Shutterbug Mama

#1—I've been missing the Rock 'n' Roll lifestyle lately. Maybe it's the whole turning 35 thing. Maybe I'm just stupid. Whatever the reason, I've determined to start going to more shows. Granted, if I get to see 3 shows in a year, that would qualify as MORE, but I was thinking more along the lines of at least twice a month. Holy shit. That sounds like a lot.

Anyhoo, I've got this lovely new camera that I'm dying to use on Chicago's best-lit venues, so who better to call upon than my dear friends Derek Becker of Satellite Booking and the Detholz! It just so happens that the 'Holz are headlining the I-Go Audio Emissions CD Release Party at the Metro tonight. I asked Derek if I could get a media pass so I could shoot photos, and he was nice enough to put me on the guestlist AND get me a media pass! The Metro happens to have my favorite lights in the city, so I'm really excited about the show tonight. And my friend Miss Mia of Chic-a-go-go is hosting the show, so I hope she tells all the tall folks to get the hell out of my way! Stay tuned for the photos…

#2—Speaking of the Detholz! show, I am hopefully going to get to meet someone at the show whose blog (erg, actually her Myspace page) I've been lurking on for a few months, and who it turns out has also been lurking on my blog! HA HA! That gets me a-thinkin' about the power of the Internet to establish relationships between folks who would otherwise be too shy to express their mutual admiration for one another in person. It also shows how the Internet brings out the inner stalker in all of us. I totally admit to that one.

#3—Cadence is growing up so fast. No, really. It's become more noticeable in just the past week or so. She's actually occasionally rational now. I can say to her, "We can't eat cookies for breakfast, but you can have an apple or an apricot," and she'll actually choose one of the latter two without argument 5% of the time. Or when I come home and she demands a nursing session right away, I can now say to her, "We'll do ma-ma-ma (her word for nursing) after I pee and change into something more comfortable (e.g., sans bra), and she'll actually say, "Okay."

Then again, she did have that screaming session yesterday evening about something I can't even remember, and I had to plug my ears or totally seriously risk hearing loss. It was flippin' loud, folks. I don't see how she's not deaf herself.

But still, overall I'm noticing that when I can't give her what she wants, as long as I get down on her level and give her some sort of explanation in a gentle, empathic voice, she'll resort to screaming in retaliation much less than she used to.

She's also beginning to understand aspects of the bigger world outside our little family. It kind of shocked me the other day when we were talking about church, and she tilts her head, nodding it up and down, and says, "Blbublaubl God? Blbublaubl Eesus?" Wow. So she knows that going to church has something to do with God and Jesus. Up to this point, she always associated church with Rudden (her best friend and baby love) and her other friends. And Matt the pianist whom we pick up every Sunday.

And then when we were at my cousin's house on Tuesday night, Baby Eden was propped up on her boppy while we were eating, and she started crying. Cadence was next to her, and looking really concerned, she says to me, "Blbublaubl wanna ah-zhoo!" No, she wasn't sneezing. Ah'-zhoo is her word for "be held." She knew that the baby wanted to be held and was alerting us to that fact.

So yeah, she's becoming spiritual AND compassionate. Totally growing up so fast.

Labels: cadence, friends.rock, friends.who.rock, live.music, motherhood, parenting, random.photos, random.thoughts, three.thoughts.thursdays

Seriously, folks. Sometimes our lives just get so busy, I have to go into work to get some rest. If it weren't for the commute, I would LOVE going to work like ALL the TIME.

We went to our friends Jeff and Lena's house in Elgin for a BBQ/Birthday party on Monday. They recently bought an old historic Victorian house that they're fixing up. We were celebrating both Jeff's and Uncle Jay's birthdays. Jeff and Jay went to high school together and are now business partners for Periphix Computer Solutions.

It was a nice day to grill and be outdoors. I like city life, but sometimes it's nice to have a yard and some (relatively) fresh air.

I mean, when was the last time we played croquet in the city? Like, never, that's when.

Cadence was unusually docile for most of the afternoon. She was happy to just watch what others were doing, or just play by herself, often singing nonsense songs. Maybe it was all the unfamiliar faces, although most of Ted's immediate family were there. Or maybe it's because there was a big bowl of chips just within her reach. I guess I'd be happy too if I were a 2-1/2-year-old and there were all-you-can-eat Doritos around.

