So apparently I just have crazy kids. What kid doesn’t want to dress up every day, let alone on Halloween?!? Heaten has a Thomas the Train costume in the closet that he refuses to even try on, and Shenzie, well she’s another issue altogether. I bought her a princess costume because, lets face it, I have one of those daughters. Who loves all things pink, purple, and princess. That was a BIG no go. She refuses to wear it. She said she wanted to be a kitty which I was all for, but then changed her mind and decided she wants to be a ghost. YAY! Until the day of our MMOCO Halloween party when she refused to dress up. She did have a great time getting her face painted ‘pooky’ ghost, so at least thats something. And she does make an adorable ‘Pooky Ghost’ if I do say so myself. =)
Ok, so I know I’m totally slacking on the blog front, but trust me, its not from lack of wanting. I am buried to my ears in editing (sound familiar?) This time of year is by far the busiest for family photographers and luckily I am no exception.
Well, the fall here was quite beautiful the short time it lasted (although according to Jeff this is still fall). I’m not sure but snow, rain, and COLD ass temperatures do not scream fall to me, but hey, he’s a much better judge at seasons since this is my first real one. The weather was amazing, and the leaves were so colorful and beautiful. Love love love fall leaves! And now for picture overload. =)
While I was in Vegas a few weeks ago one of our trees started shedding its leaves like crazy. Jeff {with the help of Heaten} kept the leaves raked into a nice pile until there were enough for a leaf party.
They had so much fun and you can see from the giant smiles on their faces. =) I will treasure the memory of our first leaf fight forever.
*Disclaimer…I know this poor blog is neglected, but I am up to my ears in editing, house projects, and playing with the twinzies before winter sets in. Hopefully I’ll get back to updating more than once a week. =) And yes, this is the same post on my photography blog….oops….lazy anyone?
I get a lot of emails asking about my editing, especially editing eyes. Now before I start let me just say this is how I edit. I am by no means and expert and there are a zillion ways to do things, this is just my way.
Here is my darlingly silly and sassy niece H. Isn’t she adorable!!!! You’ll see more of her sweet face coming soon, to a blog near you!
Before:
Canon 5DII, Canon 24/70 f2.8 shot at 2.8 ISO 320 1/250
I shoot RAW and adjust white balance, exposure, brightness, blacks, and fill light as needed in Camera Raw.
The following settings (for this photo) in Camera Raw:
White Balance: Custom - Temperature 5000
Tint -9
Exposure was correct in camera so no adjustment necessary and I didn’t adjust anything else for this photo.
My edits (in Photoshop CS5):
Brightness +4
Contrast +7
Curves - I pull up the midtones and drag down the shadows. I don’t do a true S curve…more like an S minus the top. =)
Levels - Each photo is different, but this one got just a slight slide to the left (lighter).
A second curves - same as above.
Last but not least the eyes. Blue and green eyes don’t require much, but I still do an Unsharp Mask on them. I use my Elliptical Marquee Tool or the Lasso Tool to select the eyes and do an Unsharp Mask on them using {about} the following settings:
Amount 86
Radius 6.3
Threshold 0
And viola’ I’m done.
Before and After
Nothing too crazy…more color, lighter, and more pop. I really like my photos to stay true to how I saw them when I photographed them. Looking back years from now I personally don’t want to see whatever crazy photoshop fad that was going on at the time, I just want to see my kids, as they were…crazy and fun!
I don’t normally sharpen for web, but use a sharpen/defog at 50(ish)% opacity(Action from Florabella Extra Action Set) when printing.
*As a side note I will say I tend to overexpose my photos (on purpose). I just like bright and cheery photos. My husband likes the before photo better because the after is too bright…go figure. =)
Here is me {again} heading to Las Vegas (photos taken from my trip there last week). I’m hoping the turbulence won’t make me want to hurl this time. =(
And this beauty is what I’m leaving behind:
I’m super happy that this is my last plane ride for awhile!
We took the twinzies to their new Pediatrician today for their four year well check. They are well. They are beyond well, they are perfect! I loved our new Doctor, loved the office, and loved that we waited all of 5 minutes before getting called back (our old Dr. was at least an hour wait every.single.appointment).
Shenzie weighs in at 37.4 pounds (the girl LOVES to eat) and is 39 1/4 inches tall.
Heaten weighs in at 35 pounds (the boy HATES to eat) and is 39 3/8 inches tall.
They had to get a shot and the flu nose spray stuff. OMG, the shot was horrifying. Thank God Jeff was there. They howled and screamed and howled some more. Luckily 10 minutes later they were both smiling, happily sucking on their lollipop.
So yay! The kids are growing well and we like our new Dr. and we don’t have to go back for another year! Who0t!
