme while holding up our "stop" and "go" signs:
        '
              "Where is Red Light? Where is Red Light?   Here I am. Here I am.
                When you see me, When you see me. Stop, Stop, Stop. Stop, Stop, Stop."

              "Where is Green Light? Where is Green Light? Here I am. Here I am.
                When you see me, When you see me. Go, Go, Go. Go, Go, Go."

Then we played a "Stop and Go" game where we would have the kids "Go, go, go, go.....STOP". The kids loved this and were so interactive with it all. It was so much fun!

{How to safely cross the road.}

I had also made a road so that we could learn to stop and look both ways before crossing the street. This was probably our least successful part of our day. The kids immediately tore up the road and that was that. :-)

{Our Fire Trucks}

We have continued playing our "Stop and Go" games, "Stop, Drop and Roll" and playing with our fire trucks ever since. It was so exciting watching the kids learn something new. I can't wait to play again next week!

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Linking up to Tot Time, Wordless Wednesday and You Capture's "Back to School" Challenge.

B is for Bear - {Tot Time for 2 year olds}

2011-09-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

{B is for Bear}

A friend and I have decided to do tot time for our kids once a week. Our hope is to expose them to new things and help them learn through having fun. Today's theme was bears. We decided we would start each session with a quick photo shoot so that we can create alphabet flashcards to go with our lesson. The kids really seemed to enjoy going outside for a few minutes even though it was still pretty hot out.

{Going on a Bear Hunt}

We started our morning (after the photo shoot) with circle time which included reading "Going on a Bear Hunt". The kids listened to the story really well which really impressed me. Then after we read the book we went on our own bear hunt. We went through the "Dora tunnel", around the kid table, over the aluminum foil path, and down the slide. We found the bear with a prize of homemade bear ears for each kid. The kids were semi-impressed with the ears and the bear hunt. :-)

{Playing with Puppets}

After our bear hunt, we played with our bear puppets. This only kept our interest for a few minutes but it was nice to see that they were somewhat interested in them - makes me look forward to all the future craft activities we can do. :-)

{Teddy Bear Picnic}

We finished our morning with a teddy bear picnic. We gathered up all of our bears on a blanket and enjoyed a nice lunch. We counted that 9 bears joined us. Oh and we practiced our bear growls. :-) All in all the kids had a great time! And it gave my friend and I more insight on what the kids might and not be interested in as 2 year olds.

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Disclaimer: Everything was moving too fast to get a lot of pictures of the kids today. :-)

Linking up to Tot Time and You Capture's Peace Challenge. (The tot time really is giving me more peace of mind about doing something positive for my children's future.)

Hope - {An FStop Frenzy Challenge}

2011-09-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown

When I saw how much these two adore each other, all I could think of was "Faith, Hope, and Love..." Such a beautiful relationship between this aunt and niece. I was so glad I got a chance to capture these moments.

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Linking up to the FStop Frenzy Challenge of Hope.

Pet Week from I Heart Faces

2011-08-21T06:42:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is "Pets". (It doesn't have to be your actual pets.) So I pass by this red barn by our house all the time and something about it always catches my attention. I finally couldn't resist stopping to take pictures. It was so nice that when I decided to stop that the horse actually posed for me. :-)

You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Photo Shoot with Miss L

2011-08-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

Today I got the opportunity to do a photo shoot with Miss L. It was so different to take pictures of a 7 year old instead of two toddlers. She actually stood still and smiled pretty for the camera. And I wasn't chasing after her as she was running away laughing. It was amazing! So much fun! :-)

We met Miss L and her aunt this morning at the park. And while her aunt entertained my kids I got a chance to take pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

After Miss L and I took pictures for a while, we all stopped and had donuts. And I was able to capture a few more pictures of her with her aunt. I think they look so sweet together!

And of course not to worry a good time was had by all. Miss L was great at entertaining my kids too! :-)

I think we may have to go back to this park and play some more some time. Thank you so much Miss L for letting me take your picture today!!

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Linking up to this week's "You Capture" challenge. This was my not so ordinary moments in an ordinary day.

Beautiful Eyes

2011-08-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is "Beautiful Eyes". And I know I'm biased but I think her eyes are absolutely stunning!

