Kids might as well be a rubik's cube to me between ages 5-12. I have no idea what they want. Too big to throw around, too young to have adult conversations. I surrender. Maybe that's why I teach middle school and not elementary? But kids UNDER 5 and OVER 12? Hilarious. Comical genius. Three of my four nieces are under 5 that live in Maryland right now. They are so cute and funny. Now, don't get me wrong out there Mom's...I know you've got it rough...there was a moment on this trip when I was stranded at a play ground with the oldest and youngest ones sobbing simultaneously, I had no idea how to fix it. No idea how to turn it off. I had lost the will to live.
Buuuut, then there are other times that make you forget about how you were drowning in the park an hour earlier. Like when they say really funny things like, "Come on in guys, the water's great!". Or, "Sometimes at night the humans are in their houses watching tv or eating".
What on earth?
And if you're lucky enough to be an Auntie they'll fight over who gets to sit next to you or in your lap, and then at the end of a full week of that, you might hear a little voice in the back seat say, "Who are you?"
..."Well kid, I'm you Auntie Carisse. I've been with you every minute for the last week and I was here at Christmas too. No? Don't remember? No recollection? ...It's cool."
All this to say I love my nieces and nephew and I love being an Aunt. I love cuddles and piggy back rides and having my hair brushed and I love giving your kids back to you when they freak out.
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| On a boat looking for ponies! |
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| and dolphins! |
I'm doing my best to dive into this photography dream that I've had for about 10 years now. FINALLY, taking classes. FINALLY opening my wallet to some equipment. FINALLY getting up the gumption to ask my friends if I can shoot them knowing full well that they probably won't turn out that great. But if I don't practice, I'll never learn right? You can't learn to make a free-throw by reading books. Gotta get out there.
I've had the pleasure of following around TWO gorgeous photographers in the last week. Shaina Sheaff and Melissa Glynn. I learned so much from observing and asking questions. It's really nerve racking, shooting people...and I can't explain why. I guess I just want so badly for them to see the same image I see with my eyeballs, and most of the time I have difficulty converting that image on to the screen.
My brother let me photograph his family on vacation. It was really good practice, but a lot of pressure. Under 5yr old's have less attention spans than gnats, and we might as well have been beating them with sticks after 15 minutes of "sit here and smile". So it was good to shoot a family and I already feel more prepared for next time. Here's what came out...
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| Precious! |
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| We got to go to a pony show! |
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| The girls weren't scared of the ponies at all! They couldn't wait to touch them. |
My brother and sister in law are excellent with the girls. I can't imagine the stress of three littles without cancer, let alone WITH cancer. They've done everything possible to keep life "normal" and they've done a great job. The girls loved the ponies, loved swimming, loved vacation. K would say, "I wish we could stay a little longer". I just love that family so much. Wish there was a way I could be near enough to drop in once in a while and still get to live here in Austin. Now that I'm older, I'm realizing how much I took my oldest niece and nephew for granted when they were little. Maggie and Carson were born when I was in college. And when I got out, I don't think family and hanging out with little kids were at the front of my mind. I was planning my next adventure, hanging out downtown, and trying to get dates all the time. I remember keeping Maggie with mom when I was home on spring break, and I had sleep overs with her a few times in my apartment. I took carson out to dinner and a movie that scared him once(Rango). I remember helping mom keep him when he was a baby. I'm sure I played with them on holidays and I remember when maggie would "Run like the wind" in her bee costume. But somewhere in there, they just grew up! And now Maggie is about to be in MIDDLE SCHOOL. My lands. On the one hand its like, AWESOME, I KNOW middle schoolers. And on the other hand its like, NOOOOOOOOOOOO where did that little girl go? Getting older makes me a lot more emotional, a lot more sentimental, and especially with all that's happened in the last year, I'm feeling more than ever the need to really love on my family while I've been given the opportunity to do so.
