Family Photo Shoot

Our good friends met us at the school behind our house for a family photo shoot. We had a gorgeous, sunny day to take pictures. We took turns taking pictures of each other's family and ended up with a LOT of photos. A few turned out well, many did not. There were some lessons learned, but over all it was a good experience.

I know that a lot of what the professional photographers do to make their photos look, well, "professional," is in the editing. Since I have a snazzy professional software package to play with, I did some editing of my own.

Here are some before and afters:

A little cropping, brightening, sharpening, leveling, etc. goes a long way!

I think we will try this again in the spring. Some of our lessons learned were:

1. Time of day. We had time restraints due to evening activities, so we had to shoot in early afternoon and deal with some sharp shadows on faces. Next time we'll come at dusk.
2. Photographer. We had two cameras going at the same time. Next time, we'll have the more experienced photographer take pictures, and the other parent focus on getting kids to smile and watch out for weird hands, straight clothes and getting kids to smile. Did I mention we need to make sure the kids are smiling? :)
3. Wind. It was windy. A lot of good shots were ruined by hair flying into faces. 

Fall is fun!

Click here to view some family photos and commentary. It's fall-tastic.

The Family that Plays Together

Stays Together! :)

Conner Prairie in April

Click here to read about our fun visit to Conner Prairie in April with Grandma and Grandpa C.

All-Day Dates

We've continued using our marble jars for dates with the girls. My last two dates have been long dates, or "all-day" dates, as the girls call them.

 To read more click here.

First Lost Tooth!

FINALLY C has lost her first tooth. :) Click HERE to read more...

It's Walleye Time

I was looking back to last year to link to the ice hockey game we went to in Toledo, but somehow I didn't blog it! I am still in shock about that... Anyway, during our Ohio birthday weekend we were able to attend another Toledo Walleye game and it was just as much fun as last year.

My bro-in-law is able to reserve a suite through his company. Let me tell you, that is the way to go when watching a sports event. Snacks, drinks, flat screen TV, roomy seats, nobody spilling beer on you... And then there's the DESSERT CART. Aw yeah! Oh, and there's some guys playing ice hockey, too. Almost forgot to mention that part.

"Suite" Sweet Seats

Trying to attract the give-a-ways 

The Dessert Cart DELIVERS:

Private visit from the mascots - another suite perk!

The Mudhen was welcome...

Until he tried to steal our pizza!

For "Kids Night" they had Spiderman live and in person:

I had fun trying out my telephoto lens:

Max zoom without the telephoto:

Max zoom WITH the telephoto:

Can you feel the action?

See, I was there, too!

The game went into overtime with a shootout. It was very exciting!

We love Ice Hockey!

Ohio Christmas 2012

Our fourth and final "Christmas" was spent with Doug's immediate family. The kids had so much fun playing all weekend, and we adults had a blast watching them! We also got in a lot of card-playing, which is always something I look forward to.

Four cousins lined up in order of age:

Pillow pets are still popular:

E was thrilled to receive more "Cheetah Style" clothing:

Great Grandpa watching to see how long it takes E to notice he's got her newest monkey:

G and B try out their football blankets:

Hello, grown-up girl. What have you done with my 1st grader???

 Just when I thought we were rid of cutie face...

The headphones and MP3 players were a HUGE hit:

It's not New Year's Eve without fondue!

What an awesome 2011! Can't wait for 2012. :)

Apples for Everyone!

Each year when Sharon and Chaz come to visit, we end up buying more apples than the previous year. It's becoming an obsession!  But it's always a good time.

On their way to the funny farm:

Someday the girls will be too little to pick up. But not this year! 

You can see the rain moving in - luckily it held off until we got in the car.

We enjoyed a family game night with Sharon and Chaz. I have to give Chaz props for being E's partner. If you've ever seen her "sit" through a typical game you will know why...