ELVIS!

He was in Florida last Summer but we were able to get him again this year!  The original posts of his last stay starts at 07/07/06

Elvis is from the Bronx.  We signed up with the Fresh Air Fund two years ago. They are a program that brings children from the city to homes in many different states so that the kids can have a vacation where they otherwise would not get one. The children stay with the host families for two weeks.  You can read more about the program here

One of the first things he said to me was "When anyone would ask me where I was going this Summer I would tell them "I am going to my second mother's house."

We took the kids to a local school where most of the town comes out to see the fireworks. The picture above is the kids waiting for the show to begin.

 I had the shutter speed down to 2 seconds ISO/200 and  Fstop/22.   The 2 seconds is a long time so it allowed me to slide the lens and create this blur.  Had fun filling up a memory card with different firework shots just for me, it was freeing to "play" in the midst of a very busy wedding season.

While we were waiting for the fireworks to start I went down to the side of the road and shot some of the flowers that were growing wild there. The kids were playing tag behind me. other kids from other families joined in, everyone came home happy tired and covered in grass stains

Love this picture above, looked at it for the longest time today, I did not do anything to the photo..I don't like it because of anything I did. I remember when I shot it thinking "I need to get back to the kids and make sure no one is trampling anyone" but looking quickly at the flowers and wishing I could pause there for a moment.  It brings back that feeling..a small private quiet garden surviving on the sidelines of all the many children.