She Was Thirsty. Or Something.

The husband has been working on a project out in the yard since the dinosaurs roamed the earth (approximately), so I made a plan this past weekend to stay out of his way. It's not so much that *I* need to stay out of his way as it is that I need to keep Mila out of his way. Mila is, after all, Slovaspanglish for "Creature who doesn't let people do useful things." It's best to keep her at a very healthy distance.

Like out of state.

Except, out of state wasn't an option, so I took the girls downtown for the Arts Festival.

We do the Arts Festival every year, so I called upon experience to do the thing up right. I grabbed a carrier, not a stroller, because there isn't a square inch available for steering a Tiny Human around between the packed-in vendors and the crowds that gather. Which, could somebody work on that? There is plenty of unused space available. Spread the vendors out more, please. I promise I will buy more things because maybe then I will be able to get to a vendor or two without risking my life.

While we're at it, could we have more seating as well? I'm certainly a fan of having a little picnic in the grass, but tables and chairs come in super handy when you're in charge of a person who thinks rocks exist solely so she can sharpen her fangs. And don't get me started on the fact that I had to repeatedly tell Mila that we don't eat other people's french fries off of the ground. Nor their popcorn. Not even their funnel cake crumbs are stashed on the ground for our enjoyment.

ANYWAY.

The major highlight of the Arts Festival was, oddly enough, the fountain at The Point. Both girls were over the moon as they sat with their feet in the water and splashed a little. I think they would still be sitting there if I hadn't eventually dragged them away.

When I did drag them away, it was to walk through the vendor tents and see if I could find any art for either Alexis' or Mila's bedroom. Sadly, we did not find any fun hot air balloon prints nor any neon kitty prints, but Mila found something better.

Mila found the upside to people not respecting her personal space.

So, the thing is that Miss Mila was strapped to the front of me. That means she was pretty much contained, other than her ability to reach out with her tiny chubby arms and give whatever a yank. I, for one, do not trust tiny chubby arms. I keep a safe distance from them. Other people, however, seem to think it's cool to bump into Miss Mila or stand right up against her.

I did try to stop her. I swear. That girl moves like lightning, though.

So, uh, fine people who were at the Arts Festival this weekend, I'm very sorry my one year-old kept stealing your drinks. Maybe next time you could hold them a little further away from her? Maybe? I'll work on teaching her to keep her hands to herself.

Now I Just Need to Remember to Order Prints

You know how the cobbler's children have no shoes? Well, the children of the photographer have no "real" photos.

Seriously.

I know it seems like there is more than plenty of evidence that Mila and Alexis are real, but the fact of the matter is most of the photos I take of them are impromptu and perhaps a bit half-assed. The ones where there has been care put into figuring out their clothes and the location are few and far between. I mean, they exist, but it's a rare thing indeed.

A very long time ago I decided I was going to put some effort into a photo or twelve of Mila. I had big plans for a monthly series using the same prop. When the whole thing was a giant mess on the first attempt, I thought maybe quarterly would be good. That never happened, though, so then the pressure was on to use the fancy prop for Mila's first birthday photo.

Seems simple, no?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

It took THIRTEEN tries to achieve the mission. Try number one involved too thick of rope. The whole thing was a *womp*womp*womp* experience.

The second time I set out to make use of the prop, it rained.

Then it was super cloudy and overcast and just not right.

Then Mila slept through the time I had set aside.

And then it rained again.

By then, part of my prop needed to be replaced because these things are time sensitive and such. (You'll see.)

The next try looked a whole lot like this for about twenty minutes before I just threw my hands in the air and gave up.

It rained some more.

I discovered that the backup park I had time to use was very much so no longer appropriate.

But then finally, FINALLY, I made it to the park with an awake baby and a mostly functional prop at a good time of day for the light to be flattering. FINALLY.

And of course Mila thought it would be a good time to be a jerk again. Except, this time I decided to wait it out. It dawned on me that I have all the patience in the world when I'm doing a client shoot, so maybe I should use a little of that patience with my own kid. Sure enough, after several minutes, Mila stopped acting like her butt is allergic to touching the ground and decided to play peek-a-boo with the basket.

Sit down.

Stand up.

Sit down.

Stand up.

Sit down.

Stand up.

That only took approximately forever to capture. NBD.

(Somebody needs to book a shoot with me using the hot air balloon now. I mean, seriously. That thing rules.)

Grilled Potatoes and Asparagus

There is this thing happening where everyone feeds the baby junk. It happens because she still says *nom*nom*nom* when you give her something delicious to eat. Everyone wants to hear the nomming. It's only natural. Sadly, though, I am going to have to intervene because I'd really rather that we not break the kid who will happily eat vegetables. Sometimes she even noms about vegetables.

(Green beans, man. Green beans are all that.)

Thus, vegetables have been happening more lately.

Note that I didn't say EFFORT has been happening. That's just crazy talk, right there. Nope, I'm doing the no effort vegetable thing. Blue potatoes with asparagus thrown on the grill counts.

And it's delicious.

(Even when it ends up a bit overcooked because life happens.)

Grilled Potatoes and Asparagus
1 pound asparagus spears
3/4 pound baby blue potatoes (or whatever color of baby potatoes makes you happy)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon rosemary
salt to taste
Parmesan cheese to taste

1. Start by cleaning all of the potatoes and asparagus. Cut the potatoes in half and the asparagus into 2-3 inch pieces.

2. Throw the asparagus, potatoes, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, and rosemary onto a large sheet of aluminum foil. Fold the foil over until you've completely enveloped the veggies.

3. Throw it on the grill. Grill temperatures vary wildly so you'll have to go based on what you know about your grill. These should take about as long as an ear of corn.

4. Things are done when the potatoes soften. Empty the potatoes and asparagus into a bowl then toss some salt and parmesan cheese on there.

5. Happily watch the tiny baby gnaw on asparagus like it's the best thing ever.