Disneyland for Nugget's 7th birthday...

LA Zoo... July 30, 2013

We were very busy this summer.  To keep the girls from killing each other and then me killing them, I had to keep them busy.  The last big thing we did this summer was head to the zoo.  We hadn't been in about 3 years so it was time to go again.  It was hot and crowded but fun.  I took many more pictures of animals but am way too tired to edit them!  So here are just a few of the girls...

All shot with my 5D3 + 35L or 135L and edited with Michelle Kane's actions including her new Half Light set!

Haylee relaxing & cooling off in the mist...



Nuggets approach to the mist was a little more reckless and wild...just like her...




I still can't get over how big Haylee is getting & how tan Avyree got over the summer!  Kid tans like her Dad...




I remember the last time we were here she could barely reach up to see out and now her head almost touches the top...




The goats are too cute to resist even if they stink...




Lunch  & air conditioning time...




My beautiful Big...




And my crazy Little...




My Little touching this beautiful Boa Constrictor while Haylee waited very fair away scared to death...




Merry-go-round fun...




This was the high light of her day...




Boy do my girls love stuffed animals...and for $30 for both they better...




On our way out, girls exhausted, mom exhausted but I forgot to get a picture with the sign in the back so I made them stand there so I could get it.  Wish I'd gotten it on the way in when it was front lit instead of back lit.  Oh well...




Thanks for looking and enjoy your Friday and weekend!  That's it for posts for a bit.  I'm just about caught up!

Make up & photo shoot...

Haylee wanted to use my Classic 5D to do a photo-shoot with Avyree.  So I let her but couldn't bare to let her use my 35L so she had to use my Tokina 16-28...lol!  She did Avyree's makeup (apprently this was a high fashion shoot lol) and did a little session in her room.  It was the cutest thing ever and I had to shoot Haylee shooting Avyree.

Shot with my 5D3 + 35L and edited with Michelle Kane's actions including her new Half Light action set...

A girls gotta have pink glossy lips for a photo shoot (love Haylee doing the lip thing herself while applying Avyree's lipstick)...




The make up and the final look (lashes for a mile)...




Makes her big eyes even bigger...




My big with my camera...what a beautiful site...




That's my girl...getting the detail shots AND I didn't even tell her to do that...




Her shoe shot...




Look at my Big using BBF although we'll need to work on that camera tilt...lol!  And this is one of Avyree's recent ideas posing.  Gotta love that nut...




Me shooting Haylee shooting me...




She needed a touch up...




Sigh...my Little isn't so little anymore...




I might post some of Haylee's shot here and I'll link back to this post to tie them together!  Have a great day!

1st day back to school....

The girls start school in August now.  Last year was the first year they changed the start from September to August.  They want the kids to be able to do the CST test before the Christmas break so they start them early in order to have enough time to teach then test.  I don't like them starting while it's so hot but I do agree with testing before a 3 week break.  They get out early so it evens out but the heat is rough.

Here is my Big Haylee starting SEVENTH grade!!!!!  ACK!!!!  I don't feel old enough to have a child in 7th grade!  And...she passed me up this summer and is about half an inch taller than me...sigh!  Which isn't saying too much though considering I'm only 5'2"...lol.

Please excuse my less than stellar shots and edits.  I was very off my game this morning...














But boy am I LOVING having 6 hours to myself again during the day!  Have a great week!

Water play (1st shots with my 5D3)...

The day after I got my new baby (Canon 5D Mark III) we headed to our local water park/pool.  The girls had a great time & I loved shooting with my new baby!

I will say I LOVE my new camera. It's even better than I thought it would be.  The ISO upgrade (from my Classic 5D) is HUGE!  I can now get natural low light shots I couldn't get with my Classic.  The new AF system is AMAZING.  Having 61 AF points instead of 9 has dramatically enhanced my composition.  I'm still practicing toggling my single AF but it's much faster and easier than I thought it would be. I was concerned that it would take too much time with so many more AF points but it's not!  With a bit more practice, I won't miss any shots toggling!  Yay!  The shutter is much quieter and the IQ is to die for and the bokeh is smoother.  I can zoom in on full body shots and count eyelashes...no joke!  Worth every penny it cost!  I can't wait to grow with it and improve!

And this summer was a BIG one for our Nugget.  She's always loved the water but wouldn't take off her life jacket to learn how to swim, nor would she jump in or put her face under water.  I didn't push it.  I knew when she was ready, she'd go for it.  Well this summer she did!!!!  You cannot wear a life jacket here so she was finally pushed to go for it.  As you'll see it started with jumping to her sister, then jumping in on her own and by the end of the day swimming with her head under water.  It was a proud day to be her Mama!

All were shot with my new Canon 5D Mark III, either my 35L or my 135L and all were edited with Michelle Kane's actions including her new Half Light set that I LOVE...


I love our mountains & the Big's heading up to the slides...



Playing around...




The Little...




Haylee's BFF came along of course...




and let the jumping begin...




a friend met us there with her two sons...here is her older boy...




He's such a fun kid...




and here she is with her younger boy who hates having his picture taken...




Nugget trying to get comfortable without her life jacket...




Ghetto bird...




real bird...




and now jumping by herself...




the beautiful Big's with Caden...




pretty girls...




splashing fun...




she's already a jumping pro...




a little swim lesson...




getting crowded and it got a lot more crowded as the day went on...




sorry but I can't get enough of her jumping...




lunch time with my Little who loves healthy food...




the Big's doing the "cup song"...




more fruit...




photo bomb...




love my messy Little...




painted nails and organic banana chips...




proud to show me how well she swims under water already...




plane getting ready to land (wish I had posted the before shot.  plane was tiny in the sooc)...




this is the type of shots I get a lot now that the girls are getting older...sigh...




but the Little still loves to pose for me...YAY...




OH...and another BIG event...she went down the SLIDE!!!!  We told the lifeguard before hand so he could pull her up if she panicked and forgot to push up off the mat.  She loved it and was so proud of herself but it freaked her enough that one time was enough...lol!  What a day for my Nugget...




looking to find Sissy and showing her pride...




Big's taking one last slide before we leave...




Thanks for looking and hope everyone had a great summer!