The Moving Wall...

This past weekend, Melvin and I had the pleasure of seeing the Moving Wall. This is the wall that has all the names of the men and women that died during the Vietnam War. I didn't know what to expect, but didn't expect what I saw. It was truly a moving experience. There were several veterans there that were saddened by the names they saw on the wall. Many were wiping the tears from their eyes, while others let their emotions take over...sobbing as they walked past the thousands of names that's etched on the wall...names of fellow comrades/friends that served with them during the war.

Here is one picture...I will be posting more later.

Practice Session... There's Security!

Last week I practiced my photography on my friend Stacy. She is definitely a photographer's dream. She was open to try anything..and I mean anything.

Our shoot started in her back yard with her dog Rodman. Stacy has really cute orange and pink adirondack chairs on here patio, so I thought it would be cute to get a picture of her sitting in one and Rodman in the other one..you know like you see in the magazines. Well, he wasn't having it and a pet photographer I am not! I did, however, manage to get a cute picture of them together.





Our next stop was at a new hotel in Carmel...Renaissance. The decor in this hotel is absolutely beautiful. It's very modern, swanky, classy and colorful. The employees are extremely nice and even took us on a tour! It's definitely a must for anyone looking for a venue that's different from your typical venue.




Our next stop was "downtown" Carmel.







We weren't finished yet. After a trip to McDonald's for drinks, we went to a mansion that has a really cool gate that I have always wanted to get pictures of. Stacy was all for getting her picture taken there...even though it's on private property and I told her of previous stories where I have been kicked off private property. Did I mention she was open to anything.

So off we go...the shoot started off pretty good.





So far, so good, so I decided to really get creative. I asked Stacy to lie on her back and put her feet on the gate. Without hesitation, she did! I took about 2 shots, adjusted my settings, all the while she is lying on the ground with her feet on the gate of a house that's on the market for 20 million dollars. I was trying to go as fast as I could so that we wouldn't get caught by security, but as I turned around, the security car was right behind me.

So I tell Stacy...there's security. She thinks I joking and replied...no it's not. So I tell her again...THERE'S SECURITY- GET YOUR FEET DOWN. At that point we were busted...the guard got out of his car and Stacy off the ground. We explained we were just taking pictures and he was nice enough to let us finish.

This is what I got...




Stacy, I can't thank you enough for your willingness and kindness. I look forward to our next shoot.

Where is Your Nose?

Our little Nicholas never ceases to humor us. For quite some time he has been able to point to the parts of his face/body. We knew at birth we would have a smart little guy on our hands...and no doubt he is!!!

On Sunday afternoon, we played outside with Nicholas. He is sooo busy!! His little feet didn't stop moving the whole time we were out. So in order to get a break Melvin played the "Where is your"... game.

So here we go...

Melvin...where is your eyes. Nicholas points to his eyes.
Melvin...where is your mouth. Nicholas points to his mouth.
Melvin...where is your nose. Nicholas points to his nose.
Melvin...where is your head. Nicholas points to his head.
Melvin...where is your belly. Nicholas raises his shirt and points to his belly.
Melvin asked again, where is your nose? Nicholas...

Carnival

Most of the time when I take pictures I focus so much on the technical aspect of photography that I miss out on some special moments. This time I decided to just go and take pictures and not worry about my settings or composition. These are not technically correct, but it's a special time in Nicholas' life that we have pictures to look back on.

On Sunday, Melvin and I met Beth, Lederic and Nicholas at the carnival that's was set up not far from our house.

I have other pictures to post that I took prior to these, but there is one picture posted here that I just truly adore...guess which one?!!!

Nicholas absolutely LOVED riding the train...I think his Pawpaw enjoyed it too!!!




Wave at Mommy, Daddy and Nana...


I love this picture...





What's a carnival without games!~! Nicholas played the Duck Hunt game and guess what....HE WON!!!!



What did he win....a HORN!!! That's right for $3.00 he won a horn! The cost didn't matter, he was having such a good time...and that's PRICELESS!




I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July holiday!!!

Nicholas...

I have more pictures of Nicholas to share with you all...I just haven't finished editing them yet. Here's a couple for now!!




And one from a practice session I did with him...boy does he make you work to get one picture of him not looking at the camera!

Kalama-ewwwww!!

For the past 3 years, Melvin, Tre and I have gone to Kalamazoo, Michigan in June for a soccer tournament. This year was no different, as this would be Tre's last soccer game. All the parents and guys were really looking forward to this game. We usually all have a great time in Kalamazoo!!!

This year we left Indianapolis around 2:00, Friday afternoon in order to get into Michigan early to take advantage of our time there. We arrived around 5:00, checked in, dropped our luggage off in the room and out we went. Tre went to find the other players on his team and Melvin and I headed downtown to explore the city and take advantage of the beautiful weather.

Much to our surprised... there was an Island Festival going on. We decided to see what it was all about.

There were sooo many food booths we didn't know which one to choose. I decided not to take any chances so I went to bacon wrapped shrimp kabobs with rice from Jammin' Jerks Island Grille! Melvin had Jerk chicken with island rice. We didn't stop there...I also had cheesecake on a stick and a Caribbean soda...it tasted like Mello Yello(remember those)!





The night was still young so we decided to listen to a couple of bands and people watch.




But...before the second band took the stage, my stomach started to rumbling...I had a salty taste in my mouth. I know what I think wasn't about to hap....

Yes, it did... I had to run to the bushes to throw up. All I could hear was someone in the background saying..."EWWWWW, SOMEBODY GIVE HER SOME GUM"!!!
I felt better and did get to enjoy the music of the second band, but not for long. Again I had to go to the bushes. Finally, Melvin and I left and walked back to the hotel, with me making several stops on the way to make a deposit!


As for the soccer game(oh yeah...the reason we went to Kalamazoo), the guys all played really hard, but just could not come away with a victory...they lost all three games(two on Saturday and one on Sunday)!