No Ego

Last Sunday I was on a stage in a kick-ass venue in Detroit working a crowd, getting a few laughs, loving the attention, having a blast. 

Look at my co-producer and friend, Angela A., and me, cracking each other up. So.Much.Fun.

The next day I slept through my alarm, broke up a fist fight in my kitchen (my two youngest children) and tried to tell the kids at my preschool what a big deal I was just a few short hours earlier.

Listen, I have no ego, at least not an inflated one. But I do have some really amazing stories of bravery, community, friendship, cool dudes at soundboards, history, discovering our truth and sharing it and love and the power of storytelling. Ahhhhhh. Co-producing the Listen To Your Mother show in Detroit is pretty rad.

First though, I must catch up on sleep and eat lots of chips and salsa and maybe cry a tiny bit because it's over for another year.

The Zoo With My Fancy New Camera

So I got this fancy new camera for my 41st birthday in June.  A gift from my husband who bought it because he knows I love to take pictures and be creative and learn new things. And I have been loving taking my camera everywhere this summer. I still need to learn to use some of the fancier features and I'm hoping to devote more time to that part when the kids go back to school in a couple weeks.  

Here are some shots from a trip to the zoo a little while ago. 

 

Maybe one day I'll publish a photo book of tween/teen shots. This is just the beginning, I have about 15 more years of these oh-so-thrilled-with-mom looks to go. lol.

I might change the name of my blog to this. 

I have a real phobia of frogs. I hate them, I am scared of them and can't even look at them....so this exhibit is truly my nightmare.

I waited outside during the frog experience and the kids told me all kinds of details about the size and shape and color and sounds of all the frogs. Ahhhhh. 

Wade loves maps and figuring out where are going next. And I love that he let his sister paint his nails and actually asked her to paint them University of Michigan colors. He's such a cool kid. 

The animals at the zoo were active and amazing. 

I love watching the kids watch and see what the older ones want to take pictures of on their phones. 

It was one of those days where all the animals were out and playful and so fun to watch.

It was a beautiful day. We had fun, made memories and learned about gorillas...it doesn't get much better than that.

Check out some other pictures I've taken 

with my Fancy New Camera:
Belle Isle With My Fancy New Camera

Baseball and My Fancy Camera 
Pure Michigan With My Fancy New Camera 
Everyday Kind of Small Town Family Fun w/My Fancy New Camera

Belle Isle with my Fancy New Camera

Last week I posted pictures from our trip to the the Riverwalk in Detroit, today I'm posting pictures I took with my fancy new-ish camera on Belle Isle. Belle Isle is a beautiful park/island nestled between Detroit and Canada. 

I think this picture looks like a painting.

The beach wasn't very crowded on the day we went.

Some of us got hot dogs from What's Up Dawg.  I have to tell you, they were the BEST hot dogs I've ever had, ever. Check them out here.

The beautiful James Scott Memorial Fountain is gorgeous.

This was the only shot I could get with me and one of the kids, he looks so happy that I'm hugging him.

This is a statue of the man, James Scott, that left his money so the beautiful fountain could be built.

After swimming and eating and exploring the fountain, we headed over to THE slide.  It cost a dollar to go down and the kids loved it.

I even enjoyed it, but it was a little nuts.

Then we headed over to the playground to do what my kids are so into right now--pretending they are contestants on "American Ninja Warrior."

There is so much more to Belle Isle that we didn't get to that day--the conservancy,the aquarium, the trails, fishing and more. 

If you are in or near Detroit, you should definitely check out Belle Isle, click here for more information. 

Check out some other pictures I've taken with my Fancy New Camera:
Detroit Riverwalk w/My Fancy New Camera

Baseball and My Fancy Camera 
Pure Michigan With My Fancy New Camera 
Everyday Kind of Small Town Family Fun w/My Fancy New Camera

Detroit RiverWalk w/My Fancy New Camera

We live in Michigan. It is a pretty beautiful state full of so much shoreline and water.  We live just north of Detroit. I love living close to Detroit.  Detroit is complex and fascinating and rich with history and story and heartache and soul and music and beauty.  I took my fancy new-ish camera and my kids into the city last week. We were drawn to the Detroit waterfront on that beautiful sunny, summer day. Here are a few pictures of our adventures on the beautiful Detroit RiverWalk. (Since there is so much of the city I'd love to take pictures of, I'm calling this post Detroit Part One with my Fancy New Camera.)

Wade in charge of where we go next.

I love this picture of Tim and Peyton. My almost 14-year-old smiling at the camera? Um, miracle.

The little boys were having a blast on the playground.

The big kids, not so much.

Lucy took these pictures. Pretty great shots.
I might make this my new FB cover photo. Ha!

Rent a bike here and just go ride the RiverWalk.

Art is everywhere.

It's a great place to watch boats, fish, bike or jog or walk. There are seats lined up along the river where people were reading books, one woman was sewing and a man was reading a newspaper (a real newspaper!). There are boat tours, a carousel, a beach volleyball area, a concert venue and more. Ahhhhhh!

More water.
It started out as a calm interest in the cool fountain...

The boys enjoyed the fountain, a lot.

Check out some other pictures I've taken with my Fancy New Camera:
 Baseball and My Fancy Camera 
Pure Michigan With My Fancy New Camera 
Everyday Kind of Small Town Family Fun w/My Fancy New Camera