You can check out other entries on the I Heart Faces website as well.

Happiness in the Heat

2011-08-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

It's been so hot here this summer that I've taken a break from taking pictures - mainly because I enjoy taking pictures outside with good lighting. So today I decided to break out my light scoop and practice some indoor pictures. I was so glad I did. The kids were having so much fun.

It was too hot to play outside, so instead the kids snuggled in our bed. (It looks so sweet and it is but she wasn't really snuggling as much as she was "getting" him.) :-)

Another favorite indoor activity for now is sitting in the chair. I don't let them get in these chairs too often because I'm afraid they will fall if I'm not hovering over them. :-) So I'm sure it makes it extra fun whenever Daddy lets them get in it.

We also finally decided to get the kids a water table to play with to help with all of the heat. They love splashing in it and climbing in it. If you look closely at this picture you can tell she is dripping wet from her hair and chin. :-)

(Also if you notice the babies are in their diapers in all of the pictures. They had already played in the water table once by the time I decided to grab my camera. They were dripping wet when they came in so we had to take their clothes off to dry.)

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This week's You Capture challenge is Happiness. I thought it would be a good time to start linking back up. :-)

The Forest

2011-06-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

I love the new trick the kids are doing - they are talking! :-) They have been saying words for the last several months but now they have full blown conversations with each other. In the mornings they always come in and snuggle with me - one of my favorite times of the day! But now while we are snuggling they will sit and talk to each other and laugh like they are telling each other the funniest jokes. I so wish I knew what they were saying! And where is that video camera? :-)

I have even noticed at our play dates they are starting to have conversations with their little friends. I love that!! We had a couple of really fun play dates this week. One at a friends house who had a tent set up for us to play in and a ball pit. The kids and I had a blast. The other was a play date in the Forest (a small wooded park in McKinney). :-)

Here are some of our pictures from the Forest. Notice the new friendship that was started - so cute!!!

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This week's "You Capture" theme is purple. We don't have a lot of purple going on except her cup. But I wanted to share this with my "You Capture" friends. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

My babies have the most amazing Daddy! I love watching the little traditions they are creating with him. My little girl has to have cereal with daddy first thing in the morning. I tried making her "cereal with Momma" one morning and she took the bowl straight to Daddy. It was really cute!! My little man sings his song that consists only of the words "Da Da Da Da". :-) And they both want to be right by his side whenever he's home.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my two guys together. My husband loves DIY stuff and the Handyman Magazines. And my little guy loves anything his daddy loves. It's just too sweet!!

Happy Father's Day Kevin!!!

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"Let's Hear it for the Boys" photo challenge from the I Heart Faces website.

I finished my photography class. :-)

2011-06-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

With us moving, I never got the chance to post about the rest of my photography classes. I have to say I really enjoyed the class and would definitely recommend it. Here are the topics we talked about the last 3 weeks.

Week 4 - We focused this week on studio lighting. Our instructor showed us how to set up and use all of the studio equipment. And I must say there is a lot to it. I think I will stick to natural lighting for the time being. Maybe as I get better I will venture out a little into the studio world but for now...bring on the sun! :-) (The only disappointing part of this class to me was we didn't get a chance for any hands on photography that day.)

Week 5 - This week we focused on creating movement in our pictures. The two main techniques we used were panning our cameras in the direction of the action and also manually changing our zoom length while taking pictures. Here are examples of both that I took during class.

This is one where I panned my camera along with the car as they were driving by. My goal was to make the car stand still while the background looked like it was moving.

In this picture I changed my zoom from far away to close up while taking this picture. My goal was to create a focal point in the center of the picture while the surrounding area was blurred. I thought it was a cool effect. :-)

Week 6 - In our final class we finally got to practice using the studio lighting. I had a blast with this. We were supposed to have a professional model come to class this day. But when she never showed up, one of our classmate's grandsons volunteered to fill in. He wants to become an actor one day and does quite a bit of acting with his school. He was such a great sport. Here are some of the pictures I took of him.

This class really has me considering the realm of professional photography. I think I may be ready to start doing sessions soon. And I'm very excited about that!! :-)

And finally speaking of being so busy, here is one last picture. This was during the week we moved (notice all the boxes in the background).