Anyhoo, it was cool to see the inside of an old house and see all the work Jeff and Lena have put into it. They could totally have a Bed and Breakfast if they wanted.

The day didn't end with the BBQ. We went over later that night to my cousin Ben and Rachel's apartment to see my aunt and uncle and Ben's sister Jessica who were visiting for the long weekend. We were supposed to be having coffee when we got there, but my aunt had JUST finished cooking dinner, which ended up being a feast of shrimp, squid, alaskan king crab legs, korean spicy pork, and zucchini and eggplant fritters. I guess they went to Super H-mart and went a little crazy because there was a huge seafood sale going on. Ted and I love our aunt's cooking, so we dove in and pigged out.

Ben and Rachel's daughter Eden is growing so fast! It's fun seeing another little baby. I like seeing how Cadence reacts to her, and she seems to be warming up to her quite nicely. She asked me later at home if we could get a Baby Eden too. HA HA HA! Yeah right. So I told her if we had another baby in the family, Mommy and Daddy would have to take care of the other baby too, and she didn't take too kindly to that idea.

Anyhoo. I need a vacation.

Labels: family, friends, holidays.wear.me.out, photos

Although I have found an excellent thrift store nearby for awesome kids' clothes at dirt cheap prices, I did recently get a couple of cool vintage stuff off ebay for pretty cheap.

This is a dress probably from the 60's. I absolutely love the print. Yeah, it looks like it was made from drapes or something, but that's even cooler cuz Cadence ADORES the Sound of Music.

The other ebay find is this vintage cycling shirt, which was perfect for our first family bike ride on Sunday. Doesn't Cadence look spiffy in her helmet?

And here they are, riding away. For the record, that strap should be under her leg better, but we weren't going far, so no biggie. I'm not sure if we would be ticketed for riding like this. I don't know what the bike rules are in the city. However, I CAN say that this is probably safer than using a childseat, which usually throws the balance off on a bike.

I really like this shirt. She looks great whether she's riding a bike or eating an apricot. I'm going to try and get all my 2nd hand clothes locally now, but I'm glad I found this one and the dress up there.

Visit Tracey at Picture This for other folks' Best Shots Monday.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

So the rest of my Birth day...Cadence and I rode a couple buses and made our way to Trader Joe's in time to help Ted finish grocery shopping after his shift.

With the rain and all, there was a LOT of splashing involved while waiting for buses and walking to Trader Joe's from the bus stop. Thank goodness for Kidorable boots!

And I couldn't believe that someone left this bike outside in the rain in front of Trader Joe's. That's got to be the rustiest bike I've ever seen, and no wonder. They didn't even bother to park it underneath a covered area.

My cousin Kris and our friend Connie came over for dinner. My brother stopped by and ended up staying too. We got carry-out from an Indian restaurant (YUM!), drank some Tripel Karmeliet and homebrew, and reveled in the goodness that is Tres Leches cake from Rolf's Patisserie.

And look! For once, I actually have a photo of the whole group. I'm pretty bad about taking photos when I'm with friends, but I made sure we got one in. I was going to do it with a timer, but I like the look of the Arms Reach Self-Portrait.

Alright. Off to bed for me.

Labels: birthday, family, friends, photos

That's right. Today's the Big Day. I am now 35 years old--a veritable state of venerability, you might say(thanks, Elaine).

I get a 3 day weekend for my birthday, and we started celebrating Friday after dinner with a little trip to Lincoln Square, our old haunt. Believe it or not, I have never been to a Cold Stone Creamery. I've always been happy with Sweet Occasions, our favorite ice cream place in the city, but we decided to try something new, so we headed to the Cold Stone Creamery that opened up this past year in Lincoln Square. It was interesting to watch the girl behind the counter fold my chosen ingredients into my ice cream. I had the German Chocolate Cake (since I was in a German neighborhood and it was almost my birthday and all), which was chocolate ice cream with pecans, coconut, caramel and brownie pieces mixed in. It was really good, no doubt, but I have to say that the ice cream itself was not as good as Sweet Occasions'. And I'm sure there were around 1400 calories in the concoction, but let's not dwell on that, shall we?

To avoid having Cadence bounce off our walls at home after her sudden ingestion of all that sugar, we walked over to Giddings Plaza, one of our favorite places to let Cadence run around and meet all the other kids who are also working off their various sugar highs. She soon made friends with a boy who must have been around 5 years old. She led him on a high-speed chase round and round the plaza. He finally got tired (cuz she could totally outrun him), and he gave up the chase.

