Fun With Water (part 2):

Swim lessons are in full swing this summer. Mason had his first lesson on Monday and there were only 2 other students in the class. The next two lessons were rescheduled due to "contamination" in the pool. I didn't ask questions...I'm sure I don't want to know.

The weather forecast for Thursday did not look promising for outdoor swim lessons, but we headed toward the pool anyway. Lucky for Mason, the other two students dropped out of the class! So, he's getting private swim lessons for the price of a class. Yes!!!


He caught me taking his photo. Hey there!


Streamlining your body to go through the water quickly is one of the first techniques Jason taught. Mason looks like he could use a cheeseburger, or two, in this photo. I really do feed him...really!


Just checkin' to make sure you're still back there, buddy.


Floating isn't really a real-world situation kind of technique, but it certainly makes you more comfortable in deep water. He floated on his own for a few seconds before he realized Jason's hands weren't there. Sneaky!


Learnin' the freestyle swim.


Take a deep breath! It's time to put your face in the water!


Swim lesson complete for the day! Jason let Mason choose 2 things he wanted to do for the very end of the lesson. Jumping into the water was one of them. He really caught some air!

Stay tuned...more water fun to come! Mason and I are headed to Alabama for the weekend to visit Tiffani and we are goin' to the beach! Yes!

Fun with Water (part 1)...

The Honda was long overdue for it's spring cleaning, so Mason and I made a morning of it. We cleaned out all of the trash including stale Goldfish crackers, string cheese wrappers and McDonald's toys. Then, we used the super-mega sucking power of our shop vac to vacuum up the stale Goldfish cracker crumbs, dried string cheese and dirt from the carpet and seats.

Due to drought conditions, Georgia is still under water restrictions, so we are not allowed to wash our cars at home. Since the Country Club uses reclaimed water at the maintenance shop and on the golf course, we were able to take the Honda there for further spiffing. I washed with soap and Mason rinsed. I love that he's giving the hose and water the stink eye in this photo. Okay, so maybe the sun was really bright that day. It had been weeks since we had even seen it, so our eyes were sensitive.


His only restrictions were to not spray me and to not touch the hose to the car. That water was COLD and I didn't want paint scratches!


I think he was having fun experimenting with the water coming out of the hose. Getting wet is secondary, I think.





Twirling the water out of the hose was always my favorite too! I'm glad he was already wet, since we were headed to the water park afterward. Swimming lesson photos to come...stay tuned for part 2!

Jamaica, Mon...

"In a house, on a rock, in a bay, on a reef, on an island in Jamaica." The wonderful couple, Josh and Shari, got married at the Rock House in Negril, Jamaica. Heidi and I were fortunate enough to have been invited to not only photograph their wedding, but join in all of the fun that was planned as well! Such great hosts! They really did make us feel welcome and like part of the family.


The Rock House isn't located on the famous 7-mile beach, but on the cliffs of the Caribbean! There are spectacular views, caves and lots of places to be adventurous!


On my "to-do" list for my trip to Jamaica was snorkeling. This is quite an adventure to me – not because I'm afraid of the water, but because I get terrible motion sickness. I really did enjoy getting up close and personal with the aquatic life. I'm not sure how that sea cucumber felt about me man-handling it, but I assure you that I left it just as I found it. Squishy.


This was the largest sea star I had ever seen! I wanted to bring it home to Mason so badly, but we were not allowed to keep anything that we found along the way. Boo.


This is more flesh than any one person needs to see of me, but I decided to post it anyway. I didn't last much longer after this photo was taken (thanks Heidi). I think the snorkeling guide thought I was tired, but no...I had to get out of the water or I was gonna toss my cookies. Swimming in salt water is a breeze compared to swimming in fresh water, but all that movement didn't set well with my equilibrium.


I actually viewed this puffer fish from the inside of the boat. The snorkeling guide grabbed hold of this spiny guy and it puffed up to about the size of a softball!


I guess he wasn't happy about being man-handled. I will stick to sea cucumbers.

In Jamaica, Mon...

I'm in Jamaica shooting a wedding this weekend, so stay tuned for photos!

Perserverance...

Since moving into the Leadership class, Mason has gotten the opportunity to learn a lot of new material: sparring, using the bow staff and board breaking. He had some difficulties at first with the board breaking, but eventually he got the hang of it. Above is a video of his very first board break!

