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Showing posts with label Photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photos. Show all posts
Utah is a state with the third highest number of national parks - five - which is an impressive number considering it's size compared with the other top contenders (California and Alaska). Of the five parks in Utah, our family has now visited four of them during various weekend trips.
Even though our visits were short, I did learn a few things about these parks, and I thought I would share a few quick tips about each. While I'm mainly focusing on things that I wish I would have known before going, as an average hiker and parent of young kids - things I would have done better or differently - each and every one of these parks was gorgeous and well worth visiting!
(Perhaps I will eventually update this post once we have crossed the final park - Canyonlands - off our list.)
Zion National Park
I was very excited to visit Zion National Park, since I've heard people rave about it as being the prettiest in Utah. However, our visit was ill-timed, and I think my expectations were so different from reality that it was hard to adjust during our short visit. Here is what I wish I would have known:
There is a shuttle that takes you into the park.
Unlike most national parks we have visited, Zion is accessed mainly by a public shuttle system - first, one to take you from your parking to the Zion's entrance, then another shuttle to take you to various locations within the park. At the time that we visited, cars were not allowed in the park at all unless you had a special permit for one of the more technical hikes, and there was very limited parking close to the park entrance. Had we known this, we would have arrived much earlier in the day to ensure a good parking space, and to possibly avoid the shuttle to bring us to the park entrance altogether. We ended up waiting in line to get on the park entrance shuttle for about an hour, in the sun, with five kids. It took us about three hours total, between finding parking and the two shuttle rides, to finally get to the place where we wanted to hike.
It is best to research the parking situation before going.
One of the reasons it took us so long to get to our hike is because we struggled with figuring out where we could park. The road to Zion National Park leads through several canyon towns, and there are various places where there are hard-to-interpret "no parking" signs. We ended up parking about 3/4 of a mile down the road from Springdale (the town around the entrance to Zion), in an area that was clearly allowed parking, and walking to the shuttle location. Quick tip: There are NINE shuttle pickup locations along the route through Springdale, so I would recommend not stopping at the first one. We waited in line for an hour at shuttle stop #9, the closest to our parking, just to discover once we were on the shuttle that there were multiple stops we could have walked to, a little further down the road, that had no line at all. When we left, we also discovered that people had parked all along the road, even in front of the "no parking" signs, and it didn't appear that anyone had been given a ticket, so it was possible that we could have gotten away with parking closer. Honestly, with the insanity of parking for Zion, even if we did get a ticket for parking closer in the wrong place, it may have been worth the $125 fine.
Try not to go on weekends that will be super busy (especially for your first trip).
With the way this trip worked out, we ended up being on Zion on the Saturday before Memorial Day - possibly one of the busiest park days of the year. When we finally made it to our trail, there was literally a line of people walking both directions on the path, which made for a not-very-nature-filled walk. Our experience would have been wonderfully better had we gone on a quieter weekend, so that's my top recommendation!
Take a walk near water.
As hot as the day was, it was such a relief when we walked into the narrow side of the canyon via the River Walk, and we were able to finally sit down and relax next to aqua-blue water. There were other people around, but that part of our day was quiet and beautiful. Quick tip: Make sure you check with the rangers on whether it is safe to get into the water! When we visited there was an algae bloom, and there was a toxin that could cause paralysis in young kids in the water, so they recommended we not let our kids in the water at all. It was still a cool and pretty rest spot though, and we overall enjoyed the visit just because of the grandeur of the cliff walls in Zion!
Arches National Park
When we visited Arches we spent a whole weekend there, and Ic an say it is certainly worth spending more than one day there! Arches is perhaps my favorite Utah national park, and our visit there was nearly perfect. Here are my tips:
It's not a mistake to go there in summer, but bring more water than you think you need.
When we visited in August (yes, in August), it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! Thankfully Arches is one of those national parks that you can drive through to get to all the trailheads, so our air-conditioned car was our home base. However, we went through so many water bottles! We ended up drinking all of our water and breaking into our stash of soda in the cooler after we ran out. Every time we got back to the car we were dripping sweat. After each return visit to the car, each of us downed a new bottled water or pop can. I remember reading when we arrived that you needed about a gallon of water, per person, per three hours (or something ridiculous like that). They were not exaggerating. If you go in the heat of summer, load your car up with water.