And because you know I love photos here are a few from our “choochoo ride” last weekend. We had a super fun time, and of course now Heaten asks to go ride the choo choos daily. =)
I’m feeling a little stressed about heading back to Vegas in ummm…. FOUR days. It seems like I was just there. Oh wait! That is because I was just there. =)
I am so glad I was able to go to my Grandma’s Funeral. I would have never forgiven myself if I had missed it. Thank you SO much Jeff for being so supportive and dealing with the crazies solo not once, but twice this month. The Service was beautiful and while I’m so sad that my Grandma is gone, I’m glad she’s in a better place and that my family has closure after so many hard months.
Highlights of my trip included meeting Laura!!!! OMG! She is as amazing as I thought she’d be. We met up at a bar {Gasp! Drinking, in Vegas…..why, I never!}….and had a great time chatting about everything from photography, to crazy kids, to homes, to running, and everything else in between. After 4 years of blog stalking, emailing, and talking on the phone it was about time we met. And as proof we did actually meet…..the worst photo {of me} known to man! But isn’t she adorable!!!!
I also got to see some of my family that I haven’t seen in years. Like years years! It was great to catch up on things and see how everyone has grown. I do have photos to share from the dinner, but I’m just too behind on everything else to get to them right now. Hopefully soon.
I stayed with Stacey and Haylee and had lots of fun hanging out with my sister playing funnily games. =) Thank you Sissy for letting me crash your {clean} house, eat your fridge full of food, and being my chauffeur.
Lowlights from the trip included a 2 hour delay on my way home including a broken plane. Sitting between two douche bags on the way up and having a mini break down, crying in my seat hoping they don’t notice.
I’ll be MIA this week getting ready to fly back to Vegas (this time for work….super excited to see my awesome clients), and spending some much needed time with my crazy kids. I have so much to say about their insaneness, but it will have to wait for another day. Wish me luck for a stress free flight!!
I’m feeling very conflicted and emotional about flying to Las Vegas tomorrow. I really don’t want to leave the twinzies {and Jeff} for four days and then a week later turn around and do it again. The circumstances of my return are not happy ones, even though I am happy to see my family and also most of my extended family (I have a HUGE extended family).
Once upon a time I would see my entire extended family once a year at my Grandma’s for Christmas. This tradition is one of my most treasured memories and I’m sad to see it end. The last few years weren’t the same as many of the families didn’t make it, but it still saddens me that Christmas at Grandma’s is over. Every single year, without fail, she used to make me a Red Wisteria Cake for my birthday. She thought it was my favorite and I never had the heard to tell her it wasn’t, so every year I would oooh and ahhh over the cake and eat a big old slice of it no matter how full I was.
I am hoping the funeral will bring closure to many of my family, myself included. I am staying in Vegas an extra day to spend time with my family without having to rush off to work. It will be nice to hang out like we used to. One thing I am really looking forward to this weekend is meeting Laura. I met Laura online 4 years ago when the twinzies were newborns. She has 4 year old twin boys. After 4 years of online and phone communications I feel like I know her so it is going to be great to really meet her.
I’m pretty bummed the kids aren’t going coming with me on this visit. They miss their Cousins, Aunties, and Grandparents SO much and they’ve grown SO much since we’ve left. So there you have it. I’m sad, happy, sad, and excited all rolled into one crazy person.
Here is Grandma’s Obituary.
Beatrice Fullerton
BEATRICE FULLERTON Beatrice Henroid Fullerton, 81, of Pahrump, passed away Sept. 26, 2010. She was born Jan. 12, 1929, in Ely, and was a lifelong resident of Nevada. She had a great love for her family and was “Grandma” to many besides her family. She loved babies, deer hunting, mountains and horses. Everyone who knew her was a better person for it, she touched many. Beatrice was preceded in death by her husband, Lewis Alex Fullerton; three sisters; one brother; granddaughter; and great-grandson. She is survived by six children; 29 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren; and seven siblings. Services will be at noon Monday, Oct. 4, at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City. Donations can be made to Nathan Adelson Hospice.
I love you more than life itself and am so very blessed to be your Mom.
Holy Shit!!!! My twinzies are four! I just can’t wrap my brain around that one. Four is going to be great once we get past the crazy clothes drama of Shenzie and the crappy non eating of Heaten. Oh, and the fighting. Oh yeah, and the not listening. Oh yeah, and the poop butt, Goddammit, stupidhead. Hahahah. Really, I think four is going to be awesome and I can’t wait to enjoy it to its fullest.
I am just a little behind so their four year letter is coming {I hope}. As well as their four year stats after our first visit to our new pediatrician. And of course their four year photos!!! Stay tuned.
*The photos above were taken this summer at Farewell Park under the bridge. For sure one of my favorite summertime memories. Jeff and I reading on a blanket while the twinzies played the day away in the mud, river, and dirt. I am so thankful for my family and the life we share.
