{O}rchids

If you ever find yourself in Corpus Christi, TX with nothing to do, go to the Botanical Gardens. Please. It is so amazing. We could have spent all day, but the beach was calling... {More on the beach later}.

Here is just a glimpse of the amazingness: The {Orchid} House

There were so many different kinds and colors of orchids; big and small. It was amazing. I would have spend longer taking pictures of every single one, but my group was getting antsy.

We went on a not busy day so we were able to: hold a snake and a turtle in the reptile house, feed lots of birds and parrots, talk to all the parrots, walk through the amazing gardens, stroll through the orchid and butterfly houses, take a walk along the boardwalk to Alligator Lake, smell the beautiful roses, and of course {A} played at the fun playground while Baby {E} napped. 

Next up: Our Beach trip 2015

{Pumpkin} Patch

Pumpkin patches are the best. We showed up tonight at the perfect time. The lighting was great and it wasn't crowded, yet.



{A} is turning into a silly smiler... Bummer! And Baby {E} just loves having her mouth wide open. But they sure are cute no matter what.

 See, wide open. But those blue eyes...

 {A} refused to let me take off the sticker from his shirt. He says he needs it on so everyone will know that his shirt will glow in the dark.

This was about 1 second before {A} started climbing through the hole to look at Baby {E}

At least one of them is looking... at the camera.

And because I didn't get one good one of her smiling, here is a phone picture. She's the best!

{Denman} Estate Park

You guys! I have discovered a secret gem in San Antonio... It is the perfect place for a quiet walk around the pond, picnic, family pictures {hint, hint}... I love it. I can't wait until it is a little cooler so I can spend more time here.


The little pond is surrounded by tall beautiful trees.

Even in hot hot hot humid August there are still pretty flowers blooming

I have no idea why, but this Asian inspired monument overlooks the pond. It is so beautiful with all the small details. I wonder how often they need to repaint it.

A lot of ducks are sitting on nests or have cute little ducklings chasing after them.

So my friends, if you are in or around San Antonio check out this breathtaking little park. You will not be disappointed!

{Busy}

Last week I was on a roll with posting. This week, not so much. But I have a good reason! I have been so busy with photo shoots! Last week I shot two families and one super fun tea party. Yesterday I captured some cute boys in some beautiful Blue Bonnets and Saturday I have another family session. So when I say I've been busy, I mean it! Lots of editing going on around here.




And in between all those fun sessions I still had time to get some of my sweet Little {A}.

I will get all caught up I promise. After all those family get to view their photos I'll share.

A Fallish {Spring}

Wait, what? What is a Fallish Spring? That doesn't make any sense! Well, in San Antonio, the leaves on most of the trees never actually change colors and fall off in the Fall. They just hang around all winter until the new leaves come in the Spring and push them off. It is very confusing for a toddler. Little {A} keeps asking if its Fall and if all the trees will change colors. I tell him, No it's Spring. It just kind of looks like Fall too.

Now do you know what I mean by a Fallish Spring? I love Spring here! Especially this year. Our grass in our backyard is so green! The wildflowers and Blue Bonnets are starting to bloom everywhere. It's mostly perfect temperatures. It's perfect.

A {Perfect} Spring Day

Last week was perfect and sunny and warm. Then it got cloudy and rainy and chilly again. Today it was warm and rainy, but like a Christmas miracle it turned sunny and perfect after dinner. Texas weather is so unpredictable! We took full advantage of the perfect evening and went for a family walk. I debated taking my camera and wish I would have! It was BEAUTIFUL! The sun was hitting the green grass perfectly. Everything had that just rained glow. All the trees and flowers were starting to bloom.  The clouds and the sun rays were so pretty. Ah it was perfect! Luckily I did have my phone with me and surprisingly a few of them turned out pretty good.

The clouds. Ah I have a big soft spot for beautiful clouds.

That grass is seriously that color. It's basically neon after it rains.

A "field of dandelions" Little {A} tried to pick them all.

I love reflections. If I wasn't so ginormously pregnant I probably would have walked home to get my camera to recapture this one. Darn those swollen feet...

Up close. I love those tiny little droplets.

Spring is my favorite! In Texas it also happens to be fall at the same time. More on that later....