Another reason I wanted to go to Lincoln Square was so that Ted could get me my birthday present, a couple CDs from Laurie's Planet of Sound. The CD in particular that I wanted was Wilco's new one, Sky Blue Sky, which just came out this month. I had already heard a few songs off the album, so I knew I would love it. The other CD I ended up having Ted get me was The Sea and Cake's latest full-length called Everybody. I had downloaded this album off emusic.com, and I love it. I can't wait to see them at Pitchfork!

Well, we don't have too much planned for the weekend. Ted's at work right now. I've promised Cadence a bus ride today, so we'll be taking off soon. Tonight, I think I'm having dinner w/ my cousin Kris and our mutual friend Connie. I need to find a BYOB place for dinner cuz Ted picked up some Tripel Karmeliet for me to share with the girls tonight. I wish I could go see Babyteeth tonight at the Hideout. I know Ted would totally let me go while he stays home w/ Cadence, but I haven't gotten a lot of sleep the past couple nights, and I'm totally feeling it.

Man, I MUST be old.

I guess at this age, I have to save all my rock 'n' roll energy for the one big show next week--The iG0 Audio Emissions CD release show that the Detholz! are headlining. My friend Derek Becker, the manager for the 'Holz was sweet enough to put me on the guestlist and get me a media pass so I could try out my new camera at the Metro, which has the best lights in the city for a small venue. The photoshoot is part of my plan to convince the folks at Pitchfork to allow me to bring in my camera, which is considered "professional" because it has detachable lenses and will not be allowed at the Pitchfork Music Festival in July. We'll see how that goes.

Anyhoo, have a happy Sarah's birthday, y'alls!

Labels: about.me, around.town, birthday, music, photos

It should be obvious to anyone who's met my round body in person that I absolutely ADORE ice cream. And now I have my very own custom Timbuk2 that reflects my penchant for neapolitan.

The dimensions of the X-Small Messenger bag were a good fit for a couple Domke padded inserts, and voila! I had myself my own urban messenger camera bag. It's big enough to fit my Nikon D40 with either the 18mm-55mm or 55mm-200mm lens attached plus the other unattached lens plus my little SB-400 speedlight.

Now I'll always be ready to catch little moments like this one. Awwww...Ain't they cute?

Labels: flickritis, new.camera, photos

#1--This one isn't so much a thought as it is a little piece of advice. "ALWAYS LOOK BEFORE YOU DRINK." That's right, folks. You never know what might be in that tall glass of yours. If I had heeded this little piece of common sense, I never would have ended up with a spider in my mouth this morning. And I'm not talking a little tiny jumper. It was at least half an inch big, and that's how I caught a blurry glimpse of something brown going in my mouth as I was taking my last gulp. Luckily, I had enough wits about me not to swallow, and after a second or two of blinking my eyes, wondering what the heck was floating in my mouth, I decided to spit the water back into my glass. That's when I saw the creepy critter, flailing its legs helplessly in the shallow pool of water in the bottom of my glass. I'm quite proud of myself that I somehow maintained composure instead of reacting how I normally do to spiders, which is to scream like a 2 year old who's had their cookie confiscated and to jump on the nearest chair. My still-sleeping family would not have appreciated that, I'm sure. I'm still kind of grossed out by the whole thing though. Ted and I are such big wussies when it comes to creepy crawly things. Cadence, on the other hand, hasn't learned to be afraid of them yet, and we're hoping to foster that lack of fear so that we can designate her the household bug remover (we don't squash—we relocate).

#2--In a couple of days, I will be celebrating my 35th birthday. I just can't believe how old that sounds. I mean, I remember watching the show thirtysomething when I was younger and thinking to myself that those folks were really old. And now, here I am. Not merely thirtysomething, like thirty-one or thirty-three, but undeniable and securely in my MID THIRTIES. Holy cow.

I have to admit, though, that I've always felt kind of old. I distinctly remember the last day of school in June of 1980. I was walking home, report card in hand, with all my little friends, when I had an epiphany. "Wow," I thought to myself, "I'm going to be in the 3rd grade in September. Now I'm REALLY old." And at 25, when I became a quarter of a century old, I grieved the loss of my youth and was convinced that any age greater than 25 sounded so egregiously old.

