#11....Check! (continued...)

So to wrap up my #11 on my 101 in 1001....let's finish talking about Disney World.


Day 1 was Animal Kingdom...and Day 2 is Magic Kingdom.



We made it to Magic Kingdom early in the day and first up...pictures with the first character we got to.


Pluto is first and immediately G-Man is NOT quite thrilled with him. He's not crying, but he's not thrilled to meet him either. He's bashful, and hiding his eyes. Eventually we get our photos taken together (by the Disney guy...so I don't have it electronically...yet) and then I finish taking photos as we're trying to get G to even ACKNOWLEDGE Pluto's existence. Finally he gets a high-five and we're off!


As soon as you get to MK, there is SO much to see...so much to do...and so much to distract you with. But finally we get some pictures snapped and off to the rides we go.


We rode many rides....even one ride 3 times!!!!



He loved everything and we were SOOO glad that we took him. Travis was worried he'd hate it (since you guys remember...this kid HATES carnival rides) and that we'd be throwing $$ down the drain. But we didn't (well, we spend oodles of $$$...but just none down the drain) and he enjoyed it all. EVEN THE RIDES. I do believe it helps when the parents can ride WITH you.


Even the parade was great...but by this time G was hot and tired and not quite thrilled to stand up and see everything...so he sat in his stroller and fanned himself with our hand-held fan.



Oh, and his favorite parts about Disney???? The gift shops. I am not kidding you...this kid gets it honestly from both parents...but all he wanted to do was shop. So we indulged. Nothing like a $15 Buzz Lightyear spinner toy to make a kid happy. And a $15 Mickey-Mouse Ears hat to make mom happy (for those adorable photos). And yes...somehow I would up wearing the Mickey ears...you are allowed to make fun of me.






We're excited to head back there for THE BIG DISNEY TRIP where we'll stay at the resort, stay for 4-5 days, and ride EVERYTHING. This trip wasn't that...but it still was a fantastic first trip to Disney. For G-Man AND Travis. Next time though...when we wait in line for 20 minutes to meet Mickey & Minnie...I want him to actually LOOK at them, maybe smile and give hugs, so that I can take the pictures....instead of all 3 of us standing there taking pictures with Mickey/Minnie and him covering his eyes.


And I had to keep reminding myself...this kid is 3.5 years old and still takes naps during the day...when he's NOT spending it at an amusement park.

This was what happened when we got back to the hotel.....

#11....Check!

#11....Go to Disney World.

Well, I can FINALLY cross #11 off of my list of 101 in 1001. We hit the good old Disney World for 2 days...September 28th & 29th. First up....Animal Kingdom (this post). Lastly....Magic Kingdom (another post coming up soon).

We got to Animal Kingdom around noon (after a tour of a timeshare place...all to get SUPER discounted Disney tickets) and it was hot. REALLY HOT. First up....RENT A STROLLER. Because I am NOT going to carry around a 45 pound child all over Disney...with a bad back.

Animal Kingdom is shady, enclosed in a forest-like atmosphere, and not ANYTHING like Magic Kingdom.

We loved it. The animals, the rides, the atmosphere, the EVERYTHING. Great way to kick off day-1 of our trip.

I won't bore you with ALL the photos from our trip...just a few highlights.

The scenery:

The safari (which G LOVED...and was fantastic...and again, won't bore you with zoo-type pictures):

The HATS (Lordy, Lordy...Disney makes great hats...and I had fun playing dress-up with G. Disregard the Minnie witch's hat):

The ice cream! (The chocolate bar is mine...just giving it to G to pose with it):

And lastly....The parade! (you can tell he's getting tired at this point!):

#57....Check!

# 57. Get canvas prints made.


Yet another thing I can mark off my list of 101 in 1001.


I started using the company Simply Canvas for all of my canvas prints...and I have to say...they live up to their reputation.



I had a client who wanted a big print of her daughters. And I of course wanted a big photo of G-Man for my office wall.



Let me just say....BIGGER IS BETTER. Bigger CANVASES are better.


These are awesome. I love them. My clients love them. And anyone who ever sees them fall in love with them. So if any clients out there want some AWESOME canvases made of their images...contact me! I'd be happy to give you ALL the details...AND all the pricing info. Sizes can be anything from an 8x8....to a 40x80!!!! They are so fantastic...I can't wait to see my other images portrayed on canvas!

#45....Check!

#45. Go Camping.

One more check off of my list of 101 in 1001. Boy...I have only 99 more to go! :)

August 22nd...a Friday. And the start of FAMILY CAMP!

My church from my hometown has "family camp" every year at a campground south of Bloomington, IN. This year we decided to go. And then I got a wild hair up my butt to offer to be the "photographer" of the camp.

So I promise I did go camping. I have 400+ photos of everyone else but me. So you'll have to take my word for it...and see the evidence that I have of G-Man being filthy.

And I do have 1 photo of me during that camping trip. But it is so horrible that I couldn't do that to you handful of readers. I mean really. I shared it with Mel from The Black Hole (Hi Mel!) and I still don't think I can get over my embarrassment. So no way in heck will I share it with the entire internet. My husband took it (of course) and I look like a big, fat, sweaty beast.

But anyway...camping was fun. Camping was hot. And my arm muscles hurt from lifting my camera 900 times to my face for the gazillion shots I took. And this was Friday, Saturday AND Sunday.

I had a fantastic time with all my church family and friends...and really enjoyed it all. G-Man enjoyed it some too...except 2 minutes after we got there Friday night...he wanted to go home. *grrrrr* And then he didn't want to participate in some of the kid games. So he colored and stuck close to my side. And sprayed people with water bottles (to cool them down). And then he would take a drink from a water bottle (or make Travis drink it) because who doesn't want to drink yucky water from a water bottle?!?!?!

Oh...except for the me sleeping with G-Man in a bunk bed (we had cabins) because he wouldn't stay asleep. AND my niece E wouldn't sleep quietly in her pack n play (we all shared a cabin). Then it was freakin' hot and no electricity, and I slowly roasted all night long (for 2 nights). And the bug bites with a can of bug spray ALREADY on me.

Yeah. Not a "happy camper"...but we did have a good time. ;) Next year I'm thinking of renting an RV.....

And I'm only showing the G-Man photos....as not sure my church family/friends want their images posted on my blog. :) So here's just a few out of a gazillion I took. Can you tell he's grumpy and hot in a few?!?!?!

#30....Check!

#30. Buy a cool Macro lens.

Check!

Yay! It's my first 101 in 1001!!!! And really...I bought the lens before I posted my 101 in 1001...but it was already on the "work-in-progress" list, so this counts.

Do you know how hard it is to think of 101 things to do in 1001 days?

It's hard!

But anyway...I bought the macro lens. And I love it. Especially for babies! You get the cool close-up shots that focus on the little tiny lips, ears, feet, belly buttons....all those cute baby things. Can't really use it on bigger kids (unless they're really good at holding still) since it works better on manual focusing than the auto focus.

So it's perfect for still babies.

Just like this little girl....my first subject with my macro lens. I used it solely during the shoot...and I loved each and every shot.

Here's some examples. I wanted to take photos of my new macro lens....macro-lens-style....but couldn't do it with the lens attached to my camera. So it's not the effect I wanted. :(

Yay! Now I'm excited to photograph my neighbor's kids this weekend. 3 girls (5, 3 and 1 week)! How cool is that! I feel sorry for them when it comes time for boys, proms and weddings!!!!