The Great Outdoors

Just some nature photos from yesterday...

More of My Cousin!

Remember the little guy? Seriously...this kid is too stinkin' cute!

Playground Fun!

As much as I dread going pretty much anywhere with my two toddlers and one infant, I decided to take my kids down to the neighborhood playground yesterday evening while my hubby took a much needed nap.

Can I go anywhere without my camera? Nope! Here are my munchkins, in birth order, having a blast on the swings!

The only acceptable way to swing, according to my son, is on one's stomach. He's becoming quite skilled at this "stomach swinging".

My older daughter likes swings but gets bored fairly quickly if I'm not constantly pushing her.

Aaannnnd...the happy baby. She pretty much just loves everything about life!

My Wee Little Cousin....

No, he's not a newborn. Just a little tike. He was born a preemie, so he's still pretty small at (almost) 2 years of age! He and his parents (my aunt and uncle) came down to visit from Chicago this weekend and I couldn't help but keep my camera handy at all times. What a cutie!

Just wanted to give you a teaser and let you know there's more to come of this handsome little fella'!

Welcome to Indianapolis, Part 3

My hubby and I went on a date yesterday afternoon. After enjoying lunch at Outback Steakhouse, we decided to go downtown. The weather was pretty *ehhhhh* but thankfully no real rain came our way. :) I took my camera along to get some more shots of downtown!

This is the Scottish Rite Cathedral. So cool.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of these when I saw that they had made them all different colors just for me!

We discovered that the War Memorial was open and decided to give ourselves a little tour. (Free admission - sweet!)

Inside we found some spectacular sights! Our first stop was upstairs to the "shrine room". Since I've only had my camera for a few weeks, I had no idea how to even begin shooting pictures in such low lighting, but I gave it my best shot anyway....

The ceiling was "super" high (as my nephew would say) with this light at the top.


I didn't capture the pillars very well but here is one of the stained-glass windows:

We made our way downstairs to the War Museum (which I didn't even know existed). Lots of cool stuff there! On the way down the long staircase I found this beautiful air vent! I know, I know. It's just an air vent, Heidi! But how gorgeous is that texture?!

We wound our way through displays of several U.S. wars. These were my favorite images:



On what I thought was going to be the hallway out, we stumbled upon this beautiful auditorium.


Check out the ceiling!

That was a pretty fun adventure! And homeschooling moms, take note: another free museum! :)

Fireworks!

Last night was my first night trying to capture fireworks with my new DSLR! Let's just say....it didn't go so well.

But....

TONIGHT, I tried again. (One of the benefits to living in a large city is having, at minimum, 3-4 major fireworks presentations each summer!) I looked up some information online and asked some questions in a few forums and - WAH LAH! Beautiful fireworks pictures! I honestly couldn't believe how truly easy it was! Unfortunately, it look me half of the performance time to get the settings right, so I only got a few really good ones. But now that I know how to do it, I can't wait for more fireworks next weekend!



P.S. Happy start to your birthday week, Honey!

An All-American Baby!

We took a trip to the Children's Museum today and I just HAD to bring my camera along. I mean, what cooler place is there, really? While my toddlers played, I sat with my youngest and snapped some pictures of her gorgeous face!

Apparently there is some photography "rule" about not cutting off chins, but I still think this is just the most adorable picture! I mean, look at those eyes!

Look at that cute little button nose! I love it!


Yes, she does always have this half-daze, half-smile on her face....


While I kept trying to get some cute shots, all she wanted to do what chew on her shoes.
Babies!