My in-laws came the week of the move and were a huge help to us!! And who knew their dog would be such a huge help in the move too. He was very patient while she led him all around the house. It kept her busy (and us entertained) for quite a while. She was very upset when he had to go home. :-)

Lots of Sprinkler Fun

2011-06-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

Now that summer is here it's almost too hot to go outside especially in the afternoons. Luckily we found the coolest little water toy for the kids. They both LOVE anything that has water!! It took a little while to get it all blown up (it's a good thing we're both full of plenty of hot air...hehe). But once we got it ready, the kids had such a great time. I know what we'll be doing a lot of this summer! Here is a look at how much fun they were having. :-)

I think this is the first time he smiled today. He wasn't feeling well. :-(

They both played so hard in the water. E had so much fun she even gave the star a kiss before we went inside. :-)

And Momma had fun because I got to practice freezing the water drops. I had been wanting to get a picture like that. :-)

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Since the kids are too young for "formal" games. This is our fun and games for the week for our "You Capture" challenge too.

I Heart this Face

2011-05-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is the favorite face picture you took in the month of May. And even though I've posted this one before I have to say I absolutely LOVE this face - my beautiful little girl. The challenge this week is a people's choice challenge so please feel free to go to their website and vote for her. :-)

You can check out some other fun May face pictures at the I Heart Faces website as well.

A Pretty Challenge

2011-05-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

This weeks "You Capture" challenge was pretty. And since we finally made it to the Arboretum, (Yay!!) I thought it would be fun to post all of the pretty pictures I took for this challenge. :-) The kids and I had such a blast today with the photography moms and their kids - the moms are all so sweet and our kids wore themselves out. We met in the Texas Town area so the kids had a lot of room to run around and play. Then we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was a great day!

Yellow ~ An I Heart Faces Challenge

2011-05-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

This week's I Heart Faces Challenge theme is yellow. I took this picture at a play date we were at with some of the moms from my photography group at the Frisco Heritage Museum - such a great spot. It has lots of cute little buildings that the kids can explore. And he was so impressed by this wild flower while we were there that I couldn't help but take a picture. :-)

You can check out some other fun yellow pictures at the I Heart Faces website.

Busy, Busy, Busy - "Challenge"

2011-05-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

This week's "You Capture" challenge is busy and we definitely have been!! We've been unpacking fools lately as we're getting settled into the new house. But since it's not always easy to get things done around the house when the kids are awake, the kids have been busy too. :-) They have played outside a lot, run errands with us, had some play dates, and overall just been having a great time. Here are some of the pictures of what we have been up to.

They have been playing outside a LOT!!

They love playing on their new slide, in the dirt, with their ball - anything outside equals fun now days.

They have also been playing with their toys and books more. We moved them into their own rooms and they seem to love it! We have been playing in them quite a bit.

We even managed to sneak in a play date with my photography group to Chesnut Square in McKinney. Beautiful location but man the kids are fast now days. :-)

And probably my favorite thing was watching E make a new friend today. She had so much fun walking around with her new friend and giving her hugs. It was so sweet!!

May Flowers ~ An I Heart Faces and You Capture Challenge

2011-05-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

I really enjoy doing challenges. I feel like they make me try to become more creative with my photography. So I thought I would try out a new challenge this week from I Heart Faces. The theme this week is May flowers. I also wanted to add this to the "You Capture" challenge. :-) We have such beautiful wild flowers around here and I absolutely love the Indian Paint Brushes. I told my husband I would love to take a picture of some of them. So while he was mowing today, he found some for me and brought them back for me to photograph. :-) He's the best!! I hope you enjoy!!

You can check out some other fun flower pictures at the I Heart Faces website.

Butterflies and Mommies ~ "Challenge"

2011-05-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

The You Capture challenge for this week was Motherhood. I almost didn't post for the week because I wasn't sure I could capture a picture that would represent all that motherhood is - the special bond and love that you have for your kids, the worry you do about them all the time about EVERY thing, and all the fun moments you share.

