Hissyfits Photography Blog

This weekend we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. As we were sitting at the table munching on pizza and sipping down root beer, I found myself in another world. Huntler was next to me and Gentry across the table sitting beside Chris. We haven’t been to Chuck E Cheese in over a year so this experience was completely “new” to the kids. As I sat next to my little man, I found myself lost in his world, wondering what it would be like to be almost five and in complete and total awe of what was happening around me. It wasn’t too hard to imagine really. I have very vivid memories of my parents taking me to this place called Show Biz when I was little. It was the 1984 equivalent of Chuck E Cheese…only better. Or at least it seems that way in my mind! Maybe I was four and much like Huntler thought it was the neatest thing ever when in reality it was much like any other chaotic pizza joint with dancing characters luring you in to spend big bucks. But that is the fabulous thing about childhood…your memories are what they are and in my mind, Show Biz was the coolest place around!

As Huntler sat there beside me with eyes as big as saucers sucking intently on his pop, I could only think of how “easy” it would be to be five again. That even though he thinks his life is completely and totally unfair at times, life as a child is so easy. Your biggest worries are what you are going to take to school for a snack and who you’ll play with on the playground. The things that adults are faced with on a daily basis are not even a thought in the back of your mind. Oh how I wanted to be five again as we sat there!

But if I were five, then I wouldn’t be married to the man that makes me whole. If I were five I wouldn’t have these two precious, amazing kids. If I were five I wouldn’t have the knowledge and the wisdom to appreciate what I have and where I am in life. But on the flip side, if I were five I wouldn’t realize that everything that defines “home” to me is a million miles away back in Kansas!

I post a lot of pictures of Gentry…not because I love her more but because she actually LIKES to have her picture taken most of the time! Huntler tends to act out, pout or put on the dorkiest face ever with the cheesiest smile ever to accompany it. Unless it is on his terms, he does everything possible these days to not cooperate for pictures when I want him to. He has always been very serious and very intense. Because of that, I have always loved the images I capture of him just “being” far more than those where I try to get him to do what I want him to!

Last weekend we took the kids to the splash park. We LOVE everything about this particular splash park. It was closed most of the summer so this was only our second trip out, but what a fun one it was. As you’ll see in the pictures, Huntler was having a blast. I took SO many shots of him it isn’t even funny! I finally quit editing them because I figured you didn’t want to look at twenty splash park pics of one kiddo!

To me these tell the story of childhood. Of summer. Of innocence. They are timeless. They are treasures. They are memories made. They are moments cherished. They are perfection in my eyes. A couple of weeks ago I was rambling on about my “funk” and how I was stuck in a rut and really struggling with my confidence and inspiration in photography but also with life in general. This is the first set of images I took after taking a week away from my camera and Photoshop and I love them. And I love that I love them! I love that I love the cropping and the composition and the processing and just every single thing about them! Instead of worrying about what everyone else was going to think, for once I just did what I know how to do and tweaked them so that I love them! This is my style. This is who I am. And that is my story!

I think this next one might be my favorite out of these. I really can’t pinpoint why exactly, but something about it really grabs me!!

The one below is WAY high on the list of loves too though!!

I was SO excited to get one of these that turned out! Considering there are gallons of water that come crashing down at warp speed onto a moving child I wasn’t sure what in the world I was going to end up with once I got home! This was a very pleasant surprise I can assure you!

Happy, Happy Monday Blog World!

Filed under my-lil-lollies, by Bethany