#3--Speaking of lost youth and being a kid, I sometimes wonder about all the events of my life, how so much was meaningful to me in that moment, but now, however, there seems to be so little that I actually remember. What happens to memories when you forget them? I suppose that by definition, they are not memories any more. It makes me wonder what juicy morsels of my past lie hidden in the deep recesses of my squishy brain. What friends have I forgotten, who were at the time so totally going to be my BFF? What heartache did i suffer that I was totally convinced I would never survive? What joys did I relish, not realizing then that the memory would someday fade? I wonder…

Labels: random.photos, random.thoughts, three.thoughts.thursdays

Well, my laptop survived Tropical Storm Cadence. So far so good. And thank goodness because I had not yet uploaded my photos from Saturday night when we got to see our friend Jozka and his beautiful girlfriend Susannah who were visiting from Ann Arbor. Joe was the happiest I've ever seen him, and that made me happy too because I've often worried over him.

Joe was roommates with Ted @ 800 South when we first started dating. He and I bonded over Douglas Coupland and songs played on guitar. He's one of those people with whom I've shared some very special memories--moments of pure joy and pure sadness. He moved to Ann Arbor that summer after the Infamous 800 South New Year's Eve Party where we first met, so we were friends in the same city for only about 8 months. We only see him sporadically now, but it always warms my heart and brings back some of the sweetest memories ever.

Labels: friends, friends.who.rock, memory.lane

You know, it was bound to happen. I bring my laptop home from work everyday, just in case something happens (like a blizzard, migraine, or the stomach flue) and I can't go into work the next day. So I shouldn't be too surprised finally to have my first accident involving liquid and my laptop.

Yes, it's true. Cadence spilled water on my laptop. I wasn't home when it happened, so I'm not sure what the details are. I don't think the laptop was on at the time, and it was in its closed position, but things aren't looking good...

After waiting a few hours for everything to dry, I tried turning on the laptop, and it just can't get itself started. It'll turn on, the fan will start, and then everything goes dead. It'll turn on, the fan will start, and then every goes dead again. And again. And again. Until I turn it totally off.

It's times like this that I can't help but start believing in miracles, because what else can you do but hope and pray or curse? Like how sheepish am I going to feel when I have to tell my boss the bad news tomorrow? The IT guys are totally going to make fun of me. I don't really care as long as they can resurrect the darn thing.

Well, that's what I get for leaving it lying around within reach of a toddler.

The good news is that I already uploaded my photos from our trip to our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm, Scotch Hill Farm, in Brodhead, WI. I spent most of yesterday weeding the strawberry patch and the lettuce rows, so I'm pretty sore right now. I have to say, though, that it was a great experience.

You definitely gain a deeper appreciation of where your food comes from, especially if you get your food from a local organic family farm. Holy cow, the WEEDS! The WEEDS!! And the ones invading the strawberry patch were the WORST. Crimeny! You could barely see the strawberry plants through the tall dense forest of weeds!

Pulling weeds is a great way to bond w/ your fellow human beings. I had a great time chit-chatting w/ my gal pals from church, collectively realizing what a blessing it was to have this opportunity to be close to the earth and see (literally) where our food comes from.

I highly recommend participating in a CSA if you have one available in youre area, or just spending some time getting your hands in the dirt.

Labels: community.supported.agriculture, friends.rock, friends.who.rock, i.heart.berry.church, photos, sustainability, technical.difficulties

I suppose it's silly pointing out the fact that a photo of Cadence is on another website, considering I've been plastering such photos all over this one since before she was even born.

But still. Humor a proud, silly mama, will ya? You see, Cadence and her playroom were featured as a Flickr Find on Apartment Therapy: The Nursery. Thanks, Alex!

Labels: around.the.house, cadence, friends.rock, friends.who.rock

I'm starting something new around here. I'm calling it Three Thoughts Thursday, and it should be pretty self-explanatory. Three thoughts. Posted on Thursdays. I was gonna make it Thirty Thoughts Thursday, but once you read my first thought below, you'll see why I changed my mind. For the record, these thoughts will be of the Deliberately Random sort, so don't be expecting a dissertation on the failure of postmodernism to address the specific needs of mommybloggers or anything of that sort. If it's erudition you seek, go somewhere else.

Oh. And the photos will be just as DR* as the thoughts.