Some of my twin mom friends and I went to a butterfly festival at the Collin Creek mall yesterday and I found a fun mommy moment to share . There was a tent set up with hundreds of unsuspecting butterflies for the kids to touch and look at. :-) Hehe...and apparently my son wanted to see how they tasted.

For me it was such a mommy moment because as he was just about to put the butterfly in his mouth, two of my mom friends and I all instinctively yelled "no" at the same time and reached for him to stop. The mommy just came out in us. Luckily we stopped him just in time. *** Disclaimer - No butterflies were hurt in our visit to the mall. :-)

We enjoyed our visit with the butterflies. Here are a couple of other fun pictures I was able to take while we were there.

Outside ~ This week's You Capture Challenge

2011-05-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

We've been so busy moving and packing the last week or two that we haven't had enough outside time. So yesterday we finally got a chance to enjoy the great outdoors and take some pictures for this week's "You Capture" challenge. The kids LOVED going outside to play. We met some friends from my photo moms group at The Frisco Heritage Museum and they had a blast running around from building to building. It was a cute little place - great place to take pictures!

Then later after lunch and naps the kids and I decided to take a nature walk. I love living out in the country and seeing such beautiful scenery. It was definitely a wonderful day!

Spring ~ This week's You Capture Challenge

2011-04-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

This week's "You Capture" challenge was Spring. A couple of the moms in my Lens Baby group and I got a chance to enjoy a nice Spring morning yesterday. We went and took another shot at the bluebonnets. Then we went on to the mall for some kid play time and lunch. My kids were so worn out afterwards and had so much fun. It was a great day!! Here are some of my new bluebonnet attempts. :-)

Smiles ~ This week's You Capture Challenge.

2011-04-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

This weeks "You Capture" challenge was smiles. We didn't have a lot of smiles this week because we had a sick little girl. But we found some time to sneak out this morning and capture a few quick smiles.

He was definitely ready to get outside and play.

And thankfully she seems to be feeling a little better today too. Yay!!

Creating Depth - Week 3 of my Photography Class

2011-04-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

This past week in my photography class was a lot of fun. We focused on creating depth in our photos. Basically what we did was place something in front of the object that we wanted to focus on to give a blur to the foreground of our picture. Here's some pictures that will probably better describe what I mean. (The trick was to be fairly close to the object in front that you didn't want in focus. Then set your focal points on your main object). It was a lot of fun to try a new perspective.

Portraits - Week 2 of my Photography Class

2011-04-09T19:38:00.000-07:00

Last week we talked about portraits in my photography class. This is a topic I'm hugely interested in. We spent our first hour talking about our assignments from the week before and going over some portraits - looking mainly at the lighting, composition and camera settings for each picture. Then we went to the campus's parking garage and took turns having mini-portrait sessions of our classmates.

Here are some of the things we focused on about portrait sessions:

Atmosphere - Having a good relationship with the person you are taking a picture with is very important to having a good session. If your subject is uncomfortable or stressed then that will show through in the picture. So at the start (and throughout) each session it's important to spend time getting to know the people you are taking pictures of to help them relax and have a good time.
Lighting - The lighting often creates the mood of the picture. For outdoor portraits, the ideal time to take pictures is early morning, late evening, or on overcast days. This isn't always possible though so sometimes finding a shady area can help to keep harsh lights out of the people's faces. If you can't avoid harsh sun light then you can use your on camera flash to minimize the effects of the light. (Hehe...I was a little skeptical of this so I tried it last weekend while taking our bluebonnet pictures and it really did help.) :-)
Camera Settings - We were told the ideal lens length for portraits is between 80 mm and 100 mm. The longer lens length helps to blur the background more and create a prettier bokeh.

Focus - The most important thing to get in focus on any picture is the eyes and nose.
Aperture - To get the sharpest picture it usually helps to set your aperture 1 1/2 to 2 stops above your widest aperture. (So for example, if you have a 1.8 lens then your sharpest images would be somewhere between 3 and 4.) If you are taking pictures of multiple people, you would want to increase the aperture to be around 4 or 5 to help keep everyone in focus - especially if they are on different planes.
Shutter Speed - The shutter speed should be at least the length of your lens (although shooting at a shutter speed less than 60 brings in a greater chance of motion blur.)
ISO - The ISO on a clear day should be about 200 or less. On a cloudy day it should be around 400 or less. And in low-light indoor type situations it should be around 800 or less.

