two observations

I found these pictures this morning, and couldn't help but notice the resemblance in my two children... so my observations: The cute Kiwi and I only make one kind of baby, just in the boy or girl version. And secondly; point and shoot camera's have leaped in their capabilities in 3 short years. Sorry Emmy all your baby photos are just gonna look real bad next to your siblings... don't blame me, blame technology... in fact that's always the answer, I'm sure behind most problems in the 21st century, we can somehow blame technology...

That's all for now, my internet connection's having trouble... told you!

At least it wasn't a total loss...

This weekend we headed down to Crystal Cove which, lately has become a bit of a ritual... I get to walk about 4 miles so I can check off the "hobby" from my to do list and the kiddos get in some play time with the aunties.... BUT this weekend there was just no way I was gonna let anyone, even a 30 year old near the water! Dang those waves were scary! Beautiful, but scary!

(This just doesn't do them justice!)

So we walked a long, long way with no relief of the cool clear water for the long, long walk home.

But my good friend Laura brought her camera and captured some great photos!


So it wasn't a total loss...


she loves her uncle K-love...
And he loves her, so cute!

By the way, this is how Emmy winks!

My little buck-toothed beauty...

just where I like her, up away from certain peril!

Judah doing his "baby blue steel"... can't wait to see "magnum!"

If you haven't made a point of going down to Crystal Cove and you live in Southern California, do yourself a favor! I lived here for years and for a long time never bothered, I have no idea what I was thinking.

When you go here, there's definately a feeling of going back in time, it's like a ghost town on the beach, so charming! It has abandoned cottages lining the beach, complete with weathered boardwalk and picket fences!

There is even a little restaurant called the beachcomber, which occupies one of the old cottages, that serves it's food on Fiesta ware under palm leaf umbrellas while playing the tunes of the 40's! Love it!

what a little point and shoot can do!

I often find my self frustrated by the limitations being a frugal person presents me with, but then I get creative and I make do... and sometimes when I make do, it actually turns out great and I save myself a $1000 to boot! And this last week is no exception, for a long time I've been tempted by the idea of purchasing an SLR camera but have realized it's just a whim and not something that I really, really need.... I guess ever since I've been exposed to the blog world, I've realised the blogs I love the most have great photographs and I've longed to create my own great shots and express my self in that way... But then I started thinking to myself.... "self, you don't need a fancy camera, you live in 2009, where there's a answer for everything!" So I started googling "point and shoot tutorials" and found a few really helpful sites that have guided me in taking better photos... Here is one of the many I found....Photography Tutorial Point and Shoot Camera Layers Magazine ... Pioneer Woman Photography is also a great resource for learning lots about taking pictures, she uses an SLR but I've found that a lot of the principals are the same no matter what you're using... So scour and devour all her great knowledge that she passes on!

So I'm getting to know my little camera a lot better I actually kinda know what the different settings do now, and I'm starting to understand the importance of light and shadow in a good shot... so I'm reading more, learning more and trying and trying again... And this last week I got some really great shots! Yeah for frugality, creative resourcefulness, google and good lighting!

I got a little sweet gaze
a look of amazement at how awesome his mommy is

a coy smile

he thinks my canon's awesome!

she can't resist the squishy face either!

So the moral of the story is, if you can't afford a sweet SLR with lots a fancy lenses... learn more about your little point and shoot and keep trying, you might surprise yourself with what you can come up with!