I ♥ Museums

I decided to take my BIG girl and my little girl to the Museum of Nature and science this week. The best part about not having and 9:00 - 5:00 job is that we can go on family field trips to the museum on a random Tuesday and not have to fight Saturday crowds and lines. There was NO one there. It was greatness. I pretty much just let Addison lead the way through the Children's Museum on the lower level. We visited the town where she played builder and danced on the stage, we climbed on the fire truck, played at the water table, planted some seeds and rode a John Deer tractor, played in the backyard where we met new animal friends, got stuck in the spider web and climbed through the tunnel. Addison made us lunch in the pretend kitchen... it was oh so yummy. Lillian got to actually get out of her stroller for once and climb all over the mats in the "baby" area.... she is officially standing up all by herself! After that, we went back up stairs to the main part of the museum. Addison went digging for dinosaur fossils, played with giant bubbles, learned about tornados and one of the best parts is that Mommy got to play with her new camera! :) Somehow I got sucked into spending $10.00 on rocks in the gift store. Apparently, Addison has a rock collection now. I'm really looking forward to the weather warming up so that we can start enjoying outdoor activities again! I can't wait!

Museums are so much fun! 

i ♥ faces - Hands-On Fun

This week at i heart faces the theme is "Hands-On Fun". I took this photo of Addison playing at the Children's Museum today. I just love the colors and the sharp focus on the blender. Wasn't it sweet of her to make Mommy lunch today?! 

Go check out tons more "Hands-On Fun" photos by clicking on the link below! 

i ♥ faces - Amy and Angie's Favorite

My photo entry over at i heart faces this week was chosen as one of Amy and Angie's favorites! I'm honored!!

Out with the OLD - In with the NEW

Meet my new baby.... the Nikon D700! 

*If you aren't interested in cameras then you probably won't be interested in reading this one!

After taking a leap of faith, my BIG plans to upgrade my camera gear and jump start my photography business are officially in the works. For the past few months, I've done tons of research on DSLR cameras and have read just about every review on the internet. My favorite photography review site is here. I started with a Nikon D40 (photo on left side), it was a great starter camera but it is at the bottom of the Nikon DSLR camera food chain. I bought that camera knowing that I was interested in photography but at the time I didn't know just how serious I was. I had never owned a DSLR camera before and I quickly learned a lot. :) Also thanks to some amazing online tutorials and photography bloggers. After taking at least 20,000 photos with it I started to call it the little engine that could. It just wasn't cutting it for me anymore. I wanted a faster, sharper, and more serious camera. Another huge downfall with the Nikon D40 is that some of the lenses I really wanted don't autofocus on the camera body. While I found focusing my Nikon FILM camera fun, I have no interest in taking the time to focus a Nikon DSLR camera lens in a photography session or for my everyday photos. I have two bouncing little kids so I need lenses that can keep up with them! After taking a photography class and really learning about what cameras were capable of, I knew an upgrade would be in my future. 

At first, I was thinking about upgrading to the D90, I know someone with this camera and they love it! Then I moved onto the D300.. and finally decided on buying the D700. Can you tell I've been thinking about this for a looonnng time?! It's a big investment for me! The D700 is compared to Canon's 5D Mark II (for those of you who speak Canon language.. obviously I'm a Nikon girl), has an interior FX build that is similar to the $8,000 Nikon D3 and a smaller body like that of the Nikon D300. I found the best price on amazon and have been tracking the shipping for past 48 hours. Yes, I'm that person. I also watched out the window for the UPS man all morning! The wait was worth it! I was so excited to open the brown amazon box and see everything that I ordered packaged so beautifully. I got the D700 body, extended battery grip, extra battery, Nikon 50mm f 1.4 lens, filter, new camera bag, and of course a new memory card. I have software to download and a whole manual to read! *FUN*

I was so excited I quickly assembled everything, charged the battery, and took the girls to the park so that I could play with my new toy! The difference between my old Nikon D40 and my new Nikon D700 is night and day! So far, I'm very happy.. I'm just going to have to get used to a much heaver and larger camera!

Keep your eyes on my blog... once I get my website up (in about 2 weeks) I will be giving away 1 free session to celebrate! Dallas Blooms is coming up... great photo opportunity for all!

Super shallow depth of field on the photo above... I wanted to see what it looked like when I let in lots of light at f1.4.. I might need to stick with f2. :) Still looks kind of cool!

My Addison Jane is growing up so fast! 

Leap of Faith

Today I took a leap of faith. After giving it lots of serious thought and talking it over with my very supportive husband, Mark. I decided to invest in setting up an official photography business. Up until now I've done free sessions, photos of family and friends, and have charged very little for my work and time. Photography is my creative passion and I'm so excited to follow my dream. I just got home from dropping off my paperwork to set up an LLC ... now I'm just hoping and praying that I will continue to learn, grow, and will have business! After everything is legally set up, I'll be upgrading my camera, investing in a new lens, creating a logo/watermark, and setting up a website. BIG plans! 

I ♥ Faces - I Wanna Dance

This week's theme over at i heart faces is "I Wanna Dance". I took this photo of my friends during one of my "test" sessions in the urban heart of Dallas also known as Deep Ellum. When I asked them to bust out a crazy dance move on the side of the street their faces lit up with laughter. :) I'm thankful for friends who are willing to try anything.

Be sure and check out other entries of people shaking it, bouncing it, spinning it, kicking it, and dropping it like it's hot! You just never know what you're going to get.     

Rainbow Cake

It's no secret that cooking and baking are two areas in my life that need some improvement. As of right now, I don't take the time to meal plan or prepare large meals with Mark being on deployment. I mostly live off of salads and sandwiches these days. Cooking and even baking have just never been an interest of mine... until today. I can also honestly say that I have never baked a cake from start to finish until today. You think I'm kidding. Just ask my Mom! I started to brainstorm ideas for Lillian's first birthday and was inspired to bake this cake. I thought to myself, why can't I do that? Looks easy, right? Well, it actually was easy with the help of my awesome stepmom Krista. Her knowledge of all things food network and catering really came in handy! With her help and support, I'm confident that I can now bake this cake for my girls again and again! It was really fun and feels so good to try something new. Did I mention how good it was? So much better then store bought cakes! I'm glad I stepped out of my box and got my bake on. Here's how it turned out...   

I'd say, it was a smashing success. :)