Composition - It's often best when taking a picture to get on eye level with your subject. So if you are taking a picture of kids then you would probably want to get lower to the ground to take their picture. Playing with your camera angles though can definitely make for interesting effects.

Of course there are a lot of "rules" to help make your portraits look amazing but there is always room for creativity. Lots of practice and learning from others work are two things that really help a photographer to discover their own unique style.

That's definitely not a complete summary of everything there is to learn about portraits but I enjoyed the class. And still can't wait to learn more. Here are some of the pictures I took during our class time.

*** Please feel free to add any more tips or ideas in the comment section of this blog post. I really would learn to love more. And of course if I missed something please let me know as well. ***

Some Easter Fun ~ A New You Capture Challenge

2011-04-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

Our new "You Capture" challenge this week was fun. And we had lots of fun today! One of the mom's in my photo mom's group invited us over to take pictures with bunnies and chicks. E absolutely loved the baby chicks!! And I had such a great time watching their expressions. I already can't wait to do this again next year. :-)

Texas Bluebonnets

2011-04-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

It is starting to become a tradition for us to take the kids to get their pictures in the bluebonnets each year. This was our second year and it was definitely a different experience this year than it was last year. Last year we took the kid's boppy pillows and laid them in the bluebonnets. We got great pictures of them together and individually. This year they were on the move!! So I didn't get the picture of both of them sitting in the bluebonnets smiling sweetly at their momma. Is that even possible with 18 month olds?? :-) But we did get some fun pictures.

Ha! Please ignore her shoes...I took nice dressy shoes for her but apparently she outgrew them. Who knew?? :-)

All About Composition - Week One of my Photography Class

2011-04-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

I started a photography class last Saturday at the local community college and am so excited about it. I feel like it's a great opportunity to learn so much. Our classes start with an hour of lecture followed by an hour of taking pictures and then an hour of question/answer. Afterwards we are given a homework assignment to work on throughout the week. This week's assignments were fences and a self portrait.

Here are some of the things I learned in my first week:

Always allow your subject to fill the whole picture. The campus has some beautiful tulips out front that I was able to take a picture of during our hour of photos. I talked to the teacher about them and his emphasis was on the composition of the picture - always double checking for the best lighting, focus, and background. It really made me think more about it when taking pictures.

For our fence assignment, the teacher wanted us to capture a fence that went from left to right. He also wanted us to shoot it in black and white so that we could concentrate on the composition of the picture and not the colors. There is a fence on the way to Gunter that always catches my eye so I took a picture of that one.

The interesting thing about this picture to me is that when I took it, the composition went from right to left. The teacher gave us a great tip in class though that Photoshop allows you to flip a picture horizontally. I was able to change the fence to make it look as if it is going from left to right.

The self-portrait! This was a tough one. I decided to go outside in our back yard and try to take a picture of myself laying on the ground. I put a flower where I wanted my eyes to be so I could focus the camera on that point. And then once I started the timer I would try to get in the right position. I tried several different positions in the sunlight, different distances from the camera, and different angles to turn my face to get the most flattering picture. Honestly I didn't get any I liked but I thought it was a great assignment because it made me think of so many things - getting the focus right, the lighting, how should my hair lay, how should my face be turned, what angle should I shoot at...there is a lot that goes into portrait photography for sure. I debated about whether to post my self-portrait because I didn't like the finish product but here it is...

Tomorrow's class is about portrait photography. I can't wait to learn more!!!!

Rainy Day Vibrance ~ You Capture Challenge

2011-03-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

This week's "You Capture" challenge was vibrance. A friend and I had big plans to take our kids to the Arboretum to get some great vibrance pictures. Instead it rained - so we settled for a fun indoor play date with pictures taken with the flowers I bought from Michaels. Not quite the Arboretum but still fun pictures just the same. :-)

These are our flowers. Next time, Arboretum! :-)

No flowers - but I couldn't resist adding this one. :-)

I'm sure it's a Momma thing but I loved how the blue accented her eyes in this one.

