THE lens

I rented a lens for three days back in June. I had been thinking about which lens to buy for over a year. (Yes, I am just that ridiculous. And I wonder why William can't ever make a decision.) I decided to rent my top contender, the 85mm f/1.8D, to see if it would be a winner, and boy did I ever utilize that thing. I hardly put my camera down the entire time I had the lens. So here are some of the pictures from that weekend...

And yes, I did end up buying it. It has been a wonderful addition to my very small lens collection. It isn't perfect - you really have to back away from your subject to get them in the frame, which doesn't work in tight spaces. But it excels outdoors in low light compared to my other options. There is no zoom, so you have to move your feet to get closer or further back. That doesn't bother me though because my other favorite lens is also a prime (as opposed to a zoom). What should be my next purchase? I guess I will start thinking about pulling the trigger on something else late next year. :)

Let's get this started

I am overwhelmed at the amount of blog/photo stuff I have to catch up on! I was trying to figure out ways to do different blog posts that contain pictures from similar events (playdates, around the house, etc.)...and then I decided to just go in chronological order until I am ready to call it a night. I will be starting with early June. :)

Carter came over for a playdate. He has the cutest expressions!

The beach ball to the left sprays water a pretty decent distance. It has been a bust. None of the kids has been particularly interested in it. I thought it looked fun!

These two are cute as can be!

Ben loves to figure out how things work. The floating golf ball kept him interested for a while.

Ryan must have been having vacuum problems. Mr. Fix It has it covered!

The only time they are content to sit so close together is when they are enthralled with something on the iPad.

A friend posted this on her blog, and I immediately tried it out. I made a big race track out of masking tape. My friend did it on carpet, but it worked great on our hardwoods. Our masking tape is pretty weak, so I wasn't too worried about it messing up the floors.

Ryan was baptized! We have been going to Foundry for awhile, but we had to join before he could be baptized. We joined in late spring, so he was baptized in June when my mom was in town. Both boys did great during the super quick ceremony and went into the nursery after the deed was done.

I really like this picture!

Doesn't everyone celebrate a baptism with a trip to the bowling alley? Well, we did do a traditional lunch out at a burger joint, let the boys nap, and then go bowling. We're fancy like that. As always, it was William's happy place.

The bowling crew! (I was on Ryan-chasing duty that day.)

Strike!

I know, Ryan, it's torture. Too many pictures!

This is mostly what Ryan does with his little bike.

William will ride his bike for about a minute and a half.

Then he is done for the day.

He does enjoy the pick-up truck. I didn't think about the fact that another kid can sit on the tailgate, but it works out great.

Mr. Attitude! It looks like Ryan isn't following William's instructions.

A picnic on the floor while watching "Sesame Street" is about like Disney World to these kids. We eat every meal at the table, so this lunch was thrilling.

Freedom from the high chair! And yes, we were all still in pajamas at lunchtime.

Clearly this was mismatched PJ day!

I believe they were watching it rain. There is something so special to me about this picture. I feel like they kind of live in their own little brother world sometimes, and I hope to experience many more moments when I don't know what they are up to, but they are chatting and getting along famously!