Woo Hoo! Kinsey passed her road test!

Finally! Kinsey and I drove out to Onieda for her road test and she passed! She was so excited that she asked me to drive home?! Anyway, we drove to the Sailboat Shop to pick up the Bug so that she could finally drive herself to work!

I am so excited it's done! The stress involved is too much!

Congrats Kinsey!

An Afternoon at Mamma's with Caden

On Sunday we all met at Mamma's house to see the newest edition to the family. Little Caden weighing in at a whopping 25lbs! Christina and Craig are in town from Charlotte visiting family and friends for a bit and it was great to see them. Caden is just theee cutest baby and is always smiling and loved being passed from relative to relative. Everyone just loved their turn holding him. It was really precious to see all the generations together.
Schyler picking berries and rhubarb with with Sam and Ryan.

Margie with her grandson, Caden.

The four generations. Mamma, Margie, Craig and Caden.

Caden
The other fourth generation group.

Ooh, this might be the end of the shoot!

Caden with mommy and daddy.

Thank you everyone. It was real nice and I will get the rest of these photos done and send the cd's out to all of you!

SCC Sailing!

Finally summer came for a couple of days and I was able to get out to SCC Sail School to shoot Open House and Pirate Day. I haven't really gone through the shots, but I just love this one of Kinsey, Christina and Pat in the Whaler off to rescue someone and having a good time while at it. This shot just says "summer" to me.

Progress is happening on the Pearson. More photos to follow on that project!

Boat Work...the endless task

Today we spent the day working on the boat trying to get it all back together. Jack had the new counter which looks awesome and we were all excited about installing it. The weather was beautiful but windy, causing the lake to be quite unsettled. We got some stuff accomplished but were unable to finish the counter or fill the water tank due to the restlessness of the lake. So, we just decided to wait until another day when the lake is calm. Hopefully, it will be sometime this week, but everyone is so busy right now that we'll have to play it by ear. But, she's getting there.

After Jack and Schyler decided it was too rough to continue with the counter we all decided to take advantage of the great wind and go sailing. What a great afternoon.....until all the ice melted and the beer and wine were gone. The disadvantages of a torn up galley with no sink, running water, stove or ice chest! We did manage to cook some hot dogs on the grill though!


Until the next time! It was a great weekend.

Snoopy

Snoopy.

I have had Snoopy since I was little girl and he's still my favorite. I remember when I got him. I was off at Wilderness Camp that my mother would send my brother Alain and I off to every summer for a week. I can tell you stories about those times. Anyway, I had seen Snoopy at a department store earlier that summer if I recall and when I got home from camp he was there waiting for me. To this day he still waits for me every morning when I get to the studio.

Snoopy has been everywhere with me and even spent some years in France until my mom took him back and brought him home to me. He has been hugged beyond capacity. I have had to sew his poor little neck up a few times and I cannot tell you how many times he has wiped my tears away. I love my Snoopy and now he is my Little Assistant in the studio. Whenever I try new lighting methods he is the subject. Whenever I need to bitch about something in the studio or I'm ready to throw the computer out the window when it's decided to give me the finger and freeze, he's there in his little chair listening to me or watching the tantrum in front of him. Be it that I was 10 or now 46, the tantrums are the same. Nothing new to Snoopy.

So, today's post is about my Snoopy. I think I will design a coffee table book with all the photos I have of him as my Little Assistant. Perhaps even do a road trip with him and let him see the outside world for a bit.

Have a great weekend everyone. I think I will take Snoopy with me.

Finally, summer has begun for us!

Finally, we were able to go and enjoy an afternoon of sailing on Blue 30. Now that Schyler's busy launch season is over and all of Kinsey's graduation festivities are through, we are now able to breathe a little and start enjoying our summer, lake and boat.

I had an event to shoot at the Country Club at 4:30 so the 3 of us decided to go sailing beforehand and drop me off at the club. What a great way to go to work and be picked up. The wind was not good first starting out, but as we got closer to the village it picked and objects went flying. I forgot to put some things on the ground so I got that look we all know from Schyler. I am always a little rusty at the beginning of sailing season....

The event at the Club was beautiful and it was alot of fun having Schyler pick me up with a Lightning all ready and waiting for me and sail (motor) off into the sunset.

It was a great day. I can't wait until next weekend when we can really spend time on the boat and clean her up a bit.

