Vegas for kids!

So we decided to venture up to the "Wisconsin Dells" this past week w/ our friends over spring break. Whoa-they have it all-massive water parks, arcades, mini-golf, lazer tag . . . definitely a sensory overload! But, we all had fun the kids had a blast and I took some funky pictures. It's hard to grab those action shots . . . especially when worrying about my camera getting wet! I have no idea how i snapped this picture w/ O all blurry in her action shot and her friend still-i thought it was pretty cool looking!





Lastly-i was wondering if anyone can answer this for me . . . for some reason when I am editing my blog-i don't see the pictures on the screen-but instead a bunch of computer jargon? I used to be able to see the pictures and I could move them around if I needed to-plus it was easier to type around them b/c I knew which picture i was typing about? I probably switched something on the HTML screen or something when I was playing w/ it a few weeks ago . . .but i have no idea how to get it back?
Thoughts? Thanks!

What a glorious day . . .

Today was 60 degrees-so i thought we'd skip swim lessons and play outside!  I grabbed my camera and took lots of shots.  I'm so humbled by fellow bloggers who have these glorious pictures on their blogs.  They're wonderful photographers that I'm trying to learn from.  So, I took these pictures in Manual-adjusting the ISO and aperture.  The first picture above was ISO 100-which affected the light-so i adjusted to ISO 200 with a high shutter speed to catch the action shots.  My problem is a take the pictures so fast-i don't really know what i'm doing! haha!  

A lot of good picture taking is what you do afterwards.  I have been playing w/ iPhoto on my MAC  adjusting the light, composition, exposure, etc.  It really can make a bland picture very rich in color.  

Fun stuff!

Now, if anyone knows how to post their pictures really large-i'd love to know! Many friends have pictures on their blogs that are double the size of these-i just don't know how to do it.  Leaving me a comment would be great! 

Happy Spring!

Legoland & The Great Cookie Capers!

Hello! I know it's been a long time since I last "blogged."  I'll admit, i've been a little lazy.  I think it's the nasty, cold weather-so not motivating to do anything! But, today is nearly 70 degrees and i'm feeling upbeat-so i thought i'd catch up on some blogging while K is napping!

Recently, my girlfriend and I took our kids to "Legoland!"  No, not the one in San Diego (been there-it's awesome), this one is in Schaumburg, IL-much smaller/all indoors-but fun!

I posted several pictures from that day!

 Mini-legoland-this is part of "Millenium Park" in Chicago at night!

When I used my flash inside-it reflected on the legos.

This is G looking at "Darth Vader!"  He was too afraid to get a picture with him-but since he's a "STAR WARS" fanatic, he thought it was pretty cool.

Where else can you go and the children play constructively-it's great!

G & W-BEST FRIENDS!

Such concentration

Quick story-this lego statue was a little odd-it would make flatulent sounds periodically-the kids thought it was a riot-the parents, not so much.  From the last picture-you can tell he had just "tooted."

The great cookie snatchers!  This was the crime scene the other day while i left the room for a few minutes.  I came back into the kitchen and found the following . . .  chairs properly placed in position to reach the cookie jar . . .

The cookie jar!

BUSTED!

They were actually hiding under the dining room table eating their treasure! Sneaky little ones i tell 'ya!

I'm hosting my first "Matilda Jane" party March 12th! YAY! Can you tell I'm so excited?!? these clothes are so fun and unique! You can only buy the clothes through a "trunk keeper," not online.  The woman who designs and makes these clothes is so creative-you should check out her blog : www.matildajane.typepad.com 

It's so fun to read.

Anyhow, I found out about MJ from other friends blogs and just fell in love with it!  

Lunar New Years Celebration

I've been working on my photography lately-well at least taking pictures on "manual" vs. "auto," although, i still don't completely get it.  The class I was taking didn't help much either-i'm hoping to learn more by default.  I took these most recent pictures yesterday before attending our playgroups Lunar New Years Celebration.  It has actually been slightly warmer outside, so the kids were able to run around outside a bit.

I like this picture of G below watching the dance celebration w/ all the girls and their black hair and striking red bows

Here are some random photos I caught of the children running around in their beautiful dresses-it was very colorful!

This picture was taken right before the Dragon Parade started-all the children were lined up with their little drums.

One of the moms was helping pass out red envelopes to all the children

I kept trying to photograph this little girl-i found her to be so adorable!  This was the best picture i could get as she was on the move!

This little boy, M, was also adopted from Taiwan-he has the sweetest little face-i couldn't get enough of him! I actually met him and his parents 6 months ago randomly at a Thai/Vietnamese restaurant.  When I saw him, i just knew he was a fellow Taiwanese friend.

G made friends with a little boy.  It was so cute-they were playing "who can catch the football the fastest!"

K & M were mesmerized by the Dragon-i caught this picture of them staring up at him.  It was funny to see since K was originally frightened by him.

Who says we're cranky when we wake up from naps???

This was K when she woke up from her nap today-having a jolly good time in her crib! Surprisingly, it was a shorter than normal nap!

Oh! And if you're wondering if we're moving her to a big bed anytime soon . . . you're sorely mistaken! After 3 kids, i'm all for staying in the crib as longggg as possible.  I'm thinking Kindergarten? 

just kidding . . . sort of! :)