We took the kids to
Six Flags yesterday for Kayla's birthday. We really want to do something like this every year with each individual child after watching
Jon and Kate Plus 8. If you haven't watched the show, you need to check it out. I don't know how they do it, but they have 8 kids, yes 8! Every kid gets special alone time with just the parents and I think it's such a great idea. Trying to juggle two conversations with the kids can be overwhelming sometimes, so it's nice to be able to concentrate on one child at a time. We originally planned on taking just Kayla, but we also had to think about Kristin's daycare and whether or not we could make it back on time to pick her up. We just decided to take both of them. This year, for Kristin's birthday, we definitely are going to plan some special time just for her.
Kayla started the adventure on some mild rides. She seemed ok at first:
but soon, the action was too much for her to take, so she put her hat over her eyes and spent the rest of the ride stuck to my body.
She really enjoyed riding on this merry go round, especially after watching Kung Fu Panda.
She enjoyed being chauffeured around by big sis:
but the BEST part of the day, was playing in the water area with big sis:
Even if it meant getting splashed in the face:
more than a few times.....
nothing makes kids happier than playing in water. nothing.
After a long day of playing, she couldn't take it anymore, and she pooped out.
adorable man. all worth waking up at 5am for, im sure
ReplyDeleteYour girls are absolutely adorable! :D You do such a good job of capturing them!
ReplyDeletesome really great shots there!
ReplyDeleteI saw that John & Kate episode. My wife and I watch the show every now and then to put us raising twin 18month old boys into perspective. :-) But yes the ALONE time is something we actually started doing because of that ep.
May I ask what your portable flash setup was used for these shots....They really look great. I am going to guess just a regular off-camera flash hand held?
Thanks for the kind words.
ReplyDeleteKevin, you got it right. I used a flash on a cord, utilizing ettl for metering.
Awww, I love the last one! I have four kids but my youngest(a girl) is two also, and she adores playing in water just like Kayla does.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Kayla!
man .. you got great kids, and very nice photo !! inspire me a lot!!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, are all of those shots lit with flash? Even the last one?
ReplyDeleteJason, Those are some great shots! I've been thinking about what we should do for our twins' 2nd birthday and I wasn't sure how well they would handle six flags. My wife has a list of all the parks in the South Bay with water features, though -- they can't get enough of those!
ReplyDeleteJon and Kate + 8 is one of our favorite shows, too. It is amazing how well the parents keep the house together!
You mentioned that you brought a flash on a cord -- I assume you're holding the flash out to the left with one hand and holding your 5D (?) with your right. May I ask, How much of a pain is it to carry that stuff around while worrying about if the kids would wander off? what kind of lens did you use? I always carry around my 10D with my 24-105mm lens (no flash) and it is somewhat of a pain while we make sure to monitor our toddlers.
Thanks for sharing your photos!
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteOnly 2 of the shots are natural light. The 'chauffeured' picture and the 'pooped out' picture.
Tom,
I'm sure your twins would love six flags. They have plenty of rides for the smaller kids, not to mention all the animals they can see. Another favorite of theirs is the Children's Discovery Museum.
I used the off camera shoe cord, with a 580 attached in my left hand and the 5d in my right. It looks awkward, but it sure beats the straight on flash look. I admit, it is a pain to carry around all the stuff, but it's worth it to me. I used a 16-35 on most of the images, and a 50mm for the 'chauffeured' shot. The last 2 were with a 70-200.
Cheers.
Oh, ok. I thought for sure those two looked like natural light! lol
ReplyDeletewow, great photos! may i ask - the first picture has great warm light - did you gel it?
ReplyDeleteHi Luke,
ReplyDeleteI didn't use any gels but there was a stofen omnibounce on the flash, which makes the image a little warmer.
Her sleeping pose is so beautiful...
ReplyDeleteOh gee, I love the one where she's all wet and squealing!
ReplyDelete