*Deliberately Random

#1--I've been thinking lately that I'm getting dumber as I get older. Is it mommyhood? Am I just not reading enough? Or is it early-onset Alzheimer's (which happens to run in my family on both sides, yippe-aye-ay)? I used to toy with the idea of going back to school someday when we're independently wealthy so that I can become either a lawyer or a librarian, but now I'm thinking I won't be able to hack it. Maybe I'm just lazier, not older.

#2--I think that Brown and Pink might be the best color combo ever. Why? Because it immediately brings to mind Chocolate and Strawberry ice cream, side by side, just the way I like it. If you throw in off-white, you'd get Neapolitan, which is okay, except that I prefer to ignore Vanilla and just go straight for the Brown and Pink stuff. Cadence is the same way.

#3--I think it's about time I emerge from the Dark Ages and got myself an mp3 player. I've resisted the whole iPod revolution this long, but I'm finally surrendering because I really miss the rock 'n' roll. Since I take the train to work, I don't get to blare my car stereo very often, and I have fallen hopelessly behind on the exponentially-expanding volume of worthy music out there. The thing is, I have no idea which mp3 player to get. I'd really like to be able to listen to the radio, cuz frankly, sometimes all I need is NPR and WLUW. I don't know if I actually need 30GB, which is the size of my laptop's entire hard drive. Oh, and if I could get one in brown and pink, I'd be like totally sold.

Labels: random.thoughts, three.thoughts.thursdays

I guess it's about time I let you all in on a little secret. It's about these photos I've been taking lately. While I love my new camera and really believe it's made a huge difference in the quality of my photos , and while I would like to believe I have at least a little bit of skill in capturing moments of beauty, cuteness, sassiness, etc., I must now reveal to you all my new secret tool for creating these photos.

It's called Picasa, and it's by Google, and it's totally and absolutely FREE. Of course, it's only for PCs right now, so I apologize to all the Mac users out there.

I'm kind of a purist when it comes to photos. I don't own Photoshop, and I've been using Microsoft's Photo Editor (the software that comes free w/ Windows) for as long as I've been shooting digitally. All I've ever done (pre-Picasa) is to change the brightness and contrast, and maybe a little color if the white balance was funky.

I'm no post processing expert, but some of the effects available through Picasa are so easy for even a lazy post processor like myself. Here is the original to the photo above:

As you can see, I used the Soft Focus effect to focus more on the hands (which were already the portion of the photo in focus) and to blur our the background a bit. I think it's a subtle change, but I really like it.

I still use Picasa mainly for getting the brightness and contrast the way I like it, but every now and then, it's fun to play with some of those effects.

Of course, when your subject is as entertaining as Cadence, it really doesn't matter how much or how little post processing you do. Which is a good thing, cuz I'm still too lazy to do too much of it.

Labels: fess.up.time, photos

So Tracey's theme for this week at Picture This is Diagonal Week. That's awesome, cuz I just rediscovered my inner crooked thanks to The Antibride, and it's added new freedom to my shooting.

I shot this series of Cadence singing and dancing yesterday afternoon. It's actually best seen in the slideshow version here. Just click the next button quickly, and you'll see Cadence perform her little dance. Cue the Do-Re-Mi song from the Sound of Music, and that's what the movie version would've been like.

Believe you me, having a DSLR makes a huge difference when it comes to shooting rapid shots.

It's like, holy cow! I hold down the shutter button, and *click*! Instant photo!

I love how she's looking over at me on this one.

And if you're wondering about the muted colors, it's because I screwed up the lighting and since I don't have Photoshop, this was the best I could do without turning Cadence into looking like a botched Self-Tanning job.

Here's one with a little more color. Taken in lovely Morton Grove, IL.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos

I would like to officially dispell any myths that may have mysteriously formed in the universe regarding my skills and qualifications for parenthood. I have read a number of good and not-so-good books on parenting since being drafted into this adventure. I continue to refer many of my friends and acquaintances and random strangers to some of these resources, because really, when you think about it, I should've been a research librarian. Nothing gives me greater joy than a thorough google search. However, keen aptitude on google does not a competent parent make.

Lately, Cadence has pushed me to the unchartered hinterlands of my sanity with her Endless!Boundless!Explosions! of Energy! This girl can go!Go!GO! like you wouldn't believe. I think she thoroughly wore out my La Leche League leader's 12 year old daughter at the family picnic last night. Laurel (the 12 year old) told me with total pre-teen seriousness that Cadence could outrun her if she wants to.