Plan more time than you think you need.
This could be a tip for all of Utah's parks, but I especially wished we had more time at Arches. Even though we got a full 8-hour day there, we still didn't get to do all the trails I wanted. In addition, the parking can get a little difficult in some of the smaller lots, so there are traffic delays to consider too. I wished we had another full day there!
Do some stargazing.
Perhaps our best memory of Arches was heading back into the park in the evening - not only did we get some gorgeous photos in the evening light, but after the sun set we set ourselves up in an empty parking lot, grabbed some licorice, laid down on the still-warm sidewalk, and stared at the stars. Arches is an International Dark Sky site, and the stargazing there was amazing. My kids got to see their first meteor, which is something they still talk about.
Bryce Canyon National Park
If I'm ranking Utah's parks according to my own preferences, Bryce is right up there next to Arches! I loved that we could drive into this park, and the views were breathtaking.
Plan to walk somewhere, even with little kids.
When we got to Bryce Canyon, we planned a walk along the rim, and then a short hike down into Queen's Garden. The rim walk is very easy, and you'll get wider views than if you just drive to the lookout points - it's a smooth path, so it would even be easy with a stroller. Just make sure your little kids don't get too curious about the edge! The Queen's Garden is a little tougher, but it was easy enough for my preschoolers and neat to get down into the canyon a little ways. As we explored, I was also very impressed with the Navajo Loop trail. It is a very windy trail that goes right down into the midst of the Canyon's hoodoos, the spiky rock formations. It was a little beyond our hiking level right now, and I wished our kids were a little older so we could attempt it! My second grader and I went down the Navajo trail a little way to the "window" in the canyon wall, but we lacked the amount of water we needed (and the hiking stamina, especially for the kids) to attempt going further. Maybe next time.
Go to Mossy Cave and see the waterfall.
This was a highlight of Bryce for us, and I think it would be a perfect trail with which to end the day. To get to it, you have to go out of the park, through the nearby town of Bryce, and back into the park on another road, but the water is well worth the short drive. My kids enjoyed wading in the river and trying to cross a "log bridge", and I was quite impressed with the waterfall. One guy even walked up behind it!
Capitol Reef National Park
On the way home we made a very short stop at Capitol Reef Park. I'm glad we did so we could see what it was about, but I learned a couple things.
Spend a whole day at Capitol Reef to get a worthwhile experience.
We only had a couple hours to stop at this park on the way home, and we quickly discovered that we didn't have time to hike to any of the really interesting destinations. It is a very pretty area, so it was still worthwhile to us to drive through part of it and say we had been there, but I wish we had planned in more time. This is a park that you need several hours to explore properly. Because of that, I have only one other "lesson learned" at this park...
If you want to see the arch, you'll need to hike to get to it.
When we looked up brief information in maps and decided to make a detour to see Capitol Reef, I was under the impression that we could quickly see it's rather impressive arch (you can even walk on top of it!). I tried to figure out if we had to hike to get to it, but couldn't find any information in the brochure. We drove to the area on the map that was labeled with the arch, and saw a sign saying "Arch viewpoint". Well, we looked high and low and searched all around the ground for some sort of trail before we finally spotted it very far off in the distance. We then tried going on the arch trail for a bit to see if we could get a better view, before someone informed us that we would have to hike for an hour or two at least just to get a good look at it. If we had known that, we might have planned a full day to see if we could make it there, but as I said, we only had two hours and I'm not sure the hike would even be friendly for small children. A final tip for this section might be: do your research before you visit any national park with kids, and if you spontaneously decide to stop at one like we did - well, you'll have to take what you can get!
Overall, all our experiences at Utah's National Parks were pleasant and worthwhile to us, even when they didn't go quite as expected. All of them (so far) are arid and hot landscapes, so water is a must, but many of the paths are smooth and easy for little feet. We'd definitely visit any of these areas again if we get a chance to in the future, and Canyonlands is still on our list!
Have you been to any of these National Parks? What tips would you add for families?
Ah, January! The month when we all suddenly get the urge to organize and plan our lives.
Really though, every January I make a plan to get things organized. Sometimes my goals work out and I do make improvements, like the year I finally developed a morning routine. Other times my best laid plans for...well, planning better, fall through. Whatever happens, I will always love that fresh feeling that January brings. In fact, I am probably even more motivated to get organized after a roller coaster of a year in 2020.
