Tag Archives: sunday

The Obligatory Texas Kid in Bluebonnet Pictures

04/13/2015 R.C. Liley 2 Comments

It happens every year. Texas families drag their little ones all over to take bluebonnet pictures in patch close by. We see several families stopped on the side of the highway, rain or shine, in hopes of taking a brilliant photo of their kids in our state flower.

I used to laugh at these families, actually, I still do, but now that we have Avery, we too are seeking that perfect patch of bluebonnets to set Avery in. You see, stopping along side a busy highway simply doesn’t sound safe, mainly because it’s not. Plus, there are many fields of bluebonnets located safely away from any busy roads that are much better. Like , for instance, some random strangers’ front yard.

Yeah, so we’re not perfect, but we were in Nana and Papa’s (Going Mom’s parents) very nice and quaint neighborhood this weekend and decided to stop for pictures in one of their neighbors’ bluebonnet patches. We’ve never talked to or even seen these neighbors, and nothing bad happened in the process, so all is okay, right? Hey, still better than off the highway, or in the middle of a lightning storm like we’ve seen plenty of times in the past!

There’s actually a Facebook page dedicated to Texas Bluebonnet Sightings that has plenty of places for those eager to snap photos of their families smack dab in the middle of a patch of flowers.

We didn’t have the best setting on our DSLR for the lightning that day, but Avery makes any photo a trillion (because million is soooo 90’s) times better. But first I had to figure out the best placement of our child…

After Kelley found a good spot, I set Avery down and let me wife go to town with the pictures. Meanwhile, Avery went to town on the bluebonnets. Psssst, Avery, that’s illegal to do to our state flower!

Can’t say I didn’t try to tell her…..

Kelley took as many pics as she could with our difficult (as usual) subject, but I’d say they’re still cute.

I only had to set her down a handful of times and take one quick break to spin her around in hopes of a smile.

After that, Kelley took a few more photos and we called it a wrap.

We had a great time at Nana and Papa’s after the photoshoot, and Avery received a lot of new books by Sandra Boynton (we’ve come to enjoy this author), some cute clothes, and a psychedelic stuffed animal moose.

I’ll share more about our time at Nana and Papa’s soon, but right now I need to get some sleep. The Walking Dead is taking over our lives and keeping us up later than we need to be. But it’s just so good!!

Do you have an annual picture tradition like many Texans do with their bluebonnets?

Are you a fellow Texan who participates every April?

#MySundayPhoto, Parenting

Blinded By Happiness: #MySundayPhoto – 04.12.15

04/11/2015 R.C. Liley 20 Comments

I’ve fallen behind on the amount of pictures I take of Avery this week. This is both a good and bad thing, but mostly good.

Bad in the sense that I don’t have as many pictures to choose from for #MySundayPhoto, but good (if not great) because I spent more time just playing with Avery instead of sticking a camera in her face.

Sometimes I think we all forget the most important part is time, and we don’t need 100+ pics a day. I know it’s hard, but so worth it. Now if only I can do better about this from now on….

But it’s hard when you capture your kid beaming with delight and not a worry in the world, isn’t it? Here’s one I snapped of Avery being “blinded by happiness”.

The quality wasn’t that great to start with, as it was fairly dark and grainy. I think with the exposure adjustment and sepia combo, it turned out pretty good. Please check out the original below and let me know what you think.

Are you a chronic picture taker or feel like you need to take more pics?

Do you like using full color or enjoy using more black & white, sepia, etc for picture formats?

#MySundayPhoto, Parenting

What’s in the Grass?: #MySundayPhoto – 04.05.15

04/04/2015 R.C. Liley 20 Comments

As always, I have my favorite photo subject to share with you for #MySundayPhoto. We’ve already been having borderline hot weather in Texas (nothing new), so finding shade to play is a must.

There’s a small, grassy area in our neighborhood with plenty of shade from tree cover and Avery enjoys exploring the new territory. I wish I could take credit for this excellent shot of our daughter, but my wife, Going Mom, let her skill shine for this one.

Not a clue what she was finding there, but guess we never really know what our kids find most of the time. As long as she doesn’t eat it, it’s okay. Right? Right?

Since it’s hard to just share one, here’s a pic I snapped on my phone. The quality is not as great, obviously, but that smile turns it into a priceless work of art.