Halloween Party at the Zoo

We went back to the Halloween Party at the Zoo this year. I know a lot of zoos across the country do variations of this and it's fantastic. Zoo staff dress up in costumes and hand out treats to the kids. Evan's been a few times and really got into it this year, though he still was a little shy around some of the characters.

The light was a challenge for all of us.





Evan imitating me. But he's so much cuter.





Meeting his heroes.





I love the dramatic lion.





More Halloween fun to come!

Two Important Questions

Evan and I got a pretty special delivery a couple of weeks ago from my friend, Alicia. Alicia and I were college roommates at UE and even though until just a few days ago she lived in Colorado since she graduated, we've stayed in touch, flying back and forth to visit each other over the years. I won't say how many years because that somehow might imply we're old. We did have email when we were in college. Barely.

Anyway, Alicia recently got engaged and has moved to San Diego where her fiance, James, was recently relocated for his job. They're getting married back in Denver next August. Alicia has been an amazing bridesmaid for too many friends to count (let's just say she could empathize with Katherine Heigl in 27 Dresses). It speaks volumes to the wonderful friend that she is that so many women would want her there on their biggest day. (That, and she knows how to throw fantastic bridal showers and bachelorette parties!)

I would imagine then that picking bridesmaids for her own wedding was no easy task. Part of me thought she might skip that role altogether, having done it so many times herself, with the dresses to prove it. We had talked many times since the official engagement and she made no mention of a bridal party. I looked at some of the locations she sent me via email and a few different photographers, so I was happy to help however I could, regardless of the role.

Then, this package arrived after I'd gotten home late from work one night. I wasn't expecting anything, and the return address was a mystery. Leave it to Alicia to be uniquely clever. I opened the box to find this:



There was another little note behind the big question signed from Alicia (and James).



How cute is that?!

We've been friends a long time, so maybe the question itself wasn't a huge surprise, but the other thing I found in the box sure was.

There was another cookie.



For Evan.



Alicia is a very smart woman. I mean, it was pretty smart to bribe the adult with a cookie, even if I'd have done it anyway. But if you want a 3 year old to do something for you, cookies are a good move. It was pretty late when the package arrived and Evan was already in bed, so I had to wait until the next day to show it to him.



Think he was excited? I had to explain what Auntie Alicia was asking him, and at first he misunderstood me. He thought I was telling him he had to go to the mountains and marry Auntie Alicia. I could see him thinking this out and knew I had to work on my explanation.

M: "You just have to carry some rings and hand them to someone."
E: "Will there be cookies?"
M: "Yes."
E: "Okay."


I talked to Alicia the next day and let her know how honored we'd be to participate. But I thought I should at least try to be creative in my response. I don't bake all that well so sending back a burnt cookie in the shape of the word, "Yes," just didn't seem like a good idea. So, here it is, our official response to two important questions.

Fall Fun

A couple of weeks ago, Evan and I met up with some friends at our local orchard and winery before the hectic pumpkin patch season. For the end of September it was still pretty busy. We went last year when my friend Heidi was pregnant with her baby, Simon. Now he's almost a year old!

The boys had fun on the wagon ride. Evan did his best to ignore Simon's attempts to poke him in the eye.





Last year Evan was preoccupied with eating the apples.



This year he helped me pick them.



I only got a few shots before it started raining, but the boys didn't let a little rain bother them.

Scott Kelby Annual Worldwide Photo Walk

This past Saturday was the 4th Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. Who is Scott Kelby? He's Adobe's (makers of Photoshop products) favorite photographer, that's who. He writes extremely popular books on Adobe products, interspersing hilarious remarks throughout so they don't feel like instruction manuals. I was lucky enough to receive the Lightroom book from my in-laws last Christmas and I LOVE it. I haven't even gotten through 1/3 of it yet (darned book club keeps forcing me to put it down) and I've learned a ton.

Anyway, Kelby orchestrates a worldwide photo walk annually where groups of photographers get together and walk around their respective cities together taking photos. It's free and easy to sign up, and you don't have to be a pro. You can shoot a Polaroid or a D3, doesn't matter, the important part is meeting other people who also enjoy photography and have fun shooting.

So when I saw one in our city, I emailed my sister-in-law, and asked if she wanted to go. We had a blast! It was nice to be able to talk about a mutual interest without having to respond to a screaming child (hers or mine). Our walk leader also built in an extra hour after our walk so we could all gather, have a drink, and chat about what we captured.

Then, the tough part - going through all the pictures and deciding which one to submit to the contest. I rarely do landscapes or architecture, so this was a challenge for me. No children running away from my camera? What's that all about?

I narrowed it down to these:





Or b/w?







I submitted this one for the contest. What do you think?

Hershey and Philly

Is it food or is it a destination? This time it's the destination. I can't believe it's taken me this long to get pictures from our vacation posted. Well, yes, I can when I stop to consider how busy I've been since we got back. Before the end of summer, we decided to do the unthinkable and take a 10+ hour road trip with a 3-year-old. Thank you, Steve Jobs, for making this sort of thing possible without sacrificing my sanity. The iPad's digital movie watching feature was a lifesaver!

We stopped for a quick tour of Hershey, including the chocolate factory tour. It was a bit crowded, so then we headed to Hershey Gardens where Evan could run amok and I tried out the macro end of my zoom.



This one is SOOC (straight out of the camera). Not because I thought it was that great SOOC, I just got tired of editing!





Finding his letter...



Then, we headed to Philadelphia for several days of historical sightseeing.

Independence Hall. The skies really were that blue that first day. I didn't touch them in editing.









Evan loved the reenactors!





Can you go to Philly without seeing the Liberty Bell?



The Christ Church graveyard was maybe three times bigger than what you see in this image, but they know from records there are at least 3,000+ people buried here.



Including Benjamin Franklin and his wife. It's supposed to be good luck to throw pennies on his grave, a nod to his "a penny saved is a penny earned" motto?



On our last day in the city we headed to the Please Touch Museum. It was by far the best kids' museum we've been to yet. That opinion is based solely on two things: 1) The size of it is manageable with a toddler. Two floors, two hours, tops. 2) Everything worked. Ever been to a kids' museum and half the stuff is broken? Not here. They designed everything really well and tough enough to withstand the roughest kiddos.







And with this picture I can now say, "I shot Rocky in a drive by in Philadelphia." (from my car) The skinny girl striking a pose is just a bonus.