We love the Beach...

Our family had a very busy weekend last weekend! After Mason's Tae Kwon Do ceremony, we drove to Jacksonville, Florida. I had a meeting to tour Trend Offset Printing on Friday morning, but afterward we lounged at the beach.

Saturday Heidi and I photographed her roommate's wedding while Brian and Mason went to the beach. Mason got a pretty bad sunburn, but I think they had a good time anyway. I wanted to spend the morning on the beach on Sunday, but Mason really didn't feel like it since he was so sore. I was thankful we didn't stay when we were home and had time to relax a little before work on Monday morning. I just love whirlwind weekend trips to the beach! We may have to do it again this summer!!!

Belt Testing...

Testing for the next belt in Tae Kwon Do is serious business. You can certainly tell how serious it is by the smile on Mason's face. He's hamming it up for the camera while Mr. Sul teaches the students their self defense moves.


Putting the teaching to practice with a fellow student. Loop, swoop and pull. Wait, that's not right.


Spear-hand strike, sir!


Each level of color belt has a series of "one-steps" the students must learn for testing. This series of one-steps was 8 moves. Since Mason is moving to the Leadership class, he will no longer do one-steps, but forms. He will have to learn a 23 move form to test for the next color belt.

Mason received his camouflage belt on Thursday evening during the color belt ceremony. After receiving his belt, he shook hands with each black belt as a sign of respect.

It was decided that since Mason was showing a real interest in continuing Tae Kwon Do that we moved him into the Leadership Class. The Leadership Class is full of students that have a genuine interest in learning Tae Kwon Do and aren't just there because their parents make them. We will continue to take him so long as he continues to show a genuine interest. Let's hope that lasts, since this program is a 2 year commitment!

I need another vacation.

I have had a rough couple of days at work, so I think I'm going to Florida for the weekend. Okay, so I was going anyway.

xoxo Presents...

I had to create a blog to tide me over for the real deal. xoxo website coming soon...I promise!

Boys and Bubbles...

This is what you get when you combine a 6 year old boy and a bubble machine. The belly inevitably comes out...


...and for some reason, bubbles taste good? Okay, so these bubbles did smell like cotton candy, but still! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Easter!

Perfect View...

We have lived in Atlanta for nearly 4 years now, and this is the first shot of the skyline I have gotten at night. I recently photographed a wedding in the Four Seasons hotel, which is right in the heart of downtown. As you can see, the views were amazing!

Prayers for Aunt Ginny...

...my Aunt Ginny had a stroke early this week. Please keep her in your prayers for a quick and full recovery.

Tooth Fairy...

Mason finally lost his wiggly bottom tooth last night. There were many tears spilled over this one, but we triumphed over the fear! That tooth fairy pays a whopping $5 for teeth these days! Wow, that is some inflation over the lousy 25¢ I got when I was a kid.

There will be no toothless smile photos posted here, though. Sorry to disappoint. Mason's bottom adult teeth started growing in loooong before his baby teeth decided they needed to take a hike. I feel very robbed of a toothless grin. Good news, though – his two top teeth are loose and could bust out any day now!

Tree + House

Sometimes I come across something in Mason's book bag that makes me giggle, and this one takes the cake. What kid doesn't want a tree house? I am guessing you have to climb the tree Ninja-style to get to the house part, since there isn't a ladder. That isn't unsafe at all.

100% Fear

Water rides are not my favorite type of ride, but Splash Mountain is something you MUST do when you're at Magic Kingdom. The weather was quite nice for being outside all day, but not quite warm enough for a drenching water ride. We risked it anyway. Lucky for us, the people in front of Mason and I got soaked...we just got a few droplets. Whew! Needless to say, as much fun as the ride was, we didn't tempt fate a second time.


This ride scared the buhjeezus out of me. **Please note the smile on Brian and Mason's faces and the look of terror on my face.** Mason loved it so much that we rode it again. *Gulp*

8-Step Program...

Step 1: Start with a clean Mason face. Check.
Step 2: Put on a coat of primer. Check.


Step 3: Begin painting the details with a very tickly brush. Check.
Step 4: Try to contain your laughter – as giggling is contagious. Check.



Step 5: Fill in the details. Check.



Step 6: Sit back and basque in the magnificent splendor that is a kid's painted face.
Step 7: Wonder how long it took this professional face-painter to get so fast at this!