To add to the exhaustion, this week she has begun engaging in reckless behavior, such as hanging from the monkey bars 7' off the ground while I'm nowhere near her. Now we have to stick to her like white (or brown, depending on what you prefer) on rice to prevent her from breaking her little neck.

And then there are those times when she insists on taking a 2 hour walk at 7 in the morning. She'll lollygag with the earthworm, thoroughly fascinated by its creeping and crawling.

And of course, she'll have to look for every puddle in every alley and street and pothole on our route for the sheer pleasure of getting her boots wet. And she'll have to jump in each one twice or three times and sometimes four.

Why is it that when she's running around like the Tasmanian Devil, I wish I could contain that energy of hers and make her sit still, but when she lazily meanders through the neighborhood, stopping to smell the figurative roses that I wish she'd pick up the pace? Why can't I just be content to be in the moment with my totally amazing and delightful and awe-filled and joy-filled kid?

*Sigh*...So much to learn...

Labels: cadence, lessons.learned.again, parenting, photos

Okay, so the show on Friday night was pretty awesome. Tim had one of his art students help with the lighting to transform Berry's sanctuary into a music venue for the evening. I had a pretty hard time taking photos with Cadence running around.

I enlisted my brother's help in keeping an eye on her, and Tom from church also said he'd look after her. Nevertheless, Cadence managed to run around like a little sprite during the shows, and I believe she was actually on stage at one point. Here are some of my favorite photos of Tim's set:

This was actually during sound check. This is Matthew on piano and Ethan on clay jug (he also plays violin, very well I might add). I like how Matt's looking over at Ethan, giving him the thumbs-up. He's actually holding a melodica, not a cordless phone. Similar, but not quite the same.

And this is Ryan "And-They-Will-Know-Him-By-The-Yellow-Knit-Hat" Hammer. I bet his lovely wife Janelle made that hat, which I have seldom seen Ryan without.

Matthew and Ethan's shadow. I love this photo for some reason.

I know the band's not totally in focus here, but hey, it's more about the perspective, okay?

The rest of the photos for Tim's set can be seen on my flickr here. Slideshow can be seen here.

In the middle of Tim's set, Ryan and Jan Hammer performed a couple songs they had written. It was very sweet, even though Ryan totally forgot the words to the second song (he wrote it a few hours before the show). One of the songs they performed, Goodnight Sunshine, can be heard on the Tales from Tuckaway Myspace page.

Ben and Bruno made it to the show by the latter half of Tim's set. They were driving from Grand Rapids, and probably hit some knarly traffic with all the crazy construction going on. I had never listened to their music before Friday night's show, and I admit that they were nothing like what I had expected. I don't know why I had any expectations of them at all, but for some reason I thought they'd be more emo and a bit on the loud side (compared to Tim Lowly's music, at least). I couldn't have been more wrong. One of my favorite experiences in life is to stumble upon a band that I'd never heard of previously but whose music just blows me away upon first listen. It's like finding a loose diamond while lounging on the beach, lazily combing your fingers through the sand. (More photos from Friday night's Ben and Bruno set here.)

Tim and the gang reciprocated Ben and Bruno's road trip by driving out to Grand Rapids to play a show with them on Saturday night. Cadence and I tagged along, and we made a minivacation of it. I don't want to go into all the details of the trip, so I'll just give you the photo highlights. All the photos can be seen on my flickr account here.

Driving for 3+ hours with a 2.5 year old can be taxing on one's sanity. We did see some interesting sights, though, like this tough-looking band of bikers. There are around a half dozen bikers behind this guy. If you look carefully, you can see his face in his mirror.

We stopped in Dutch Village in Holland, MI, which is considered Tulip City USA. The town was just starting their Tulip Festival, and sure enough, everywhere you looked, there were tulips.

Cadence had a blast, and no wonder. There were baby ducklings!

Goats!

Dancing!

Slides!

And her favorite, I believe, was the carousel. This was her first carousel ride, and she LOVED it!

There was also a ride that Cadence was thrilled to see cuz she was thinking it was the Most Ultimate Swingset Ever. Unfortunately, she was too little to ride.

So Daddy rode instead.

But Cadence enjoyed watching daddy flying by.

We had so much fun that it didn't matter that we had actually intended to go to Windmill Island, but never made it because the Yahoo Map directions suck big time.

