First photos and Father's day

I had to work on Father's day this year....such is the life of a caterer. Everyone else wants to be catered for on days like this LOL......go figure! It was a great job though - Dad's Fest at Springfield Lakes. 300 hotdogs later I headed home to get the kids ready for a picnic at the park. My family (parents, sisters, BIL's, nices, friends etc) all assembled at a local park for a great big picnic and play. It was a heap of fun and a great opportunity to have a little play with my camera. My sisters and I bought my Dad a new stereo with a tape deck. He was terribly happy as was able to sit back and listen to the footy at the park LOL.
You wouldn't believe my husband;s reaction to his Darryl Lea Dad's bag....he told his entire children's church class that the only reason we bought him that was because it had lots of things that I liked in it! Well.....yes....true.....but he didn't have to publicly announce it! Ingrate. I am thinking it may be sour grapes due to him not receiving the unicycle he asked for :(

Poppy and Piper (my Dad and my niece)



My eldest son Jarred on the swing -
My niece Jenna swinging -

The Divine Miss Mikaela -

I have only had a little play with the camera software as I am yet to invest in Photshop. I have had some good advice about which one to get for what I want to do so now it's just a matter of saving some dollars :( I am finding my way around the manual settings and refamiliarising myself with many of the SLR features. It has been a while since I've used an SLR camera and it is a heap of fun. My MIL has asked me if there is anything I want for my birthday from the US as she is leaving for LA tomorrow. I am thinking of ordering a new lens online and having it sent to my SIL's place in LA for her to bring home for me. They are almost half the price of ours here in Australia so I could afford something a little more flash. Still researching and thinking LOL. Feel free to send me some recommendations for a good, affordable portrait lens :)