seattle ferry :: photography

After a fabulous day at the zoo, grandma and the girls and I headed for the ferry.  While mom relaxed in the car the girls and I headed upstairs to burn some energy.  While I tried to take advantage of the amazing views of the city, the girls were bouncing off the deck. :)

 

They are so darn cute though, I didn't mind. :)

woodland park with the girls :: photography

This summer has been so busy and my girls have been such great troopers.  They often come to work with me and with the busyness of the season we haven't had the time to do many fun outtings together.  With this in mind, I knew that I wanted to take a day and surprise them with an outing just for them.  So I called my mom and sister and figured out a date that we could all connect and head to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.  I also decided that this would be a perfect time to get some photos of them with their cousin. The day was beautiful and spirits were high.  The result - some fabulous photos of three beauties (and a few animals too).

 

We started in the rose garden and I am so glad that we did.  So beautiful and smelled soooo yummy!

 

 Grandma and her girls!

Although these were some of the last animals we visited on our day at the zoo, they were some of my favorite.  So cute to watch as they swam around in the water. 

 

Such beautiful animals.  This is the mama here.  Her not so little babies were up in the shade under the tree. Shortly after this photo she relocated in front of them. 

Yes, we went in the bug area also.  The girls were so intrigued and were going from window to window reading about each of the insects.

 

I am so glad that I took the girls.  They were the perfect ages to really appreciate all that they learned about the animals. 

"ninth ward" by jewell parker rhodes :: literature

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans residents and many other communities along the Gulf Coast in the late summer of 2005. Now, 8 years later, it is hard to express this devastation to my two girls, ages 9 and 7.  My youngest wasn't yet born and my oldest was only 1.   This last Christmas my oldest came across this book and added it to her wish list for Christmas.  Being a sucker for literature, I couldn't help but grant this wish and I am so glad I did.  She read through it twice before I got ahold of it and was able to read it and then pass it on to my youngest to read as well.

*** Although I believe this was an amazing book, I only give it 3 stars because it is definitely geared towards young girls which leaves out boys as a reading audience.  I believe that there may be boys out there that would enjoy it, but I would probably recommend this book to 10 year old girls who enjoy historical fiction or adventure stories.  My youngest did find parts of the book a little scary so you may want to read it prior to letting younger children read it to determine if it would be a good fit for them. 

reading in the park with bekah :: photography

I have had a few opportunities to photography this little beauty and I enjoy them each and every time.  With a collection of fabulous books and a quilt we headed into the park.  Bekah is so full of life and she loved showing me what a good reader she was. Thanks to Bekah's mom for continuing to let me photograph he beautiful girl.