{Personality}

Sometimes, just sometimes, I get that perfect shot. You know the one. Lighting is perfect. Background has zero distractions. And the personality of the subject shines through gloriously! These two sisters have two totally different personalities. {H} is so sweet. She is the best big sister. {L} is also very sweet, but with added sass and spunk. The more I look at this image, the more I love it. If you knew these girls, you would love it even more as well.

A Little {Behind}

So I know it has been awhile. And I really wish I had a great excuse as to why I haven't been blogging. But honestly I've been lazy and out of the habit. But today I finally buckled down and edited most of my Utah pictures from my {not so} recent trip.

Here is a little preview of what I'm working on.



Little {A} in all his shark glory on Halloween.

Anyone know where/what these are?

More to come in the next little while. I hope...

{The} Beach

So I love the beach. Like really, really love the beach. I love to soak up those warm sun rays. Dip my feet in the cool ocean water. And just plain RELAX. Last month was "vacation" month (aka a normal 8-5 with weekends off month). It was so nice to be a regular family. You know, the kind where the dad is always home for dinner and has ample time to spend with his family. We only get these kinds of months a couple times a year so we pack in a LOT of fun. This time around we spent four days at the beach. Every morning we'd wake up, eat breakfast, go to the beach. go to the pool, shower, eat dinner. That is the life I tell you! Living in swimsuits, no make up, never cooking. Man I could get used to that! But I think there is a very good reason vacations have to come to an end. I don't think I would appreciate the beach as much as I do if it was always accessible. I might take it for granted and not visit it everyday. Okay who am I kidding, I don't think I could ever get sick of the beach. But back to my point. Vacations have to end. Vacation months can't last forever (at least for us Dr. Families). But I am so grateful that these wonderful things come around so I can remember all I love about them. I love the beach, but honestly I love my family more. If I could spend everyday at the beach, but have to be by myself; honestly, I don't think it would be that great. We could have gone anywhere and it would have been the perfect vacation for us, because we were together.

This is my favorite "moody" sunset picture.



So the point to this whole post? I guess appreciate what you have in those everyday moments. Those "perfect" vacation months come around only every so often; and if you are always waiting around to be happy I don't think you ever truly will be. So be happy. Don't wait. Look for the the good and fun in everyday. And then when those great perfect moments do come, they will be even better.

How do you make everyday a good day?



Kelsey B

Sun Flare {How To}

Step one: Look directly at that beautiful setting sun. Bright right?! Are you squinting? Probably, huh? Well squint even more, you see how the rays of the sun get longer? Your camera lens works the same way. The more it "squints" the longer the rays will be.

Step 2: Move that dial over to M if you haven't already. Bump up the ISO to whatever you and your camera are comfortable with; maybe ISO 800. Its okay to have a little noise :)

Step 3: Make your camera squint. Close that aperture; maybe f/22.

Step 4: Aim your camera down so no sun or sky is showing in your view finder. (Like at the grass or trees just below the skyline). Set your exposure.

Step 4: Raise your camera. Compose your shot so the full sun is exposed. (Your camera is going to tell you your shot is WAY over exposed. Ignore it!)

Step 5: Click away!


Extra Tip: I have found my zoom lenses (18-55 and 18-140) make capturing sun flare so much easier. I don't know why, but it is just something I have noticed.





Did it work? Let me know! I want to see your beautiful sun flares.


Do you have any tips for me? How do YOU best capture sun flare?




ISO 800          18mm          f/22          1/20sec























Shot is SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) + Watermark.





Kelsey B

{M}om

My mom is the best. Some of you may try to convince me that your mom is the best, but we'll just have to agree to disagree. Well today my friends, is my awesome mom's birthday! Here are a few fun facts about my mom:

• She is the ultimate crafter and DIYer. She sews, quilts, paints, restores furniture. She is always on the lookout for a fun new project! 
• She and I used to work in a flower shop together. (I bet you didn't know that about me, did you!) She worked there for years! She still does flowers for family weddings and funerals. She is so talented!
• Her garden/yard is my favorite place. My wedding reception was there as well as my sisters's. The grass is always perfect. The flowers are so pretty and fragrant. Every year she has new ideas on how to make it better. 
• She is an awesome grandma! 13 grand kids and another on the way! Wahoo! 
• She raised 7 kids! Six girls and one boy. We are a BIG happy family :)
• My mom loves the color blue.  At one point I told her she couldn't buy any more blue clothes because it was getting out of hand.
• I'm sure if my mom could be any animal she would be a bluebird. She loves birds! And that bird loving trait has been passed down to a few of the grand kids including my little guy.
• She makes the BEST cinnamon rolls! She even sells them. They are that good.
• She used to have written instructions on how to turn on our computer and get to her email. Now she has her own laptop and is pretty tech savvy.

