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.

Fun in the Sun

We kicked off a vacation trip to Philly last month with a stop in Ohio for Dan's high school reunion. It was a big weekend for Evan too - his first overnight trip without Mom or Dad. Wouldn't you know it - he was asleep before 9 pm (that hasn't happened at home... ever?) and slept all night. Nana has magical powers.

Before I left to join Dan at the reunion, we went to a local splash pad for some fun in the sun. I wish our parks at home had these!!

Cautiously checking things out...



Throwing caution to the wind.



He's a good shot. A little too good, maybe. I went home looking like I'd peed myself.



Can't find a towel? No problem.



Wait for it...



Surprise!



This is a classic Evan face.





My happy, happy boy.

Simon - 10 months

It's been such fun this past year watching (and photographing) Simon from tiny infant to tentative explorer at 10 months old. Up until now we've had to do all his previous shoots (Newborn, 3 mos, 6 mos) indoors because of weather, or more recently, the particular schedules of a baby. If you're a mom, you know how important it is NOT to mess up a baby's schedule if at all possible, unless you're a glutton for punishment. But this time we got to venture outdoors to a local park where Simon really got to explore and take in the wonder of twirling leaves, picking up sticks (and tasting them), and crawling around in the grass. Thanks Simon (and mom!) for letting me take part!

Z Family

I think most amateur or hobbyist photographers might faint at the thought of shooting another photographer's family as their FIRST family session. Which I nearly did. But it helped tremendously that this family IS family. I learned a lot and got to try out some new things, including backlighting and haze and different composition than with just Evan as a victim...er, subject. It was insanely hot that day, but everyone did really well. Even the parents. ;-)

More Cake

Spring and Summer are birthday central in our house.  Dan's birthday plan of meeting Henry Winkler (The Fonz) at the local drive-in was ditched after he decided it wasn't worth braving the 100 degree weather.  Sorry, Fonz.  So I told him to pick a movie, thinking he'd choose something like Captain America or some equally typical 'guy' movie full of explosives and car chases.  Noooo.  That would be too easy and formulaic.  Instead we headed to the IMAX Theatre.  Sharks?  Nope.  Lions of the Kalahari?  Nope.  Lewis and Clark:  The Great Journey West!  Yee-haw!  Nerdville, here we come.  It *was* a good show, despite the nerdyness of it. 

Then we came home and Evan helped Dan open his presents.



Look at that mischievous grin! 



Buttering up Daddy to get some cake. 



And working on Grandma never hurts.