These are three things I'm planning on organizing better in 2021:
Photos
For the past couple years I have been printing up the year's worth of photos in December, including the best ones of each of my kids to put into a little album for their stockings - and I take a lot of photos each year. It is a pretty huge project to sort through an entire year's worth of photos, get them printed, and get them into albums. In fact, I didn't even finish the kid's albums in time this year.
I'd like to handle photos differently in 2021 - my goal is to print up photos at the end of each month. This would help spread out the cost, and also keep me on track with only choosing the very best photos to print. (In December, I found myself getting a little lazy in the 2020 photo sorting and selecting too many to print - I was just tired of staring at a screen and wanted it to be over!)
Home Management
This year in my everlasting quest to find a planning system that actually works for me, I am attempting to organize my own home management binder. One thing I hate about planners, and that has hindered me from finding a planner that works for me, is that I hate wasted pages. I hate them so much that if I feel too many pages are being wasted in my planner, I end up throwing the whole system out. I am hoping in printing up only the types of planning pages I'll actually use, I can create my own planner/organization system that works for me. I am focusing on these areas:
-Cleaning Routines
-Meal Planning
-Budget Planning
-Address Organizing
-Blog Planning
I particularly wanted to focus on getting more organized with household chores and such, because I think I've been in a "survival mode" when it comes to homemaking for so many years (with all our babies and toddlers) that I have really become dysfunctionally disorganized in some areas.
My kids are older now, and I'm realizing I don't have to be in survival mode anymore - I actually have the time and energy now to do homemaking well. I want to do that for my family - I think it will make for a peaceful and more relaxing home environment for Derek and the kids, and it'll help me be a better servant to my family, which is something I feel the Lord is calling me to focus on in this stage of my life.
The Kids' Drawings
All these years I have been putting my kids best drawings in keepsake boxes that I have scattered around the house, but I have had no method of organizing their drawings at all. I write the name of the child, and the date, on the back, stuff it in a box, and forget about it.
I didn't even really think about there being another way until Christmas, when my grandmother gave me a keepsake binder with a lot of special papers she had collected over the years. It was a very special and sweet gift, and it also made me realize it doesn't matter if keepsake papers are put into a beautiful scrapbook, with decorations and photos. They are just as special and beautiful when using a simple organization system like a binder with page protectors.
So this year I am going to sort the kids' art into binders, and create a separate one where I can keep the notes and pictures they make for me. It's a more compact way to store things, and this way those papers can be protected better while also creating a better way to actually look at them occasionally!
I am excited to have a plan for becoming a little better organized in these areas in 2021! We shall see how it goes. Are you focusing on any areas for improvement this year?
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I also made a chatty video about everything I just wrote about, but I tacked on a little mini book haul at the end if you are interested in watching!
A lot of people like to start off their new year with goals or resolutions, reflection on the year that has just past, or planning for the year ahead. We started our new year with a cold.
On New Year's Day I started to cough a little, and by the 2nd I was sprawled out on the couch and miserable. It took me about a week to finally feel completely better - which means I felt better yesterday. Just in time for my kids to catch it. Clyde started coughing last night (I'm hoping whatever this is more shorter-lived for them).
I've always liked the new year season, though not because I'm a particularly goal-oriented person or a planner. I'm not really either of those things. But the new year always feels fresh, and I ride on that feeling of freshness though cold, brown winter days. When things could start to feel stale, the new year makes them feel...well, new.
Since I was too miserable for the first week of this decade to enjoy any of that newness, my new-year-mode is going to be extended. I actually prefer it this way. For me, the whole month of January is a time of reflection and gentle planning anyway. So the new year in this house starts now.
I felt a lot of pressure to start off the year with a significant post, but this is shaping up to be a regular old chatty post instead. I've decided I'm okay with it. I don't think much on this blog is meant to be significant anyway, not in that way. Ordinary days are significant in themselves, I think more than we know.