Step 8: RUN in fear!!!

Disclaimer: No actual tigers were harmed in the making of this 8-step program. A special thanks to Disney's Epcot face-painters for being amazingly quick!

Magic Kingdom Day #2

WARNING: Seriously cheesy tourist photos to follow!!! Proceed at your own risk!


Yes, I really do exist. I know there isn't much photographic evidence, but there it is, folks! No, I'm not the Goofy hat on top of Mason's head...I'm the one on the left. No really, that's me.



Thank goodness for PhotoPass people! I, being the professional photographer of the family, forgot to charge the camera battery the night before. So, the photos you see on this blog post are the photos I have of our day at Magic Kingdom. They were taken by random people and no thought or love went into them. Only I can tell, though.




I DID take this one. It was my first shot of the day...and one of my last. I must admit that it was very liberating to not have to capture every bit of an exciting day on camera. The only part of the day I was seriously disappointed was at the fireworks display. Words really won't do it justice, but it really was amazing.



Brian had to get in on the Goofy statue action. Aren't my boys handsome?



Teacups. I was forewarned about the teacups. Luckily, I know my limits when it comes to rides. Anything that repeatedly goes in a circle I put the kybosh on. No questions asked. The boys had a good time in them. Let's go to Space Mountain, shall we? You really can't go wrong with a roller coaster that is completely in the dark. In a word: AWESOME!

Sometimes It's Okay to Follow...

Check out the new gadget on the right-hand side of this page...Google has done it again! Nothing wrong with adding a little social networking to my social networking, right? Thanks to Kelly sBlog for making me so envious that I had to seek it out!

Animal Kingdom: Day #1

This tree is called The Tree of Life and it's the first thing you see as you wind your way into the park along a tree-lined trail filled with parrots and other animals. You can't really get a perspective on how massive this tree is until you take a step back from it...


Wow!


The entire thing is made from some kind of resin and there are animals carved out in every nook and cranny. Truly amazing! We all had fun picking out all of the animals. Later in the morning, we were inside of the tree for a 4-D show of It's Tough to be a Bug. I won't reveal any details, but it's not a show for the faint of heart!


Fans of The Lion King: This show is a must-see at Animal Kingdom! There is something for everyone in this show – singing for the music-lovers, dancing for the Broadway show lovers, characters for the kids and acrobats for the dare-devils!


The animatronics in this show were not stellar, but the live performers were AMAZING!


The costumes were beautiful and really eye-catching. I'll let you in on a little secret: Brian enjoyed this show. I know! So, go see this show...NOW!



After an amazing show, it was off to see some characters! We didn't stand in line too terribly long for any characters and it was tons of fun for Mason to collect their autographs! Of course, it was tons of fun for me to collect photos of Mason collecting their autographs. What?


While Mason and Brian stood in line for Chip and Dale's autographs, a park employee was striking up conversation and asked them if they wanted to be in the parade at 3 pm. Really? What kind of question is that?! So, we went where they were told to go shortly before the parade began and we were escorted backstage to where all of the floats were lined up. We were on a float right in front of Minnie Mouse! This was our view from backstage. I will post the photos from our view during the parade later.



Snack time at Disney is no small feat! With so many options, you can't really go wrong...especially with ice cream. The weather in Orlando was outstanding, so an ice cream treat in 80º weather was just the thing to cool us down. **Note that Mason is biting the strawberry bar with the side of his mouth since he has 3 loose teeth in the front**



Brian doesn't like to admit it, but when he's in the mood for sweets, he has giant eyes! When I took this photo, he had already eaten half of that cereal snack...and look at how much is left! For the record, I had an ice cream sandwich that was shaped like Mickey's head...it was delicious!



Performances were held throughout each park and we happened to be sitting in the snack area while this was going on. Music and dancing while you eat...how can you go wrong?


What is an animal park without a safari? Disney did a pretty good job making it look like the African plains, yes?



We saw lions, ostrich eggs, cheetahs, alligators and more!



A far-off view of Expedition Everest...the only ride I wasn't able to convince Mason to go on. Next time we visit Disney, it's first on my list!

The Happiest Birthday...

Here's a sneak peek of our very first day in Orlando. At check-in, they gave Mason a "Happy Birthday" button to wear during his visit. This proved to be quite beneficial throughout our stay...more on that later. Enjoy the birthday song!