A few more

Last of the beach pix, I promise. My cousin Ginger has been taking a photography course and knows more about the Canon Rebel XTi than I do. She had a zoom lens and was taking some great shots of Justin. For some reason, I packed a whole suitcase full of clothes. I realized one afternoon that my child was running around in a diaper for all these pix. Oh well - might as well get him comfortable in his own skin.

All I have to say is nice hammock, Morby fam. The holes between the cords doesn't hold Justin in, and truly isn't comfortable for me either.

Looking at boats with Papa Snuf. His body is slowly starting to look like a toddler from the back. I'm going to miss those rubber band arms and doughboy appearance when it finally disappears.

Crazy hair with a zombie expression

Looking at the boats again

Thanks, Gingi, for the pix! It's nice to have someone else take a few for me for a change. If you're getting annoyed with all the pix I post with each blog, then too bad. No one twisted your arm to read this, and if you even remotely know me, then you know that my camera is another appendage to my body. :-)

More beach pictures

Valerie & Ginger were at the beachhouse for 24 hours and met the Smith clan at Shrimp & Stuff for lunch. Great place where everything but the coleslaw is fried.All four dogs: Roxy, Grace, Putter, & Snickers
Kaki making her beer battered-pickles which were fantastic with the spicy ranch we were dipping them in
Uncle Shane horsing around with Justin

I liked the lighting in this one, though it's a little grainy. Still playing around with no flash indoors. Still a good pic of Aunt Kaki and her favorite nephew
Family photo - like the little boy with his entire hand crammed in his mouth? Bring on those last set of molars.... We had just had dinner at Waterman's on the bay in Galveston. Great food, especially since we don't eat out much at the beach.

Me with my favorite boys

Fun in the Sun

Here are some photos from the beautiful shores of Galveston. There were these 3 women that kept running by us all day in their skimpy running outfits and rock hard abs. I think we would all subconsciously suck in every time they passed us. They eventually settled in beside us on the beach and played football. They threw better spirals than all of us. So Aaron & Shane started squeezing their muscles while they threw the frisbee. They looked like ironmen out there. :-)

Papa Snuf & Justin playing in the sand

Sunglass dudes

Aaron & Elise
Nice Tecate, Shane
Roxy-loo got to go to the beach as well - lucky dog
I think this was right before a meltdown with sunscreen in Justin's eyes. I did "ride" a few waves with the boogy board, as well as my mom. Unfortunately no pix from these athletic activities. Great day at the beach!

Duck Tour

So we went to Galveston with just the immediate fam. Which normally we cram in more than 20 people and about 7 dogs. So "spreading out" amoungst 8 adults, 4 dogs, and 1 child, seemed like a breeze compared to most beach house experiences. We were going to to on a Harbor Tour but it sold out. So we went to plan B - a duck tour.

Basically a vehicle that goes on land and water. We took a tour of Galveston and then floated into the bay. Kinda crazy, and I think evervyone hasn't lived until they've experienced this adventure in july in 100 degree heat.
My dad laughing at my mom - or is he regretting the decision altogether?
Here we are driving into the water. The tour guide had a real dry sense of humor, and Shane, who you can see at the bottom of this picture, really loved his jokes.

Laughing with Gingi

I got to see Gingi for 24 hours in Galveston. She flew in for a whirlwind week in Texas and we were part of the itinerary! Justin had not had the privilege of playing with Cousin Ginger for 16 months. So she met with a totally different kid who couldn't even walk last time they met.

Airplane boy

Tickling in a great way to get a smile out of the J man

Justin went straight for the Mardi Gras decor when we arrived. Great pic of him and Ginger in matching decor.

Jess in town

My brothers and I have always had the privilege of Godparents. Unless you are a Catholic, most people don't have these. The Lundys are our godparents and have always been like family to us. So we were naturally pumped when their daughter, Jessica, was in town for work. Derek, Shane, Kaki, & I got to treat her to Lupe's and meet her friend, Jenny, as well. So all the girls wore black tops - an obvious photo op for me.

Just like old times, without Shane sleeping on a water raft for a bed.

We miss the Lundys dearly and wish they would get themselves back to Texas!

Gimme some chocolate

Justin has started cutting his 2 year molars. Which in layman's terms means that after these 4 puppies come in then we are done for the next 3 years with teeth. Horray! All that to say, he hasn't been eating much, only cold and soft foods. So I turned softee when he wanted "dis", his way of saying this. It was a chocolate chocolate chip cupcake, warmed in the microwave. Anytime he really likes something, he says "ummmm", real drawn out. I laugh every time.

Saying cheese for the camera, with chocolate covered teeth.

I was also playing with my camera without a flash indoors and bumping up my ISO. Definitely grainier, but it allowed more light in.
And my cousin introduced me to Picaso last night and I "warmified" this photo. Can't tell which one I like better. Let me know if you have an opinion. Creamier skin tones which is code for a yellower picture.

Swimming with Amy

Justin and I went with Aunt Pam and Cousin Amy to their neighborhood pool last week. Justin had a blast having constant attention from Amy. And mommy had fun not having to give Justin that constant attention. :-)

Amy would go grab the sticks for Justin when he couldn't reach them. What was so great about this pool was that Justin could touch for the first 10 feet of it. He loved being a big boy in that pool.

Not a huge fan of the shower afterwards, but Amy told him we needed to wash the chlorine off.

John David's Birthday Party

We went to Sugarland on Sunday for John David's 1 year birthday party. Justin had a blast swimming in the pool and playing with the waterfalls.

Brooks in the water

Justin & Harper chowing down

Fish cookies hanging from the "fishing poles"

Rice Krispie "sushi"

Fish birthday cake

The birthday boy

Justin crawling in the tunnel

Photography sites

Found some new camera bags at Tracy Joy. They aren't cheap, but much cheaper than another site for $200 a pop. I really like the Kristine bag - holds several lenses, a flash, a small tripod, etc. So do I get all the equipment first or the bag? :-)




Stumbled upon a photography forum where both amateur and professionals help each other with questions, problems, etc. Right now the one year membership is free. So of course I signed up and was curious. Learned a few things already last night. So if you want any tips, go sign up at http://onephotosource.com/.



And for those that haven't stumbled upon Karen Russell's photography tips, shame shame. She's on my side bar of fave blogs that I read daily. If you scroll down on a few posts then she really explains what lenses she uses, vocabulary of certain functions, tips on what she does, etc. She also is an avid online scrapbooker and started creations for Creative Innovations.

Just a little FYI for some of you that share in my passions of pictures...

Barbeque at Dianna's House

We went to my buddy Dianna's house on Saturday for a barbeque. She was a little worried that there wouldn't be anything to do for the kids. A set of five year-old twins was plenty of fun for us, much less everything else new and exciting. Justin discovered the bird feeder and corn for the squirrels. He was really hoping that the animals would come right up to him.

He also really liked her lounge chairs on the patio.

A few giggles from our hostess and the main cheese himself

His favorite game there was 52-card pickup. We unfortunately had not introduced him to that game yet. He made Dianna play it about 10 times, over and over again.