Our Start To The 2020's
The last day of the 2010's I spent filling up the last of the petition I've been working on (to stop late-term abortion in my state). I had run out of people I know to ask for signatures, so I texted my sister-in-law, and she graciously set up a time for me to meet her extended family so they could sign my petition. The last line was signed. So a few days into the new year, I headed down to a notary event to get my petitions notarized and turned in. Even though I had been sick, I was feeling functional - but barely, and I had lost my voice. I tried to avoid breathing on anyone or shaking anyone's hands while I handed over my petitions, just in case I was still contagious.
Then I had to stop at the grocery store, because by this time we were basically out of food after the holidays. I wanted it to be a short trip out of the house so I could go home and continue to rest and recover, but we just plain needed a few things. So I did a little shopping trip at Walmart, and then headed back out to my car.
As I was pushing my full cart across the parking lot, I noticed a flutter of wings overhead, and then a flash of white in front of my eyes, and I looked down and realized a bird had pooped on me. I was completely grossed out. Do you know how many germs birds carry?
I'm admittedly very slightly germaphobic.
I went straight to my car, parked the cart on the sidewalk, and set my purse down on the front seat while I rummaged around looking for hand sanitizer. As if hand-sanitizer would be effective against bird poop, but it was better than nothing. After I finished dousing my pants in it, I turned toward my cart full of groceries and closed the door.
Then I heard a click.
And my keys were still in my purse. On the front seat of the car.
Thankfully my phone was in my pocket, not in my purse, so I called Derek and squeaked out what happened (remember, my voice was gone). He called my parents, and they came to rescue me about 40 minutes later. Not too bad of a situation overall, but a little embarrassing. I haven't locked myself out of my car since I was 18.
So yeah, that was a good start to the new decade.
New Year's Day Though
I actually take that back, the true start to the new year was a good day. My cough had barely started, so I didn't realize yet that I was getting sick yet, and we decided to take a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park on New Year's Day.
Unfortunately, the last couple times we have visited the park there ends up being a storm rolling in, and we can't see any of the mountains. The weather was clear and bright, right up until we entered the park, and within five minutes we could see nothing. Cars were stuck in the snow on the mountain roads. And we forgot to bring snow pants, because we thought it was going to be a beautiful, bright day.
We made the best of it though, and we still enjoyed the wintery beauty and saw some wildlife. We piled the kids out of the car, walked for five minutes in the snow, piled back in. Then we stopped at a taffy shop on the way home. I've decided I'm not really a fan of saltwater taffy unless it's fresh. This was the fresh stuff, and it was so tasty.
Ten Years Ago
Between signature gathering and being sick, I haven't had much time to truly reflect on the fact that 2020 is not just the marking of a new year, but a new decade. I didn't look through the last ten years of pictures (that thought overwhelms me), or find old journal entries, or anything like that. But I can remember where I was in life and how I felt ten years ago.
We were living in our first home, with three rambunctious dogs. I was working as a dental hygienist a few days a week, and it was the heyday of blogging. Derek was working for our county, and we were scraping together any extra income we had into saving for a ten-year anniversary trip to Italy. We had been married for two years, and had decided we wanted to start trying for a family, but things weren't exactly working. I wondered when, or maybe if, we'd have kids. It was a little premature to worry too much, but worry I did. My biggest prayer for the new decade was a houseful of children.
And here we are ten years later, in a different house, only one of those dogs still laying at my feet, and five tiny pairs of shoes pounding on the second floor over my head. We never took that trip to Italy. And we were okay with that, because dreams change over time. I've received more than I ever thought to ask for ten years ago.
When I think back over the last ten years, I think of the faithfulness of God in our lives over this past decade. There have been stresses and joys and sorrows and triumphs, and the Lord has been our anchor through it all.
I don't like to think about where I'll be in the next ten years. I know my oldest will be graduated from high school, and my youngest will be right in the middle of middle school. That thought alone is overwhelming to me. Ten years is too far in the future for me to think about. I don't know where we'll be living, or what exactly our lives will look like. But I imagine that in ten years, when I look back again on the previous decade, I'll still see how God is faithful to us through it all.
So yes. I'm ready to start the 2020's.
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I want to write more about my plans for the upcoming year, or changes I'm already trying to make, but I think I'll wrap up this post here for now. The kids are awake, and this is our first week back to school in 2020, despite being sick, so I have alot to catch up on this week! The house is slowly being disinfected of whatever bug we caught, and I'm working with the kids and myself on developing good habits - one of those habits is that blogging has to happen first thing in the morning, so we can start school on time! So I'm off to pour some cereal bowls and crack open some books.
