gr photo | art prize | family fun

yesterday we drove into downtown grand rapids to participate in the gr photo project that is currently taking place. the goal for the artists, rita & dionel, is to have as many people go out and snap & submit pictures of six pre-determined locations within the downtown area for a collaborative art project for art prize. the finished piece will go on display sept.22 with-in the windows of the van andel arena!!!

what made this soooooo much fun for us and the kids was the "hunt" for the foot prints. in order to get the right shot the girls have stenciled large bright orange foot prints on the ground. the kids had a blast searching for the prints and would start yelling in excitement when they found them. from there the kids would pose in front of the location and i would stand on the footprints and shoot. super simple and way fun!

here are the kids out hunting for the footprints on the blue bridge!!

here are the six photos at each of the spots we took... 1) blue railroad bridge 2) calder plaza 3) van andel arena 4) gr art museum 5) gr public library 6) pantlind (amway grand plaza). if you want further information make sure to go to their website, which is also conveniently mobile ready (which, if you are on location is quick and convenient!) at www.grphotoproject.com. you can also watch a great segment of the artists which played last night on Fox News.

so grab your camera, friends, family, neighbors, a stranger standing close by and go have a fun outing supporting the arts!!

daily commute

four days a week i wake before the sun rises and head out to work. my commute in the morning takes me about 40-45 mins and it amazes me every day how the scenery changes. more times than not i think about how i wish i had my camera to stop and snap a few pictures. yesterday, i remembered!


i stopped at lake harbor park and stepped out on the channel to snap these! the sun was just rising over mona lake and it was AMAZING!!


the fog that settled over the lake and above the ground created such a mystical view. i took a minute and watched a grandpa with his grandson get their fishing gear and boat ready and couldn't help but think of what a magical time it was.


moving from water to farmland - again the scenery changes! the corn is soooo tall and creates such a beautiful contrast against the blue sky. the wild flowers are everywhere and make my heart melt.


hope you are able to enjoy your day to the fullest!!

birthday girl

who wouldn't like to celebrate their birthday in the big apple!! well, that is exactly what our lilly jane was able to do this year. she turned 8 years old on july 31st and we celebrated in style. we started out the day taking a quick taxi ride to the empire state building then had a fancy breakfast at brooklyns finer diner in times square and then finished off the morning at the ginormous toys 'r us in times square before we gathered back up at the hotel to fly home. luke couldn't help but ask if he could celebrate his next birthday in the "big city".

lilly is full of life, energy and enthusiasm. her smile is HUGE and her laugh contagious. she loves to spin (especially when she is wearing a skirt) and she is always up for anything!

lilly and her cousin sylvie (pictured above) are only two weeks apart in age. the girls are two peas in a pod and i can't get enough of watching them skip, dance, talk, sing, giggle together. i can only imagine the trouble they would get into if they lived closer than 2000 miles from each other :)