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Sliding Out of Summer

It’s been a perfect summer, weather-wise. We had a week or two where the temperatures reached into the 90s, but mostly it’s been high 70s to mid 80s. Late May, all summer long? I’ll take it.

That means we’ve spent a lot of time outside, playing in our new yard, planting our new garden, walking up and down our new street. We have great neighbors. We love our new neighborhood.

There are parts of me that miss living out in the country. My commute is not nearly as fun, photographically and spiritually, as it used to be. It’s all intersections and highway these days. I miss the quiet, and the trees. But then an airplane flies over our house every few hours, and the kids look up to watch it pass overhead, and it becomes one of those neat little things that make the new home so fun.

This summer I’ve worked steadily on the new portrait project. I photograph the kids as they play around the yard. But there haven’t been any photographic adventures – not like there used to be. There are only so many hours in the day, and photography’s slice of the pie is getting smaller and smaller.

That’s okay. My camera’s always ready when I need it to be. Like these late summer evenings when I can’t resist heading out to the front porch and watching the sun set.


Born An Artist

Born An Artist

We never had to prompt either kids to pick up a crayon and start doodling.

They both do it totally on their own. The crayons are always there, there’s always paper handy – they just need to sit down and scribble. It’s what they do.

That’s a good feeling, to have both kids take to art and music. It’s our fault, of course, as parents, because we surround ourselves with such things. It’s what we do.

As a kid, my parents always had music going in the house, and we loved to doodle and color in coloring books. But neither of my parents really did music (like play an instrument), or did art (as a hobby, say). I took their small spark and ran with it.

It’s exciting to think about what these kids will do.


Let’s-A Go

My wife does a great job at themed birthday parties. Both kids have never wanted for a fun, tied-together celebration, from Lego to Batman to Daisy Duck.

This year, the boy turned six, and picked Mario for his birthday theme. So, as usual, we went all out.

My wife is big Disney fan. Her family goes to Disney World every few years, she knows all the movies and songs, her mom collects all the figurines. They’re a Disney Family.

Nintendo is my Disney, being a video game kid and growing up with Super Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda. For this party, I was in my element:

Birthday party

And sure, all the kids had fun with the theme, too.

Little kids in Mario mustaches? The best.


Easter Sunday

Maybe it’s the colors, or maybe because it’s Spring, but Easter is always one of my favorite holidays to shoot.

We had a good (and busy) one this year, full of Nintendo gear and jelly beans. And the weather was fantastic.

Birth. Rebirth. The world waking up. The birds chirping. Our collective sweet tooth, satisfied.


Getting Some Fresh Air

Back on New Year’s Day, I came down with something terrible: fever, chills, aches, and an all-encompassing drowsiness. It was so bad I had to cancel holidays plans with my family.

By day three, I was going stir-crazy, so the boy and I headed outside during an unseasonably warm January day to get some fresh air. It had to help, even a little, to take a walk around the neighborhood.

We walked our usual path down by the lake, and through the neighborhood trails – to the giant pile of concrete rubble that sits on the farm property just outside the residential zone.

The walk didn’t end up helping all that much, long-term, but to my feverish head and aching lungs, breathing that foggy Midwestern air provided a much-needed break.


Moving Day

Well, it’s done – we took the weekend and moved into our new house.

Despite some bumps and bruises, and a run-in with the local utility, we’re all moved in and getting settled. Luckily, we had a lot of help from friends and family, so we got most of it done on Saturday.

Moving is a stressful time for me, as it is for most people. Mostly, I try to focus on the task at hand and get the job done. From here, I’ll worry about making this new house feel like our home. It’s all the little things – finding the new morning routine, or the location of my shoes (where DID I leave those?) – that trips me up.