When I think of my mom I usually picture her in one of two places; either in her sewing room, or outside working in her yard. I don't have any pictures of her sewing room, but I do have some pictures of her amazing yard.

My mom is the greatest. She has helped me through so much and I have learned so much from her. 

I love you, Mom! I hope you have a great day!

Kelsey B

Backyard {Bugs}

Our backyard is full of surprises. While pulling weeds one day I found a toy, but very life like, tarantula. It scared me to death and then I promptly flung it at hubby to watch him scream like a girl. Best weed pulling day ever! We've also found a large spoon, various sizes of toy balls, dog poop (we do NOT have a dog), a tiny toy shark, and of course real live bugs. There are the annoying, very painful fire ants. We spray and spray and they just move and move. It never ends. One day Little {A} and I were digging in the dirt, yes sometimes I dig in the dirt just for fun, and we found some Beetles! Little {A} was slightly afraid of them, but thought they were pretty neat at the same time. We found out later that they come out at night. We left our back door open one evening because it was so nice and all of a sudden there were like 10 flying around. Very annoying.


Here is one getting very annoyed at us for digging him back up about 100 times.

We also have our Resident Grasshopper(s). We think they are the same two. They are the strangest grasshoppers I have ever seen. Not that they look any different, but they act different. They aren't really scared of us. I keep thinking they are about to die and I won't see them for awhile, then a few days or maybe a week goes by and there they are! {A} thinks they are the best! But won't get too close because one time they did jump and scare him. When they aren't around he states proudly that they probably went home. To eat some lunch, probably chicken nuggets. Or maybe they needed to take a nap.  Sometimes {A} will leave snacks out for them like goldfish or apples. Ya, like Grasshoppers like those kinds of things?! Well, do I have news for you! Our Resident Grasshopper really does like those things! Especially apples. He was out yesterday so Alex left him a snack. And he ate it. Don't believe me? I have PROOF!

Ha! Seriously. I told you these were strange grasshoppers. My mom thinks we are crazy. Hubby loves it. He says this way we don't have to buy a dog; we can just play with our grasshoppers. 

Kelsey B

{Texas} Blue Bonnets

There is something pretty amazing going on in Texas right now. As you drive down the road there are little pockets of color everywhere. And along the highway there are fields of blue. It is kind of distracting! There are Blue Bonnets and wild flowers EVERYWHERE. I love it! They are so pretty. The only bad thing is they mostly grow right off the road so it usually pretty dangerous to get good pictures of them. But lucky me, I found the perfect field of them. I may have trespassed, but the gate was open and no one came out to yell at us so I think we are safe. I need to go back. It really is the perfect spot!

I'm sure I'll be back to this field in the next week or so. If you know anyone who needs some cute Easter pics send them my way! :) 

Kelsey B

{R}ainy Days

Sometimes it rains in Texas. Okay maybe more than sometimes. It rains a lot here. My Arizona friends are complaining about it already being too hot in the mornings. Ya, I stayed in me fleece lined leggings and sweatshirt all day because 1) they are sooo comfortable and 2) its FREEZING here. So what else do I do on a rainy day besides be lazy? Take pictures of course.

Okay so maybe I didn't exactly take these today. I will admit these are from my "archives". But I did take them on a rainy day.... obviously.


I love playing with my camera and focusing on different things. For this one I shot with my lens wide open and focused on those tiny rain drops. 








It was just above freezing the day I shot these next two. The droplets stayed on the leaves all day! My backyard looked like it was covered in diamonds. I am not kidding! When the sun would peek out they would sparkle! 

 Some of the droplets were the size of a quarter! So pretty.

So yes I'm missing my sunshine, but I guess I can wait a few days. Good thing the weather here is bipolar.

Kelsey B