saturday

It feels like we are actually having a winter this year with these pictures from Saturday.  Thankfully the temperatures were still cold enough for the kids to make a huge snowman and toboggan at Grandma and Grandpa's.  Andrew captured these first 3 pictures from inside the house.

Then I went outside and got closer to the action.

 The real reason for getting together was to celebrate the two January birthdays.

this morning

There wasn't a lot of time this morning but I knew I would regret not getting this picture.  Jesse was quick to undo his mohawk when putting on his hat.  But Nathaniel listened to his sister's advice and was careful with how he walked and sat during the ride to school.  

I can't help but fast forward a number of years to when my teenagers will hopefully be helping each other out with hair designs and advice on relationships.  Thankfully we have some time to prepare for this stage.

this year's fort

The weather today is glorious!  The sun is shining brightly and the fresh layer of snow was the exact invitation the kids needed to play outside.  

This fort began even before the snow fell.  My kids began constructing the wall of logs.  This past week they have been "tiling" using slush.  Today Abigail continued with the tiling using the wonderful feathery snow.

 Thank you to the sun and my children for getting me outside with my camera!

shoot like no one is watching

I take a lot of pictures.  I take pictures for clients.  I take pictures for my family.  And I take pictures for myself.    I do it because I love it and I want to improve my skills.  This means challenging myself in locations with less than perfect light.  Pushing myself to tell a story with my pictures even when the shot isn't technically perfect.  What does all this mean for me?  It means I need to be willing to pull out my camera in a movie theatre.  Or lay on the floor in the grocery store.  Or simply lug my camera out with me as I go about my daily activities.  When I first started doing this I found myself caring what other people thought.  I didn't want to draw attention to myself or my kids.  But as I continued to shoot, I had to push these insecurities and worries aside.  I made myself focus on the story I was telling.  The moment I was capturing.  The lesson I was learning as I challenged my photography skills.

So my simple advice for anyone who wants to take better pictures.  You need to practice.  You need to experiment.  You need to shoot like no one is watching.

These pictures were taken when our family went out to the movies a few weeks ago.  When taking shots in the theatre, I tried to catch a moment when the screen was bright so I would have more light reflecting on my kids' faces.  I also did this during the previews so I wasn't disturbing the movie.  I don't use my flash so I didn't need to worry about disrupting people with light, but I didn't want to distract my family.  We also spent some time in the mini arcade.  It was fun to experiment with the different light coming off the games.
Practice, practice, practice!

seven

Having a birthday on the weekend means you can stay in your pjs for presents and be back in your pjs for cake!  Nathaniel decided on how we spent Saturday - gifts in the morning, out for a movie in the afternoon as a family (saw Chipwrecked), pizza for supper and ice cream cake before bedtime.

First there were gifts after breakfast.

He would have preferred a large wooden djembe, but he warmed up to the smaller size once he gave it a try.

His response to a Sidney Crosby puzzle.

Working on a Star Wars lego kit.

After baths, we got ready for cake.

As we waited for the candles to be lit, my wonderful boy paused long enough to allow me to get this great shot.

Jesse watching the candles being lit.

He needed a bit of reminding that it wasn't his birthday.

It was a perfect day celebrating Nathaniel!