We had just enough time to check into our hotel before we had to show up for a 5pm soundcheck at the church where the show was. It was a beautiful church, and I wish I'd taken more photos, but I was pretty busy chasing Cadence. I actually had technical difficulties with my memory card, and so I didn't get to take any photos of Tim Lowly's set. I deleted enough photos to be able to take a few shots of Ben and Bruno, though.

Ben (of Ben and Bruno) brought his wife, also named Sarah, and their 2 year old daughter Eleanor, so Cadence had a playmate for the evening. It turns out Sarah and I had a lot in common, such as carrying cameras, being on flickr, parenting philosophies, having charming and active toddlers who want to be with their dads especially when said dads happen to be performing on stage at the moment.

I didn't get to see much of the show, but I really enjoyed hanging out with Sarah and Eleanor and chasing Cadence. I did get a chance to take some photos of Ben and Bruno, which can be seen here.

On Sunday morning, we planned on relaxing at the hotel. Cadence decided the relaxing should begin at 6:30 am (5:30 Chicago time), so we ended up dragging ourselves down to our free kinda-hot breakfast by 7am. I'd been telling Cadence for a couple days that we would be going swimming in the pool, and she was excited (I think she thought there was gonna be fish involved).

When we actually got to the pool, however, Cadence refused to go in. She's a pretty cautious kid, and without any other little kids around to encourage her, there was no way she was gonna get in that water. Oh well.

After we checked out of the hotel, we met up for lunch with our friend Lori and her son Devin at the Grand Rapids Brewing Company. We had a very *cough* active *cough* lunch, thanks to our rambunctious youngsters. Cadence was having so much fun with Devin that she started crying when we had to go in separate cars to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. She quieted right down though once I got her to understand that we'd be meeting Devin at a big park where they could run around to their hearts' content.

The kids had a blast seeing butterflies, floating little boats on a miniature version of the Great Lakes, playing in a giant sandbox, climbing in the huge treehouse, looking in the log cabin, and even having a little tea party. All this with endless running and giggling interspersed throughout the outing. It's amazing how quickly kids become friends. All they require is someone who'll run and laugh with them.

It was so nice to actually spend time with Lori in Real Life. She and her husband Scott and Dev will be coming to Chicago in June, so I'm looking forward to seeing them again. Cadence cried when we had to go our separate ways, but we promised her she could have a tea party with Devin in a few weeks.

We headed home after the Gardens, and Cadence was asleep within a few minutes. We were pretty exhausted and could have used a nap, too. We wanted to stop and get some coffee, but since Cadence was asleep, we decided to just keep driving, and we didn't stop until we got home.

So there you have it, folks. Our mini-vacation in a nutshell. A very large, cavernous nutshell.

Labels: flickritis, friends.rock, friends.who.rock, grand.rapids, live.music, photos, vacation

I am so behind on posts around here, and with the new camera I've got so many new photos that I think I've buried myself real good this time. Anyhoo, I don't have much time so here are some photos from the past week that I really like. And a lot of them have nothing to do with Cadence! (Nothing personal, of course.)

I took this photo after running out to the lake to take photos of a pretty full moon. I threw out all the photos of the moon but got a drive-by of this sign. It's a coffeeshop/diner on Grandville, right by Metropolis.

This is at the Dutch Village in Holland, MI. I just love how Cadence is running away here. Try to imagine this with a high-C-two-octaves-above-middle-C squeal of a toddler as the soundtrack.

Also at the Dutch Village. Red wooden clogs. Need I say more? Funny thing is, I was wearing my red crocs when I took this photo. Of course, I wasn't thinking so I have no photographic evidence.

I hope Ted doesn't kill me for posting a photo with his chest hair, but I really liked this one. And I risked water damage on my brand new camera to get it (I was very, very careful). It is inspired by this much better photo of a much cuter subject (sorry, honey) by the talentedJeanette LeBlanc.

This was in our hotel room. There really was no view except of the Howard Johnson across the alley, but oh well. It's black and white cuz I couldn't figure out the color. I don't have Photoshop, ya know.

We had the pleasure of hanging out with Lori and her son Devin on Sunday. I think Cadence has finally found another toddler who can keep up with her. My favorite photo of Cadence this weekend was actually taken by Lori, which you can see over here on her flickr page.

See other folk's Best Shot Monday posts on Tracey's site.

Labels: best.shots.monday, cadence, photos, vacation