NYC Day One

Last Thursday-Saturday, I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to NYC with my mom, my sister, my best friend Annie and her mom Judy. We started our trip by driving to Liberty State Park in New Jersey where we rode the ferry to Ellis Island.

Ellis Island is so old that it is still looks black and white.

Just kidding. It was SO COOL to see this historic place and learn the fascinating details of how many people came through this one place on their way to America. Although the main building has been restored...

Many of the island's structures remain in disrepair. The picture above is blurry because I took it through a window -- I pulled back one of the window covers that you aren't supposed to pull back to get it. Don't tell.

Thankfully three of my four traveling companions decided to wear shades of light green so I could spot them easily...

And they coordinated nicely with Lady Liberty.

Brockman ladies.

Rabenhorst ladies.

And don't worry, Annie took a bunch of the same pictures as me so you should see them on her blog sometime soon.
It was sunny and the sky was a beautiful shade of blue but the wind off of the water was FREEZING!

Thus we hung out in the gift shop while we waited for our ferry. Susanna was happy that her three brothers-in-law were there to hang out with her (in mint form).
After a LONG, SLOW drive into the city, we dropped off our bags and headed out to dinner at the famous Serendipity 3.

In case you hadn't noticed, I debuted my new Spring Shirt that I sewed for myself.

Our entrees were scrumptious and for dessert we had the famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate (we opted for the version with Peanut Butter and it was AWESOME!).

And of course one giant dessert wouldn't do, we had to have the incredible Forbidden Broadway Sundae too. Delicious.

He is Risen!

Happy Belated Easter everyone! We hope you all enjoyed your Sunday festivities.

We certainly had a lot of fun hosting an Easter dinner with Nana Kerry, Papa John, Aunt Susanna, Juju and Rocket.
After a delicious meal, Fix hid some eggs for Rock to find in the backyard.

You know you are spoiled when you have an audience of 7 adults watching you find eggs.

And what delicious treats were inside Rock's eggs? FINGER PUPPETS FROM IKEA!
(*** I did buy him one chocolate egg from Dylan's Candy Bar when I was in NYC (posts on that trip to come), but we left it wrapped in it's golden foil so Rock wouldn't eat it -- our meal was at 4:00 (post Rock's nap) so this hunt took place around 5:00 -- far too close to bedtime for caffeinated candy.***)

Rock was thrilled with this gift... and so were all the adults!

Fix is singing some song about a Moose, Goose and Elephant.

I think John was a little jealous that Rock gave Kerry two puppets.

Juju called this panda a 'doggie.' Between her and Fix, Rock is never going to be able to distinguish his animals.

After we got our fill of the puppets, Papa John and Rocket hid eggs for the adult children in the living room. Yes that is my egg directly under my nose (and the TV screen) that I was somehow unable to find. Susanna found all of hers in about 2 seconds....

And went back to play with Rock and Rocket.

And a special thanks to Grandma Juju for this achingly adorable outfit. Yes, the hat and pants are seersucker.

Around Town

Now that Rock's a little older we've been spending some of our downtime exploring our nation's capital. Our most recent trip took us to the American History Museum, where Rock found each and every dog in the doll house (his mom's favorite part of the museum).

I also loved the exhibit on Abraham Lincoln.

Then Rock showed me his favorite part of the museum -- this random stairway down to a locked door.

Eventually, I convinced him to climb the stairs and find a new exhibit.

He tried to borrow this man's pen...

Then he proceeded to ignore most of the museums attractions while traversing back and forth over each ramp.

A shot for Grandma Cokie.

After he read up on the history of a few machines, we decided to go check out the fountain outside.

Rock found it so fascinating...

He couldn't look away for a family picture.

Then we did a quick drive-by to the Washington Monument...

...and the Cherry Blossoms.

Beautiful.

Practice Makes Perfect

After the photography Learning Party, I took the boys to the park to practice taking pictures.

It was a sunny day so that made things a little easier.

But I quickly learned, it's going to take a LOT of practice.

I took many many pictures and these few are the best ones I got.

But Kim has given me hope...

I Shoot My Kids

The last Saturday of March, I went to an amazing photography workshop put on by my favorite photographer (and friend) Kim. This Learning Party was especially designed for moms (and grandmothers) who want to shoot their kids.... with their cameras that is.

It was so incredibly helpful to get some clear, informative guidance so I could FINALLY take my nice new camera off of automatic mode and get beautiful pictures without a nasty bright flash. After Kim gave us a detailed (and fun) lecture on the ins and outs of photography, she set us loose to practice what we had learned.

I learned how to take shots showing blurred movement...

And how to 'freeze' action. Thank you Becky for letting us take crazy shots of your gorgeous hair.

Here's Kim showing us how to take shots of running people where they aren't blurry. This should definitely come in handy with the little boy.

Check out this cool trick!

This shot of Beth (a fellow student) was my favorite that I captured that day. Look for better pictures in the future as I keep practicing the skills and tips that Kim taught me.