I wonder why the Clown Fish is so Grumpy!

I feel that turning 5 is one of those big milestones in a kids life,

so we really played up the celebration bit, a lot!

Elizabeth had been asking for the past month or so to go ride the

Dinosaur Safari Train at Pearl Ridge Mall

for her Birthday.

Off we went, with her brand new Camera in hand,

to meet some friends for a ride and some lunch.

Now where did she learn to take pictures of everything in sight?!

Hee hee!

We got each other!

After they rode the train, 

We headed to Farrell's for lunch.

Elizabeth only wanted Ice Cream for her lunch

and ordered the Strawberry Surprise.

She was only able to eat maybe half of it. 

Then later in the week we had her Princess Party.

If you ask her right now, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

She will answer unequivocally, "A Princess!"

I knew the perfect cake for a Princess could and would be made by

Kristin Kato of A Cake Life!

One of the YUMMIEST (is that a word?) cakes ever!

And beautiful, too, isn't it?

Since there were both boys and girls at the party,

we had both tiaras and crowns.

We made Magic Swords and Scepters using 

Pretzel Rods, Nutella, crushed nuts and varied sprinkles.

They made a big splash at the party!  More YUM!

What is a party without a Pinata?!

And let me tell you, this one did NOT want to be busted!

But they sure tried their best!

Just look at that determination!

Even the Mom's had a whack at it!

Even if the kids weren't so sure about letting them do it! LOL!

I finally had to had a few whacks at it myself!

Yippee!

Sometimes you just wanna take a good swing at something!

After all that sugar, the kidlets were riding high on the wave of crazy!

I tossed them out front and had them run races up and down the sidewalk!

All in all, I have to say it was a lot of fun!

When and how did that happen?!

She can be such a little princess

and then in the next second,

have her feet up over her head or be lounging across the arm of a chair like a hoodlum.

See that twinkle in her eye?

Don't let it fool you!

She can be such a bear to deal with,

And yet, the sweetest, cuddliest little girl…

until you get an elbow in your ribs! 

She is becoming a great big sister!

These two are thick as thieves!

The giggles are contagious,

the play, elaborate and

the fights, well, lets just say they aren't small.

I don't know what the little one is going to do when big sister starts school in a couple weeks!

I forget sometimes (more often than not actually) how small she really is.

5 isn't that old!

And yet, she is so smart for her age!

She has a crazy logic that is hard to say no to at times.

She's reading books (bragging Mom alert!) that are for 3rd-6th Graders.

We're reading Superfudge by Judy Blume and she relates to Peter even though Fudge is her age.

What do I do with that?!

This little girl changed my life.

She is my mirror,

My reason for being,

My muse.

I'd be lost without her.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

I love you!

This little gecko found her and hung out with her

for all of outdoor play at the daycare.

She then insisted on bringing it home and releasing it in our yard because,

"Gecka doesn't have a family and I'm now her Mommy!  I need to take care of her!"

So, we released "her" on our little palm tree in the front yard.

Gotta love the 5 year old logic!

HOMECOMING!

It is always such an emotional time for the families.

Today, we welcome home Sgt. Adkins and his Unit!

The worst part of the whole day is the waiting!

It seems like you've been waiting for so long already and the last couple of hours just DRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG!

But, you keep your chin up and enjoy the happy atmosphere.

You can feel the buzz of excitement!

And then they march in!

And we sing the National Anthem because we are PROUD to be Americans!

We are PROUD of our servicemen.

We are PROUD of ourselves for having made it through another trial.

Erin, your face while looking at the flag during the Anthem really moved me!

It's exactly how I feel.

Then, FINALLY, they are released and you get to run to your loved ones.

It goes by so fast you aren't sure how you got to him and feels a little surreal.

Can it really be true that he's home?

You betcha!

I have to say, it's a little hard to shoot through tears!

I just met this family and it still got me all verklempt.

They were so (understandably) happy to be reunited.

And then the best part of all…

You get to take him HOME!

Welcome home, Sgt. Adkins!

The above image settings are ISO 1600, f 4.0, 1/60 sec.  Still too slow for handheld, and you do get some of the movement blur in the water, however, it looks like the water is stopped in time.

By changing the settings slightly to f 10 and 1/8 sec, we now have nice, smooth, milky flowing water.  It gives the illusion of seeing the water moving.  Now get out there and try it out!

Baby G has made his appearance!

His big sister is so proud of her little brother and since she had painted Mom's belly,

We thought she'd like to paint a picture of him!

He was a great little man to work with and

even gave me a few sweet little newborn smiles.

Thank you, for sharing him with me for a few hours!

Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens in Kaneohe

this past week.

The flowers were in bloom and gorgeous!

Such a beautiful setting nestled right up next to the Ko'olau Mountains.

The ducks are so tame

they walk right up to you

and beg for a treat!

Of course, my daughter felt they got a little TOO close to our picnic

and decided to try chasing them away.

I am SO lucky to live in such a beautiful place!

He's 8 and a half months old now

and just the CUTEST most adorable thing ever!

He is my cure for baby fever

since I get to play with him multiple times per week, too.

Doesn't he just make you go all gooey inside?!

Gotta love those babies

that are so good natured

you never know they are there…

except for their preciousness!

I'll miss you, little buddy!

Hurry home to Auntie!

the halfway point of my

52 Weeks of Nature

Than to show you a few of the images

from yesterday and today.

I love Nature and I LOVE Newborns!

Put them together and I'm ecstatic! 

Baby Oliver is my dear friend, Lisa's third boy

and an absolute joy to photograph!

We spent a gorgeous evening at the beach

(right after a torrential rainstorm)

with the goal of getting one image.

I was overjoyed to have gotten three! 

Then today, we hiked to Likeke Falls

with baby and bowl.

Funny things people say to you when you are hiking with a big bowl:

"Wow! Were you doing laundry in the falls?!"

and

"Were you girls making poi or something?" 

While we were getting baby set up,

about 40 people walked by and Oohed and Aahed

along with imparting random wisdom such as,

"Don't let that water splash on the Baby!"

Let me assure you,

No babies were ever in any danger during these shoots.

Safety is ALWAYS first on our mind.

But, Boy oh BOY was I happy to get these images!

These are images I've wanted to do for a while.

Thank goodness for photographer friends who have babies

and are willing to do almost anything!

Thanks, Lisa, for being my mentor and friend.