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Last weekend we trucked down to Mount Vernon for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It was beautiful, spectacular, wonderful and every other extraordinary adjective you can think of.

Today, we had our own little tulip festival in the backyard.

Last fall, Jen blistered up her hands trying to dig through a rocky, barren pit in a corner of our yard to fill it with yellow, white and red. These tulips have taken their time cracking through - what with the snow and ice and all. But today we were rewarded with explosions of colour normally saved for the Symphony of Fire / Celebration of Light.

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The family went looking for spring yesterday. Sick of the snow, we packed up and headed south like any good Canadian bird would do.

We stopped at Burlington and to have some snacks at Krispy Kreme.

Z didn’t actually eat any Krispy Kreme donuts in that photoshoot. It was all cleverly staged. We’re rookie parents, but not crazy! Jen was just out of the lens with a bucket of baby wipes to soak him down!

Then we went out into the flats between LaConner and Mount Vernon - the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival was in full bloom, and if you can make it down within the next week or so, this is a little bit of what you should see.

This is my favourite picture of the day (that didnt include family).

Y’know, sometimes it takes courage to be unique.

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Sick of the snow, we went south today, looking for some spring at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

And look what we found!

A full photo blog of beauty coming tomorrow.

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We went to Jericho for a walk and picnic yesterday. Sure, they may have shattered records in Pitt Meadows by soaring to 24, but down at the beach it was damn cold!

Didnt matter, we had our sandwiches and iced tea, and Zacharie had a little potatoes and vegetable stew, so we picnicked our chilled little butts off.

The whole while Jen was feeding Z, I couldnt stop staring. She was sooo sexy. The ice cold breeze blowing in her face, gave her a certain Cosmo cover girl look.

Someone get this girl on MILF Island, she’d take the title in a heartbeat!!

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Jericho Beach, yesterday:

This photo is just another one of the reasons why dog owners are down at the bottom, with smokers, on my evolutionary scale. Here’s the other reason.

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Wow. What a trip. A more detailed post mortem on what happened and advice for travelling with babies to come. First up, the photos:

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I had a chat with Wendy Rombough this week. She’s a photographer brought in by HP to show off their new Photosmart Studio Kiosks. You can print off pro styled photo books, calendars, cards and prints, in about an hour. The first kiosk is in Lougheed Mall.

Wendy also took some time to serve up photo tips for Spring Break. She’s a baby and kid photographer, has 2 of her own, and knows what to look for to get a great shot.

1. TURN OFF YOUR FLASH
If you love the way things look when you’re using your eyes, adding the flash will just wash things out. Instead of flashing, bump up the ISO on your camera.

2. LET THE KIDS BE KIDS
Get reactions from the kids, don’t pose them. If you want a big smile, have them goof off and make funny faces, then capture them laughing at themselves

3. GET TO THEIR LEVEL
They’ll be more comfortable (you may not be) when you’re on their level instead of shooting down on them.

4. ZOOM YOUR BODY, NOT YOUR LENS
Your body can move a lot faster than your camera can, so follow the kids around and don’t worry so much how you frame the pictures, you can always tighten up or crop a shot afterwards.

5. THE RULE OF THREE
When you’re managing your pictures afterwards, leave room in the frame for the subject to lead the shot. The rule of three divides the frame into thirds horizontally, and vertically. Try and get the main part of the image on one of the cross points.

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Sunny and 11. Thank you very much.

Jen wanted to go for our usual walk around the local creek, I like taking the weekends to go and check out something different, bring a camera and take some pics. Our last photowalking adventure was January 27, so it’s been awhile.

Today, we packed Zacharie in tight with his little lion pal, Martin (pronounced the french way).

Jen and I have named ALL of Zacharie’s toys. Leonard is a frog blanket, Sylvester is a teething crab, Lawrence is a blue lion, Reid is his horse, Morrison is his bear, Dixie is a little chicken… we even named the cartoon art on his walls. It makes for interesting conversations when we’re packing up to leave.

“Where’s Eduardo (monkey)?”

“I dunno, but I’ve got Sylvia, Sonny and Cher“ (crab, starfish and clam).
Ahhh the joys of parenting.

We started near the Bayshore, walked around Lost Lagoon, past the beach and down to English Bay. We saw raccoons and ducks and took a ride on the swings. Then we headed up Denman, hit Vera’s for a burger and poutine, before strolling back to the car.

map image and distance tracking from runningmap.com

3.5km. 2hrs. Good times.

Here’s what we saw today:

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Yes, it’s February 13, but it was damn sun shiney and beautiful today, so Jen and I went on down to our local Pure Nailbar and got our toes did.

Jen doesnt like me getting the toe nails painted, but since it’s included I always jump for it. I went for the Black Onyx (yes, I usually get pink - it’s toes, under socks - who cares?)

The nail polish may have been free, but the waxing of those hairy toes was an extra 10, and it didn’t happen.

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Trust is leaning out a window on the 4th floor of a burning building, holding your toddler in your arms and … letting go.

This situation played out in Germany yesterday. A father throwing his son from a burning building to the waiting arms of rescuers below.

Is that trust? Is that love? Is that courage?

All I know is I don’t think I could have done it. Jen and I talked about it. If it had been either of us, we would have jumped holding Zacharie, hoping that our body would break the fall.

I don’t know if that would have been the right decision. We both might die.

In this case, the father made the right choice, his son survived the fall. 9 others, 5 of them children, did not.

That, my friends, is trust.

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