How was the start to the new decade for you all?
Hopefully smoother than ours, ha!
Peace is a theme of the Christmas season, and I've been mulling over the idea lately.
On the night that Jesus was born, angels lit up quiet skies and declared "on earth, peace among men!" But the world still doesn't feel peaceful, does it? Our attempts to drum up some peace around Christmas time feel artificial and hollow. Around this globe, war and atrocities never truly end. Maybe that's why the song "I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day" has resonated with me in my adult life.
"There is no peace on earth," I said. For hate is strong, and mocks the song, of Peace on earth, goodwill to men..."
I think we understand peace all wrong. We think quiet, or a brief ceasing of strife, or a fleeting feeling, or one happy day is Christmas peace. But that's not the peace the angels were talking about. The peace Christ brought when he was born in that stable is not the temporary, fading peace of one Christmas morning.
"But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace..."
Ephesians 2:13-14a
Christ Himself is our peace.
We are a rebellious, sinful people. We have broken God's laws, we are lost, deserving death as the penalty for the crimes we have committed against a holy God. But instead of giving us the punishment we deserve, God in His mercy stretched out His hands, and offered us peace by offering Himself.
Peace on earth, goodwill to men.
That baby, born in a manger that night, was God Himself. He who had no sin, took the death we deserved by dying on the cross in our place. He rose again, securing His victory over death and our sin. And He still stretches out His hands to us now, offering us peace with God, if we will just believe and trust in Christ to save us. The truest peace of God can be ours forever.
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:1
Someday Jesus will return again, and put all things right, and then His people will have peace in every sense of the word. Until then, my prayer for you, my friends, is that you will know His peace in your heart this Christmas and always. That you may reach out and grasp the hand of peace that God has offered to you in Jesus Christ, and find Him while He may be found.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Romans 15:13
"Because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace."
Luke 1:78-79
He Himself is our peace. May you know that truly, my friends. And the merriest of Christmases to you!
Now that my month of memory-keeping is nearing an end, let's discuss that actual nuts and bolts of memory-keeping, specifically as moms, shall we? I am still trying to figure out the best way to keep memories for my kids. It's hard for me to find something that I can consistently do for each kid individually and our family as a whole, at least without letting it take over my life.
These are a few of the things I've tried so far. As you'll see, many of my attempts have been less than stellar. I'd love to hear any tips you all have in any of these sections!
(Note: This post contains an affiliate link.)
Baby Books
I got each of my kids a baby book and was relatively good about filling them out - but to be honest, I totally dropped the ball for my last two kids. I was not going to be that mom that keeps meticulous records for her first child and then doesn't do anything for subsequent kids. I made a valiant effort, and yet, here we are.
In my defense, I did keep meticulous records for all of my kids here on this blog, which serves in the function of a baby book as well. I just need to sit down and transfer the information I typed up here into my kids' actual baby books. I still have my baby book that my mom filled out for me, and I think there is something special about seeing her words about me as a baby, written in her own handwriting.
Photo Albums
Once upon a time, before my third child, I printed up pictures from the first two years of my first baby's life.
And that's it.
I have alot of guilt related photo albums. There are just so many pictures, I finally realized I can't possibly print them all. Not only would it cost a fortune, but I don't have enough room in my house for that many photo albums. In addition, it's a huge chore choosing which pictures to print, and I just haven't made time for it yet.
However, currently the only child who has baby pictures to look through is Wyatt, and this is also unacceptable to me. I remember loving to look through my baby pictures when I was a kid, and hearing my mom tell me stories about each photo. So a big priority for the next few months is getting some pictures printed up!
More on my strategy in another post soon maybe, but I'd love to hear if you print pictures, and if so, how you choose and organize them.
This Blog
One reason I'm glad this blog never grew too much and I never tried to go too professional with it is that it not only serves as an outlet for my thoughts, but also as a record of our family's lives. I recorded the kids' birth stories, month-by-month updates for the first year, yearly birthday letters, and a bunch of other random memories on here.
