dogs, frogs, snakes, and cake!

We celebrated Molly's 3rd birthday at California Pets.
We had a fun little group of friends,
and LOTS of fun animals!

She was SO happy!

The puppies were first to visit!

Then, a bearded dragon.

Molly embraced ALL the animals, including the snakes.
Which she happily wore as a necklace and a crown!

She loved her Toy Story cake.

And was very excited about blowing out the candles!

Now, obviously, I couldn't post ALL the pictures.
So, should you need to see more...here you go!

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the happiest place...

We've been planning this super cool playdate since October.

We were happy that it finally worked out to meet Mia and Salvatore at Disneyland!

What a fun day!

I love watching these little friends together!

(my life) Behind the Camera

So, I started a new blog.
I felt like I needed a place where I could let my pictures do the talking.
And it's forcing me to take one more step toward
using my camera for something other than pictures of my cute kiddos.
I have some ideas...and this blog is the beginning.

bounce house

At our first party today (yes, we had two to attend),
Molly spend A LOT of time in the bounce house.

(look closely at her fingers and mouth..and you can
see that she also spent time eating Cheetos.)

When my mom saw this picture, she said...
"That picture, right there? That is YOU"

More birthday pictures to come ;)

Molly and Nana's Adventures, Part 1 and 2

Molly and Nana have been busy!
Last week, they made a big pot of soup together.

Molly tasted all the veggies, including the onions.
She said they were "tasty".

Adding celery, like the Wonder Pets :)

This week, Molly didn't have class at preschool.
So, they headed to the Santa Ana Zoo.

It's the perfect little field trip for them.
Molly retold the whole day's details when I got home.
She added "and finally" to every sentence.
" We went to the zoo, and finally, we saw monkeys.
Finally, we went on the train and the merry go round.
Finally we got a panda and pencils for my Jack"...

Thanks, Nana, for the fun days!

"M" mode

So, we went to the park.
And I made myself turn off the automatic setting.
(The workbook we got at our class says...
"when you shoot in automatic, you give ALL control to the camera!")

But sometimes, I forgot to take the time to adjust the speed, and light...
and I got some yucky pictures...
But, it helped I had some pretty cute subjects!

(These are right out of the camera)

Any professionals out there with advice??? I am ALL ears!

overwhelmed

So, we went to the aquarium today.
I was really excited to really use my camera.
But, I completely panicked and "forgot" everything from my class last week.

I totally cheated and mostly shot on automatic mode.

With this picture of Jack and the sting rays, I did the ultimate "boo-boo".
You really can't fix an over-exposed picture.

I am beginning to think I need and want to actually take a 16 week course.
Over 16 weeks and NOT 6 hours!

Mollys color blast tutorial

It's so easy, a 3 year old can do it.

sunrise

V is for Volcano...

So, Jack got a volcano set for Christmas.
He was SO excited to do it!
And because Jack was, Molly was.

We made the mold on Tuesday.

Last night, after their bath (note the wet heads), we got ready
for the excitement. See how focused and serious they were?

The directions said to "Stand Back! For a super eruption, use 10 tablets"
So, we did.

But, it was less than impressive.
This was it.
Woo Hoo.

The kids didn't care, they still thought it was cool.
I love Molly's expression..."OOOOhhhhhhh"

Ken had picked up a couple for his freshman class.
I was relieved we had done this with our kids before he used them at school.
Somehow, I feel like 14 year olds would be less impressed.
We are going to try again, old school.
Baking soda and vinegar.
Hopefully, we will a better reaction.
From the chemicals, not the kids.

a lot to learn

I took a photography class on Sunday with my brother-in-law.
It was A LOT of info.
A 16 week course, in a 6 hour day.

I learned a lot.

But...

have a lot more to learn.

In the meantime...I will practice.

And practice.