Graduation Day!!

Graduation day. What an event. Things to know about Graduation Day in Skaneateles. One, you have to get there by at least 6am to reserve a spot on the lawn for a great view. Two, you pray the thunderstorms stay away and three, just pray your graduate shows up on time. This show is a well oiled machine and I now know when and where to be for the next one in 5 years for Keefe.

Also learned in this process. PRINT ALL YOUR PHOTOS RIGHT AWAY and put them in albums! As I was doing Kinsey's board, I had so many to choose from at my finger tips when I was shooting film. When I went digital.....hmmmm. All on the computer. I will from this moment on send all my photos I take in my personal life to the lab and faithfully put them in little albums. I have also decided to start keefe's storyboard tomorrow.

Anyway, after all the chaos of getting chairs for us to sit in I had a few moments to walk around the park before everyone showed up. I walked the rows of seats and looked at all the names of the graduates taped on their assigned seating. Most of them I have known since preschool and they all looked like the little tags they had on their little hospital beds when they were first born. It was a quiet and private moment when I found Kinsey Lorraine Janke. I took a picture. :-)

Well, it was soon approaching the 1pm time and then the event just took over. I never once sat down. I walked around with the camera and tried to capture as much as I could while trying to absorb the whole thing. Schyler also had a camera and grabbed as much as he could. It was fun, it was beautiful weather, it was amazing. She did it. She is a graduate.

Kinsey with Cmoore and then coming down to their seats.

Kinsey getting her diploma and hugging Mike.

The tradition of jumping in the lake after the commencement! My friends father was able to get these great shots from his boat! Thank you 95!

The graduates enjoying the plunge.

Her cap and diploma.


What is Kinsey doing the day after graduation? She is sailing and is as happy as a clam at high tide!

Kinsey's Graduation Party!

June 27th was the day of Kinsey's graduation party at Kirby's house where friends and family gathered to celebrate. The day before and morning of was a little crazy with all the things we had to do. Schyler took my mom and Bob sailing while I frosted the 50 cupcakes he had baked the night before while I was frantically putting together the photo board. Susie Homemaker I am not, but they were cute!

Anyway, lots of people stopped by and enjoyed the weather and great food from Dinosaur BBQ. It was great to see everyone and watched them look over the photo board we made for Kinsey. Kinsey was awesome!

Kinsey's first pair of shoes and a hug from Uncle Otto

Kinsey with Tori and family.

Some of her friends that were there!

Next stop: Graduation at Clift Park

Roger Williams University Freshman/Family Orientation

I don't know where to start with this post because it's very emotional for me to see my first born go off to college. And for those who know me well, a very bittersweet time. I may be all over the place for this posting, so be patient. And for those who are also sending their child off, you will so get what I am going through.

Kinsey was born August 28th, 1991 in San Jose, California. She came into the world screaming, pink and weighing a whopping 8lbs, 10oz. She was so beautiful, little cleft and all. Her blue eyes piercing our hearts and her personality so strong yet delicate. She is our first born and our first "project" I guess. Through the years she has challenged us, charmed us, surprised us, angered us, frustrated us, amazed us, awed us, and most important captured our hearts. In these years she has had to face many obstacles from her family life, to her cleft palate, all her little and big surgeries, having braces on since 5th grade. All of these being none of her choices, but cards that were dealt to her anyway. What I see now and at the orientation is a beautiful young woman that has dealt with all these obstacles with an inner strength that I cannot put into words. Yes, she can be difficult. Who isn't? Yes, she is very opinionated. You always know where you stand with this child, and I must say most of the time it is well deserved. However with all this said, she will always have your back if you are a true friend. She is loyal. She is strong. She is fragile. She is quick to smile, as she is very quick to growl like an injured animal when cornered. She is Kinsey Lorraine Janke. My child. My first born. My first true love. And after getting her back after so many years of confusion, I must let go of her little hand once again for her to begin this very exciting and wonderful journey into adulthood. Kinsey, I may be letting go of that hand physically, but I will always be guarding that hand with my life and love. I will never let it go.