I would like to get caught up on printing my blog into a book. There used to be a service for this (a very basic service called Blog2Print) which I used for the first few years, but I discovered a couple years ago that they raised their prices to ridiculous levels. So I'm on the hunt for a better way to print everything here into a book, but at the very least I can print the posts I wrote for each kid and stick them in their baby books, like I mentioned above. That gives me alot of comfort when I'm feeling like a memory-keeping failure. The blog is the one area in which I haven't yet dropped the ball.
(If you've printed up blog posts recently and bound them in any way, I'd love to hear what you did!)
A Memory-Keeper Book
This is my latest endeavor. Several months ago I realized that I would really like to have a better system for writing down cute things the kids say or do. I have been recording things in my bullet journal off and on, but I wanted something a little more polished that my kids could also look through when they get older.
I purchased a Happy Memory-Keeper on sale, and I'm giving it a try. The pages are pretty all by themselves and rather inspiring. The boxes make me feel organized, and I can also easily add pictures or stickers to dress it up a little.
Most of the sections look like this:
I know myself, and I know I'm not going to write something down every day, so I'm just leaving the pages undated. I'll fill in a box whenever something cute happens, and just make a note of the date until the whole page is full. One page might last me a month this way, because I'm not going to slap stickers in all the spaces just to fill them up in a week.
The book also has some pages for special days:
So far I'm liking how it's going! I make a note when something about our day stands out, and I will probably add pictures in some of the boxes eventually.
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As you can see, I have alot to figure out still when it comes to memory-keeping! But I think the main thing is that I'm trying. It may not be pretty or very organized, but I know eventually my kids will see the different way that I have tried to capture their growing-up years, and I hope when they do they can see how much I adored them.
How do you keep memories as a mom?
Stay tuned, I might do a more in-depth post about photo-keeping strategies I have tried! Some have worked, some not, but I'm slowly coming up with a plan.
(Photos in today's post are from last year - I haven't been able to bring myself to sort through yesterday's disastrous photo attempts yet!)
When I was pregnant with my firstborn, I realized how critical photos would be for me in my memory-keeping. My babies all have grown too fast, and I am so glad I made sure we got some really good photos together to mark the passing of each year.
For really big events, like maternity or newborn pictures, I've always outsourced and got my amazing photographer and dear friend to do some photos for me! But for regular, run-of-the-mill family photos, I usually do them myself.
(Proof that I can sometimes take a good family photo with the tripod!)
Despite yesterday's photo struggles, I usually am able to get some pretty good photos each year, and I thought I would give you my best tips for taking your own family photos - or basically just tell you how I manage it. I am still really just an amateur, hobby photographer, so your mileage may vary with these suggestions, but this is how I take our family photos.
(If you want tips for taking photos of yourself with a tripod - I can't help you, ha! That's one tripod skill I've never mastered. If I'm the lone adult in the picture, then it's most likely one I had Derek take for me!)
What I use:
My DSLR (I have a Nikon D5200 and a 50mm f/1.5 lens)
A tripod (this one)
A remote shutter release (this one)
My iPhone 7+
1. Scout out a spot to take photos ahead of time.
Every time I've taken photos that have gone smoothly, it's been because I found a spot I liked ahead of time and started putting the photo together in my head. I think about where I'll put the tripod, how I'll arrange the family, where I'll run in to join, etc. I try to think about light and shadows and whether morning or evening would be the best. The couple hours right after sunrise or right before sunset are best, and try to stay out of direct or dappled sunlight! Good lighting is everything.
2. Pack an emergency photo bag.
I usually pack a bag with things like a blanket to sit on, extra memory cards and camera batteries, candy to keep the kids happy, hairbrush, makeup, extra diapers, etc. I've been burned before when I didn't think things through, so I try to plan ahead for problems that might arise so I'm prepared.
3. Be meticulous about getting set up.
When we arrive at the spot I've (hopefully) scouted out, I take a couple test shots first to make sure my settings are proper and the light is good (I didn't pay enough attention to this yesterday, hence why a lot of our photos are junk). I get my camera and tripod set up and fidget with it until it's directed right where I want the family to stand, then I have my husband go stand where I want him. My husband is usually my focus point, because he is the only one in the family I can trust to stand still! I get the kids arranged around him, and keep in mind to leave a space for me to stand.
Once everyone is arranged, I go back to my camera, set the focus point on my husband, and ask him not to move his head. Then I switch the shutter setting to the remote, go over and rearrange children if necessary, stand in my spot, and start clicking with the remote!