She really does love flowers!

Pin Wheels, Bunny Ears, and Little Girls ~ You Capture Challenge "Youth"

2011-03-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun at a play date with a good friend and her beautiful little girl. Our kids played so hard and laughed so much. I love listening to little girls giggle. It also made for some great photos for this week's "You Capture" challenge of Youth. Here is my photo challenge picture.

I love these girls!!

Here are some more fun pictures of our little girls.

I love how her personality just sparkled!

And of course I think her smile is irresistable! :-)

The Super Moon

2011-03-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist trying to capture the Super Moon tonight. Here is my best attempt of the night.

Emotion in Black and White ~ You Capture Challenge

2011-03-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

This week's "You Capture" Challenge was to capture emotion in black and white. We had the most fun this week at the park with some friends. The kids had such a blast and you can see it all over their faces. I can't wait to get together with everyone again soon!! Here are my pictures for this week's challenge.

He had so much fun at the park!!

A new photo challenge ~ You Capture

2011-03-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine found a great weekly photo challenge for us to do. I love doing challenges because it really makes me think more creatively about photography. This week's theme from "You Capture" was body parts.

I took the pictures and then added a frame from Picnik.com.

Happy Valentine's Day!! (A little late...) :-)

2011-03-04T20:58:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Valentine's Day this year! The kids and I celebrated with Daddy the night before. He made us a great dinner and brought us some chocolate covered strawberries too. What more could you want!! (And he surprised me with a great new photography book - Yay!!) Then on Valentine's Day I had some of my twin mom friends over for a fun play date. It was so great to see them and take some fun Valentine Day pictures of the kids too. Here are some of my favorites.

He really liked this lollipop!! He was such a great Valentine. :-)

I wanted to put her in a tutu so badly. I'm so glad I got the chance! :-)

I loved that we had several little girls in tutus that day. So cute and happy!

And I love the hug between brother and sister - so sweet!!

I had several chances to take Valentine Day pictures this year which was so much fun for me! At one of my photo moms play date I got a chance to take a picture of this little girl. Isn't she just too cute?

We also had a great visit with Grandma and Grandpa Saindon Valentine's week. We're so glad they got to come! They gave Kevin and I some wonderful date time. The kids loved playing with them. And I got the chance to take a fun photoshoot with Grandma and Grandpa. I learned a very important lesson from this shoot - always triple check your camera settings before taking pictures. I forgot to adjust my ISO so many of my pictures didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, but here is one of my favorites.

The kids love their Grandma and Grandpa so much! I'm so glad we were able to get some fun pictures with them.

What a great Valentine's week!! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!! (A little late...) :-)

A Beautiful February in Texas

2011-03-02T18:10:00.000-08:00

The weather here has been absolutely amazing lately. And the kids have LOVED playing outside. They love running around our backyard and have discovered wild flowers. :-) It's been so much fun seeing the flowers again for the first time through their eyes. We've been having so much fun!

She was picking a flower for her Momma! I love her! :-)

I love how intensely she is taking it in.

We have enjoyed all of the outdoor play dates too! Here are some pictures I took from an outing with my photo mom's group to a beautiful meadow. You can't beat an afternoon with some amazing moms, their beautiful children, and such great scenery!

They all loved the wagon!

He was enjoying the day. I love that smile!

And she was having so much fun!

The kids were too cute! And wonderful models for us! :-)

I hope the weather stays like this for us throughout the Spring. Definitely great photography and playing weather in Texas!

Capturing the Moment

2011-02-28T18:25:00.000-08:00

The thing I love most about photography is capturing the special moments - those unplanned, unscripted moments of sheer joy and love that you want to remember forever. That is what I try so hard to capture whenever I take pictures. When I was becoming interested in photography, I very quickly realized that I had lots to learn. I was very lucky that I found an amazing photography moms group. The kids and I love this group. It has given me a lot of opportunities to learn more about photography and has provided both the kids and I with a chance to make great friendships and have some fun adventures. Here are a few of my favorite pictures I took over the last 6 months as I've been learning more and more.

They couldn't stop laughing! I loved this moment!!! :-)

Such a little girl!

Definitely his Daddy's boy! :-)