So, with that said here are a few shots from our 2 day orientation at Roger Willams University. What a beautiful campus. I really enjoyed the time there meeting other parents and RW's staff. The campus is located in Bristol, Rhode Island right on the bay, and smells so good with the ocean breeze. Anyway, the first thing they do after the orientation's beginning is separate your "student" from you. They went off in their groups and we never saw them again that first day until after dinner where you then got to briefly say good night to them before they spent the night in the dorms. The beginning of the separation. They no longer call your child "your child". They are now referred to as students. I enjoyed the fact the Dean and all the staff members made it diplomatically clear that they are now students and are solely responsible for their choices from this point on, regardless of who is paying the private school tuition. I swear I heard groans in the crowd. They let us know it was time to let go and allow them to make their own decisions, and to allow those decisions to define their first year and then eventually their futures. These people were honest, sincere and really drove home how important it is that we let our "students" grow up and learn to deal on their own with whatever situations may arise. And that we as parents must always be there to simply listen when they call us with any fears, concerns, home sickness and so forth. Also, to not expect a daily phone call from your "student". You may not hear from them for a week or so, and that's okay. In fact, it's normal! Honestly, wasn't it like this when we went to college???? I rarely called home. However, my punishment was that my mother would tell her visiting French friends they were more than welcome to stay at my little studio in Santa Barbara and show up unannounced. They would knock at the door and say, "Allo, Laure. Your mothzer said we could stay weez you while weez visited Santa Barbara." My roommate was always just thrilled. Sort cramped our style.

Now, the first day was filled with sessions about campus life and so forth. I didn't get back to the hotel until about 9:30 that night. Day 2 wasn't that bad. Some more sessions and then I had a 3 hour break where I went into Bristol and walked around, had lunch and a little glass of wine before going back to the campus for another session starting at 1pm. I had brought my camera in hopes of capturing the whole time we were there, but it was cold, gray and rainy all day. Also, I NEVER saw the "student", so I left the camera alone the first day. Day 2 was a little better. Even though it was overcast and the light was flat as a pancake, it wasn't raining. I grabbed the camera and walked the campus and took some shots. Luck happens that I was in a place where I spotted my elusive "student" and grabbed a shot from afar. Like a little cheetah, she was gone again. My version of a safari. The day ended around 4pm where they checked out of the dorms and we headed home to New York. Lots of chatting and comparing notes for the first hour or so and then just quiet thoughtful time the rest of the way until about Albany where we got antsy and played the music loud and giggled.

Enjoy some of the shots. I still have to learn the meaning behind some of them. This building is the brand new one where Kinsey will be taking most of her classes for Communications. It's due open in August. Sweet, isn't it? I love the architecture on this campus.

This is a statue of Roger Williams. Apparently, all the students shake his hand before exams for good luck. The bottom photo is just a walkway along the library leading to The Commons and the Recreational Center.

A view from the Recreational Center and a beautiful bench.

The Commons is where the cafeteria is located and let me tell you, it is beautiful and the food is amazing and healthy! The bookstore is also inside as well as a hanging out spot for the students.

Elusive "student" sighting! I was sitting on the steps of the Recreational Center actually talking with a client when out of nowhere she appeared! Quick shot.

This is a walkway by the Library with bricks that have many names. I'm not sure what they are but will find out in August when we go to drop off Kinsey.

At the end of Day 2 with Kinsey looking for shorts to put on before we drive home.

Mom, enough already! Let's go home!!


Give me that hand to hold ever so tightly while I can. You are still my child until August 21st.

I love you McGrew.

mom

My Baby is no longer a High Schooler

OMG! Today was Kinsey's last day of high school! She graduates on Sunday, June 28th down by the lake. This is wild.

This morning as I was making their lunches, I realized that this would be the last lunch I pack for her. I've been making her lunch for 13 years. I also realized it would be the last time I dropped her off at "the circle". As she climbed out of the car, I sat there for a few moments and watched as she walked towards the doors, smiling at a friend who was coming up next to her. I can still remember the FIRST day of high school. She was so nervous and crept to the doors, whereas this morning I watched a beautiful confident young woman cruise through those doors ready to finish another chapter of her life. It was really a cool sight.

Well, the school day has ended. She is out with her girlfriends, all of them wearing the same blue t-shirt that says SENIORS '09 proudly on them. They are free and I'm sure a little dazed. It brings back my own memories with my best friend Mara. With that said, I just want to say to my beautiful daughter that I am proud of you and love you. Through all the tough times in your life you always, always stayed true to yourself.


Next stop. Graduation!