Pecan Park is One of My Favorite Places

I love to be outside.  The scenery is always so much more beautiful.  And like most kids, Brenna prefers to be outside too.  Wide open spaces to run, animals to chase, and of course, play grounds.  All kinds of fun is to be had outside.

All that being said, Pecan Park is quickly becoming one of my favorite places.  It's just a simple park in one of the neighborhoods here in Houston, but no matter which way you look, the views are beautiful in any seasons.  So, its no wonder photographers flock there with their clients.  It happens to be the same location that we had our family pictures taken back in 2009 (whew, its getting time for an update).   That's how we originally discovered the park, and we've been back several times just to enjoy the playground.  I've always wanted to take my camera, but never planned it out just right.

We've been couped up a bit with some cold weather lately and this week finally brought some manageable outdoor temperatures.  So, this Friday we met some friends there for the kiddos to play and burn off some energy and finally a chance presented itself for me to snap some pictures.  These are just some funs shots of Brenna and John enjoying their day outside!

Fun at the Fire Station!

One of the moms at church organized a great playdate for our preschoolers.  We got to visit the Sugarland Fire Station and met the Firefighters.  The was excited.  We had been reading a Fire House book all week in preparation for our visit, and her main objective was to slide down the fire poll.  She was disappointed to discover that this fire house only had one floor, no fire pole!  But, that was quickly forgotten once the firemen took over.  They started the tour by gathering everyone into the general living quarters and talking to the kids about fire safety.  Then Fireman Greg, geared up to show the kids all the equipment that a fireman must carry and what the finished product looks like.  And yes, despite the Captains best effort to explain that it was still Fire Greg under all that gear, we still had a some tears from some of the smaller kiddos.

The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY! Photography Class Lesson 1

Well, as all of you know I've become a bit of a picture taking fool lately.  So, in and effort to improve upon my foolishness, I decided to take a photography class with friends.  Our first class was this week and I had been very excited about the prospect of what new and interesting techniques I would learn.  However, the overall first impression was a bit of a mix bucket.

The Teacher - Upon first glance, I was a bit worried that this man could possible know anything about photography or teaching in general.  He was dressed in a much too tight plain black t-shirt that hugged his enormous belly to bear thread.  The t-shirt had been hastily tucked into a much too small pair of jogging pants that didn't leave much for the imagination.  It was apparent that he had no concern for appropriate dress and I was stunned to hear that he had once owned his own photography business.  Well, as the old saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover.  He was indeed very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about photography.

The Classroom - This was just a regular old everyday classroom that was no different the the millions of others across this great country.  However, something has obviously changed in the last 10 years in the manufacturing of students desks.  After sitting for the length of the 2 hour class, I felt I may need someone to get a can opener to get me out.  Why is it that in college I could sit for hours, fully attentive, and ravenous for knowledge as I listened to lectures on thermodynamics and reactionary chemistry (you believe that right, ravenous......) but now I feel like a sardine that's just been released from his aluminum prison.  Not that I've ever given much thought to continuing my education, but this experience has assured my that my classroom based learning days are over.  Looks like it online tutorials from here!

The Class - As a mention, the teacher is indeed very enthusiastic.  I'm not entirely sure if this is to our benefit.  He started the class by saying that we would be doing a flash exercise later, which I thought sounded interesting.  However, his enthusiasm drifted into the first camera ever invented, past photo shots concerning cafeteria women, and demonstration on how to build you own monopod.  It's seems he has trouble focusing his enthusiasm.  So, we didn't even pick up a camera until 5 minutes after 9 pm, at which point everyone hastily snapped a few photos leaving no time for discussion or review.  My hopes are that as the class continues there will be alot more picture taking and alot less talk.

So, here's my first photos from photography class!

Hello 2011!

Well, another year has come and gone.  I guess time flies when your having fun!  We had a wonderful and action-packed Christmas.  We enjoyed a slow week at home with Jacob being off work.  On Christmas day, we all hit the ground running.  We had to wake Brenna to kick off Christmas and in her sleepy state her only concern was whether Santa had eaten all the cookies.  Only after we closely evaluated that he did indeed consume both the cookies and the milk "He must have been hungry, Mama!" did we moved on to gifts.  Once we made our way through the pile, Brenna began to play, while I began unpackaging toys and putting together our new Toy Story tent and Jacob went outside to jerk down (literally) all the outdoor Christmas decorations.  Within 2 hours everyone and everything was crammed into the car and we were headed to the airport!