4. Check the photos!
I usually have to repeat this process a few times to make sure everyone is looking good in the actual photos and everything is in focus. I'm always sorry later when I don't take breaks and double-check the photos in the back of my camera! I've taken a whole group of photos before, only to realize later they were all out of focus.
5. Take a lot of shots.
Most likely most of the shots you take with a remote are going to be just okay, but if you take a ton, you are more likely to get one that might work.
6. Be a little silly.
In the photos where everyone is smiling, it's usually because we all just got finished yelling "chocolate cake!". Seriously, instead of telling my kids to say "cheese", I tell them to say other foods they like. Usually there is more giggling and general enthusiasm that way, which translates well in photos! This is my favorite strategy for when I'm trying to get a good shot of just the kids too. My best trick is to be a goofball, balance a pinecone on my head and then let it fall off, throw some leaves, peek out from behind a tree and make a funny face...all with my camera at the ready to catch the laughs! It helps that my kids are quick-laughers too.
7. Tell everyone to look at one person.
I really like a good "candid" shot, so after we try a few smiling at the camera, I usually pick a person and tell everyone else to look at them! It turns out well when everyone is looking at one of the parents, but you have to make sure you are not just smiling blankly at the camera. Look at everyone else as they are looking at you, or laugh a little, and it turns into a great fake-candid shot!
8. Try tickling someone.
When we have a child (especially a baby or toddler) who is crying, we tickle that kid. We could be really obvious about the tickling and get more of those fake-candid shots while the kid is being tickled, like I talked about above. Or sometimes we are really subtle about the tickling, so it doesn't cause a ruckus but leads to some good smiles. There is a blurry line between crying and laughing, especially in photos, and sometimes tickling is the best way to save the photo session!
9. Take it slow, and bring candy.
When a photo session is devolving, I try to let the kids have a break to explore a little. Often if they have time to get some energy out, they are ready to try taking another photo. I try to take a breaks too so that we can also enjoy the experience, instead of being stressed about getting the photos done! (Note: It's best if you start earlier than you think you need to so time is allowed for this sort of thing before you lose the light - another mistake I made yesterday.) This can also be a good time to get more casual shots, or wider-angle shots of your kids exploring nature (I use my iPhone for this - maybe someday I'll get a better lens for scenery shots).
I have also been known to break out the candy to improve moods. This is not normal parenting...this is parenting while trying to take photos. Normal rules surrounding bribery do not apply.
10. Know when to let it go.
As I shared yesterday, sometimes photos just don't work. I've been known to break our family photo sessions up into two shorter attempts, because little kids only last so long before they are ready to be done. I've tried before to persevere when I could tell everyone was losing focus, and it's never gone well. If everyone is crying and miserable, it's better just to call it quits. You can always try again another day.
Or you can do what I'm doing this year, and resort to getting your photographer friend to help, ha! Some stages are just hard (ex: when you have an almost two year old), and reinforcements may be in order. But don't let a bad attempt make you think you can't take your own family photos - it happens. Just try again another day.
Have you ever tried to take your own family photos? How did it go?
I had so many ideas for advent readings and crafts to do with the kids. We were going to bake, and learn new Christmas carols and Bible verses. I was going to continue waking up before the kids and get in a rich, meaningful personal Bible study leading up to Christmas Day.
And then the king of all colds struck us last week. I tell you, if I ever needed a non-serious reminder of the sinful, fallen state of the world, this cold was it. Even though we are well past being contagious, we still are struggling with scratchy voices and irritating remnants of a cough. Derek took time off from work, and I rolled out of bed too late every morning for the past week. Needless to say, my plans did not come to fruition.
However, I finally felt well enough to get back to my new morning routine again this morning. I grabbed the Christmas present I bought myself, an illuminated Scripture journal for the book of Hebrews. I figured I'd just start by checking out the cross-references, and I stumbled across two passages that have helped set my heart back on Christ amidst the Christmas-Eve craziness this morning. (The first one is kind of long, try to take time to read through the whole thing - it's so good!).
"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."
