Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic at the Pool, Central Park

On Saturday, we got invited to an amazing Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic hosted by my friend Lesley. She found the perfect location in Central Park (map). It's crazy that I've lived in NYC for over a year and never spent anytime here at the The Pool. I must have ran past it, but never noticed it. The pond, the willow trees, the perfect weather, the grassy fields--it all felt out of a movie set. It's hard to imagine that these pictures were taken smack dab in the middle of Manhattan. 

When we arrived, my family sat down on a blanket and ate a simple picnic of cheese, bread, and grapes. I forgot drinks so Rob had to run off to the store and buy some. He came back with more meat, these cookies, and a few drinks. Eventually more people arrived, and we were surrounded by friends. 

Most of the women there were also in my photography class and so we compared settings. What F/Stop are you using? Shutter speed?  One of my friends confessed that she put her camera on automatic mode during the hunt. I actually should have done the same. I missed out on a lot of shots because I forgot to check my settings. Whoops. I got a few that turned out. It will be interesting to see their pictures of the day. Actually, I can't wait!    

There were around 40 kids involved in the hunt, so Lesley thought of a simple way to give everyone a fair chance of getting eggs.  She gave each child a color coded bracelet before the hunt.  Kids ages 2-3 got yellow bracelets, 3-4 year olds got green, 4-5 blue, 6+ orange. As soon as their color was called, they were aloud to start the hunt, like a tiered entry. It gave the younger kids more time to find eggs with out getting run over by the big kids. The older kids didn't have to wait long, just around 30 seconds between each group. Eventually, all the kids were out looking together and everyone got plenty of eggs. From what I could see, it was a success. 

After all the eggs were found, Lesley hid a few eggs just for kids ages 2 and under. So sweet to watch the babies have their own little hunt. 

But it wasn't just the super organized hunt that made this event special. It was the surprises like the "feed the ducks" bags made by Lesley, the AMAZING three layered cake by Pete The Mighty Baker, and the beautiful pinata made by Heidi. These things made the day feel so magical. 

Can you believe Pete is a self taught baker? Pricing/flavors/gallery here.

I'm starting to forget Owen's tantrum about the empty water bottle. I'm starting to forgive Oscar for refusing to take a family photo because wanted to wait in line for face painting. I already think it's funny when Ella's hat few in the water, annoying as it was at the time to get it out.  Tantrums and all, I would relive Saturday over again. It was just about flawless.

Hope you had a great weekend, too! More pictures/outtakes (12 total) after the jump. Enjoy! 

Easter Egg Success

 It worked! I threw a little vinegar, boiling water, and a lot of food coloring in some bowls. No measuring spoons or cups needed to get the brightest Easter eggs ever. At least my dozen turned out bright! A little blotchy, but bright. The kid's eggs turned out well too. They just don't have the patience to let the eggs sit for longer than 30 seconds. I think their hands got dyed more than their eggs. It came off after washing with soap a few times and taking 2 baths. Rainbow hands for 24 hrs is kind of fun any way.

I like the clear egg cartons I bought. It makes storing the decorated eggs in my frig feel really festive.

Pictures of the kids eggs after the jump. I actually really like their colors, possibly more than mine. They look more organic and soft. Rob thinks their eggs look gross. ha

Exposure and Lighting Examples And Easter Plans

My friend took these photos of my boys. Such beautiful examples of front lighting (top, Oscar), side lighting (bottom, Owen), and perfect exposure! My goal is to take pictures like this.

Totally unrelated: At a group playdate yesterday, Oscar came up to all the moms and shouted, "Raise your hand if you celebrate Easter. Ok, great. Now raise your hand if you celebrate Passover. Ok, great. If you celebrate Passover you make a plate with food on it. If you celebrate Easter you make a basket with eggs in it." I loved his questionnaire.

We celebrate Easter. Last year we used the melted crayon method to decorate our eggs.  This year I bought these color gels. I heard food coloring achieves really bold colors on the eggs. I'll keep you posted on the results!

Have you decorated your eggs yet? Using an unusual method? I created a Pinterest page of my favorite egg decorating ideas. I love this time of year!

Photo Class Update

Assignment #3 Freeze Motion SOOC 

I have to confess. When I signed up for Lesley's  Intro to Photography Class, I didn't think I would learn much. I've been shooting tons over the past year. I somehow felt like I had a grasp of my camera and its abilities even though I was shooting in automatic mode!  Talk about being overly confident. Some of my photos are even enlarged poster size and framed in my house! Ha.

Before taking the class, I didn't even know the basic functions of my camera. Learning how to change the f/stop, shutter speeds, etc was the first homework assignment before we entered class. It immediately put me in my place. For example, the curved W/B button? I've never pressed it. That stands for White Balance. Completely changes everything. The Q inside a square? I never even noticed it! When pressed, it makes it so much easier and faster to change the settings. These two buttons are so important to me now.

My favorite thing I learned at class was about SOOC. It's a nerdy acronym photographers use that means "straight out of camera". No edits, no color enhancements, nothing. Just a beautiful image without the help from editing software. And here I thought I was just being lazy when I didn't edit! Turns out it's like some sort of badge of honor. So for this post, the images are SOOC and are labeled such. Nerd!

The biggest lesson for me was learning about proper exposure. I had no idea I've been over exposing just about every one of my images! Even in perfect lighting! Lesley helped us train our eyes to see the difference between over, under, and perfectly exposed images. I know it's going to take years before I really can tell the slight difference, but for now, I can already sense an awareness I never had before.

My third and final class is going to be a lighting demo outside. It's going to be awesome! But first I have to catch up on some late assignments first. I only did 9/13.

Check out all of my completed assignments after the jump. #10 was the hardest to accomplish. #11 is one of my favorites, despite Oscar's funky facial expression. Critiques welcome.

For my dad: Click the tiny "Read More" Button below. :)

Matchy Matchy

What's worse: That I dress my kids exactly like 30-something moms? Or that I color coordinate my kids clothes to the playground equipment? I have problems!

The truth is, both of these playground mishaps happened accidentally. Thanks to my kids and Joanna for being such good sports!

Have you ever walked into work or down the street and noticed you had the same thing on as someone else? This blog captures those moments. So funny! 

Growing Up

 I have moments when I can't wait for my kids to grow up. They're always tired. I can't leave them home alone yet. They jump on cereal in the kitchen for fun.

But then I see them begging to go on these dinky rides. Their happiness is unmeasurable when I actually have a quarter.  Suddenly I become acutely aware that I'm seconds away from their childhood being over. I always wonder if this will be the last time they ask to go for a ride.  So I try to enjoy my kids just as they are. One on a blue giraffe. The other two on a green horse.

Then the ride stops. "Please! Again? No more? Why?!," they say, "Aw man! This is the worst day ever!"

And I'm right back where I started.

Picture of the Weekend

This weekend, Rob and I decided doughnuts from Doughnut Plant are the best treat. Better than cookies. Slightly better than ice cream. Far better than cupcakes. What's your favorite treat?