moroccan birthday

David and I had fun at Epcot celebrating my birthday yesterday. I am now 35! Wow, it seems like a big number to me. I got in free since it was my birthday, and got to wear a HUGE birthday badge that said, "Happy Birthday, Kristina." I don't think I've ever been wished "Happy Birthday" by so many strangers before. An amusing experience for sure.

We ate a late lunch at the Marrakesh Moroccan restaurant, and it was incredible! The food was delicious, and the service was outstanding. I would highly recommend it. It was a great all-day date, topped off by our favorite Christmas program, the "Candlelight Processional." Thanks for a fun day, David! I love you :)

the arctic, really!

Ever since we've moved to Florida, I've been dying to go to the Ice exhibit at the Gaylord Palms Resort. Yes, there's an ice exhibit in Orlando. A bit ironic and extravagant, but nonetheless, fascinating! Ice sculptors from Harbin, China are brought in to create some amazingly detailed work.


Upon entering, everyone receives a beautiful blue parka to keep warm. It's a balmy 9 degrees inside the exhibit.








The most exciting part of the exhibit: ice slides! A and I had so much fun going down these. By that point, M (who refused to wear her down coat), was freezing cold, and had to leave.






My favorite part of the day? Seeing everyone dressed in hats and scarves! (And the free hot chocolate afterwards!)

I was a bit concerned about taking my camera into and out of such extreme temperatures. (The danger is that condensation can form inside the camera and cause damage.) Apparently putting your camera and lenses into a Ziploc bag during the transitions can help. That way the air temperature around the camera has time to adjust, and if condensation forms, it will form on the bag, not on the camera. It worked for me!

delightful

We went to enjoy Epcot a few weeks ago and got a tip to go see the candy maker in Japan. She was absolutely delightful! Lumps of cornstarch-based candy were transformed before our eyes into animal creatures of all kinds. The creations were free, one per family.

It was mesmerizing to watch her hands work so quickly and skillfully. Who knew candymaking was such an artform?



The girls could hardly wait to eat their cat. It was delicious! Not to sweet and just the right consistency. I hope we can visit the candy maker again!

the blue door

I just fell in love with these blue doors when I spotted them at Animal Kingdom. That place was full of dream-locations for photographers. My sweet A is almost always willing to pose for me. M just scoffed at me, "Mom, you take too many pictures!" Probably true. I'm obsessed, what can I say? These were taken with my new-to-me Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 lens. I found it on craigslist. I just love craigslist! I also took the Africa photos with that same lens. So far, I've been nothing but happy with it.

african skies

Went went to Africa this weekend to celebrate M's birthday. Of course, it was *just* Animal Kingdom, but it never ceases to amaze me how authentic (in a Disnified sort of way) they make it feel. The first and last photos were taken on the African Safari ride. I made sure my shutter speed was set at 1/640 to get clear photos. That ride is incredibly bumpy and I actually felt a bit nauseous (it doesn't really take much) by the time we got off. Also, if you have a chance to go, the new "Finding Nemo" musical is just fabulous. The other great thing is that park is very shady, so we felt almost cool most of the day.







I meant to say "thank you" to all of you who weighed in a few days ago with encouraging words or empathy about cranky school-aged children. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one. I had no idea that it was so common for kids to be this way. We're continuing to weigh other options, but we're going to give it a little more time first.

wet 'n wild

While David's brother, Andrew was here for a visit last weekend, he treated us to a fun day at Wet 'N Wild. We had originally planned on going to Aquatica, Sea World's new water park (which is supposed to be phenomenal), but, when we arrived two hours after it had opened at 11am, it was already at capacity. The entranced was blockaded, and all the "late-comers were" turned away. Can you believe it?

We had a great time at Wet 'N Wild, though. The girls just loved the kiddie park.






The girls LOVED this zip line. It was so cool! Ok, any of you photoshop pros know how to clone this guy out of my photo? I tried, but do you see all those shadows? It was like impossible to get it natural-looking. Oh well, it kind of looks like M is going to take him out anyway :) It can be her "Sydney Bristow" moment. (Alias fans, anyone?)


I was bummed when I realized I never got a snap of Andrew and Nida :( They were enjoying the "big people" rides. Thanks for coming, you guys!

that face

We went to the flower festival at Epcot over the weekend. We parked just outside of the Boardwalk and walked into a back-entrance so as to avoid the crowds and parking fees. The location is just perfect for taking photos--lots of great backgrounds to choose from. But, the girls were not in the mood and I got "that face!"






They finally humored me and gave me sweeter smiles. Ok, I need some focus help! These above three were shot in manual mode with my 50mm ISO 100 at f/3.2 SS 1/250. I don't know why I'm at f/3.2!? M is obviously out of focus here. What is the widest aperture I can shoot at and get both of them in focus? f/5?



There were lots of "kid areas" set up just for the festival. This was inside the Peter Pan topiary garden. A is playing with puzzles made out of tree trunks.






Just to prove there were beautiful flowers at the Epcot flower festival! I really can't do them justice! I kept thinking that some of you macro shooters would have been in paradise!

where all your dreams come true

After living in Orlando for a year and a half, we finally did it. We took the girls to Disney World! They were soooo excited to go, and we had a great time too. Here are just a few from yesterday's fun.


These wrought iron hearts caught my eye. They're a little late for Valentine's though. I'm still playing around with black and white conversions. What do you think?






I was taken with the awesome window reflections along Main Street USA. This balloon came along at just the right time!

swishy fishy

It's a ride at Sea World better know as the tea-cup-spin-and-barf ride. I just love the faces in these snapshots!

"eat more candy...

it sweetens the disposition." When we saw this sign at Sea World, we had to take M's photo under it. I think it could be her life motto.