Lens Envy?

I had it.  So I took control.  Got help.  Attended a great photography workshop last weekend. Haven't shot in auto mode since. Ordered that 50mm lens with a 1.8 f-stop so I, too, could minimize depth of field in my shots.  Look out, bokeh.  Here I come.  No mercy.

The happy Amazon box (containing the dream lens) greeted the boys and me the moment we returned home from karate this morning.  By this afternoon, I had captured these shots of our four kids.

I heart my new "nifty fifty."

Kamikaze Bogs

Andrew the Orange Belt!

Andrew's latest karate belt test was last Friday, September 14. He was amazing and we are as proud of him as ever.

No Excuses

Not taking advantage of this amazing running weather would be silly.

Ethan's 3rd Birthday Party

Last Sunday, September 9.  My Gym, his very favorite place.  He had a great time.  We all did.  These are my favorite pics.  Click here for all 52 fun-filled photos on my fb page.

the favors

Publix cake.  Yum.

Grandma Cathy partied too, of course.

this crew was impossible to capture in a good photo.  hot mess.

arrrr!!

This morning's Halloween Preview...

What are we as parents?  Safe?  Scared??  Not sure.

September 11: 2001, 2009, and 2012

11 years ago, I was teaching percussion parts to a special topics class of innocent West Virginia 5th graders when I heard the horrible news.  Jon and I had just met one month earlier and I remember calling him and my mom and everyone else I knew and loved.  Many of the parents rushed to the school to pick up their children.  We all just wanted to hold on tight to the people we loved, not fully comprehending what had just happened and having no clue what was going to happen next.

3 years ago, at that same time, I was in labor after having been induced at 7:00 am with our second child: the giant, sweet, Ethan Jon Burbank.  He arrived in the afternoon, right in the middle of Days of Our Lives, and in enough time to allow my OB to make his tee time.

Today, I told both stories to a music class of South Carolina 3rd graders, none of whom were even conceived yet on September 11, 2001.  They sang God Bless America from their hearts.  All adults in the room became teary-eyed.

September 11. Different years = Different outcomes. Life is amazingly wonderful and unpredictable and scary.

We celebrated this guy's third big one on Sunday with a morning trip to the zoo and an afternoon party at My Gym, his most favorite place of all.  I took a lot of great photos and will post more when I have time.  Here's a favorite, though... those chubby cheeks blowing out the candle on his pirate cake.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Bogbear.  Love you.  Thank you for making today's date a wonderful one once again.

First Long Run: 7 Miles!

On this beautiful, breezy morning (could be the endorphins talking, there) I just ran seven miles without walking once!  Things only got brutal in the final mile and I pushed through.  This is a big deal for me because I have never, ever continuously run that long (90 minutes - I am a snail) or that far.

This makes me feel really good because the half marathon is in two months.  Jon and I are both right on track with our training, so the formerly unattainable-sounding 13.1 mile course in Disney doesn't seem quite so scary to me now.

Yay for running and goals and stepping it up when things get challenging!

Labor Day Weekend

'Twas relaxing and fun. Today, Jon ran a 10K in Blythewood and I did the 5K. We loved it! The 3 miles I ran marked the completion of my 100 miles/100 days goal, and one week early, to boot.

Yesterday, we released the butterflies we'd been growing.

Saturday was beloved karate class.

Today was lazy and snoozy for all.

We packed in some last-minute swimming on Sunday.

And this evening, Grandma Cathy provided some musical entertainment on recorder....

...as well as accordion.

 

Now, it's back to the grind.  Here's wishing everyone a wonderful fall!