Colossians 1:13-20
"For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 4:6
I just love how these passages talk about the light of Christ. We are lost in darkness, in our sin, without Him - but when we were stumbling around in the dark, God sent us the light of Christ, the light of Himself. He was born to make peace for us through the blood of His cross. We are the ones who deserve darkness and death forever because of our sin, but He bore that penalty for us on the cross. And now if we will merely raise our faces to His light, trusting in His sacrifice and what He has done to save us, we need never be lost in darkness again.
Merry Christmas, friends. I pray that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ is shining bright in your hearts this Christmas (and that you have more joy than Georgie in that last picture)!
(This new metal print is so cool! Thanks to Artsy Couture for sending me a metal photo print to review.)
Do you ever wonder if it's narcissistic that we decorate our houses with pictures of ourselves?
A few years ago I heard someone mention how it could be narcissistic to decorate with photos of yourself, and for a long time I wondered if maybe that was true. I can certainly see how decorating with photos could become narcissistic, like those movie characters who live alone and have a huge canvas of themselves adorning the wall above the couch. But still, I don't buy that decorating with photos has to be a narcissistic thing.
I've put more thought into it, and even read about it in recent years, and I personally think there are a few good reasons to decorate with photos of your own family. This is what I think:
1. Decorating with photos adds to a feeling of solidarity between family members.
I think about decorating with photos differently now that I have kids of my own. I think that for kids, seeing pictures of themselves with their family on the wall reminds them that they aren't alone - they are part of a bigger unit, a family, and that means something. They play an integral role in a family, they are woven through the collective family memories that photos represent. They can look at the walls and visually see their place in the family. In my opinion, that can't help but add some security, knowing your place in the world by being able to see it on the walls.
2. Photos are memories.
I went to my parents house for the 4th of July, and my sister and I stood looking at an old vacation photo from when we went river rafting. I mentioned something specific that I remembered about that day, and she mentioned something she remembered, and there we were bonding over a shared memory because of a photo on my parents' wall. I'm the type of person who doesn't really remember things until I see a photo - and then a whole cascade of memories floods in. Not everyone is like this, certain personality types are much better at remembering and honoring the past in their hearts without any external reminders, but personally, I need the photos around me to remind me.
3. Photos can be modern "remembrance stones".
Remember how the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, and God told them to stack twelve stones from the river bed? When their children asked about the stones, they could tell them of the Lord's faithfulness to Israel. Well, to me, photos on my walls are something like a modern equivalent to that. I want to work on this more in my home, by putting photos on the wall that are not only the perfect family photos, but photos that I can point to and say "Remember when God did that?" He has been faithful to our family in many ways, and I want the photos on my wall to not just serve as an anchor for bonding and memories in my family, but also a way to point back to God's faithfulness.
Now, on to some practical things...
What is your favorite way to decorate with photos in your house?
Personally, I am constantly changing it up.
-I have small, square prints on a bulletin board above Derek's desk.
-We have a wall collage of canvas prints. Two of the pictures are of Derek and me from our 5th anniversary (they probably need updating since we just hit our 10th!), and there are smaller canvas prints of each of the kids' newborn pictures.
-I had pictures hanging along our stairwell, but I recently took those down because I want to re-do that wall. I'll update when I figure it out.
-A metal print on my piano-top (which is basically my version of a mantel display, since I don't have a mantel).
The metal print is the newest addition to my photo decor - Artsy Couture recently asked if I'd like to check out one of their products and sent me this gorgeous metal print! In case you haven't heard of metal prints, the photo is actually printed on a thin sheet of aluminum. The colors are supposed to be brighter and sharper in printing with this method.
I ended up picking a beach photo from our vacation that I knew was not perfectly focused, but I was so impressed when the print came at how crisp it was anyway! The colors really are gorgeous and vibrant, and it kind of has a certain glow about it that I am assuming is an effect of printing on aluminum. I love the way it turned out, and it looks just as good as I thought it would on my piano-mantel.
Bonuses to printing on aluminum: it doesn't get retain dirt like textured canvas might, and there is no glass to break if it falls!
I poked around on the Artsy Couture website and they have a ton of options - not just for metal prints, but canvases, wood prints, traditional prints, cards, photo books, etc. They also happen to be having a sale on large prints that ends tomorrow, so if you are interested, hop on over there and check it out!
What do you think? Do you decorate with photos or not? What are your reasons, if you have any?
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