• personal,  school

    the 1st day of school

    And just like that, summer is over. So very sad about that this year, but looking forward to a great school year for all of the boys.

    Timmy actually had school earlier than Jack & Patrick today (they had orientation in the afternoon) so they came along to see him off. He had his brand new Vineyard Vines shep shirt all ready to wear yesterday, but with it being 90 degrees (ironically, the first 90 degree day the whole summer fell on the 1st day of school) he had to skip it. Still terribly handsome though!

    Getting to school.Timmy has his BFF Jack N in his class this year. The first time since 1st grade. Although he looks just thrilled in the picture, they were both sooooo excited to be back together. I’m sure their teacher may be not quite as happy about the arrangement- I see separate corners in their near future to prevent chatting!And his other BFF James is also in his class again this year. The kid lucked out big time!!As Jack & Patrick said, it’s the Timmy three.The school grounds were NUTS so I didn’t get many other pictures. 4th grade should be a blast!!And then it was the big boys turn to go to school (just a 2hr orientation yesterday, but then they took the train up to Yankee Stadium with a school friend to catch the game. Not such a bad life, right?)A moment of peace and twinness. They were happy to be back at school (mostly. ya know, except for the work which will start on Monday when classes do). They are crazy tall and grown up. And today is a big day too- braces are coming OFF! Pictures on that soon too. Hope everyone had a smooth & easy transition back to school. I’m not digging the schedule part of it, but I got so much done yesterday (more than the whole summer combined I think!) so at least I’ll be productive while I mourn the beach and sleeping late every day. For those of you who emailed me on the fall calendar- I will get back to you sometime today. Things got crazy (my usual excuse, but sooooo true- I swear!!) and I just ran out of time. Again.

  • personal

    spring & summer reading

    I’m back again (was away for a few days- drove to Michigan with the boys to see our friends) and back to editing, so there will be more shoots up on the blog coming soon. In the meantime (read: the 23 hours I spent driving the car back and forth on said vacation- there is a lot of time to think!) I realized I hadn’t posted a reading list in a long time and I’ve been reading a lot. So here goes my list from the last few months worth of reading.

    Conversion- a story about the Salem Witch Trials and a current day epidemic of teen girls with a “mystery illness” at a private Massachusetts school. Really liked it but the ending was a little too “loose” for me. I need shit tied up with no loose ends and definitive answers. Still recommend.Never Knowing- I loved Chevy Steven’s Still Missing. This was a different kind of story but a really good read, watching the main character unravel was interesting.

    Bird Box- was a post apocalyptic thriller. If you like that kinda thing, you should like this. There is never really an explanation as to why the apocalypse type thing happened, but just the after effects. 

    if i stay- its in the movies and its a young adult story, but I liked it anyway. I am immature at heart, what can i tell you? If you liked Fault in Our Stars, you’ll like this one.

    It Ain’t Me Babe- for whatever reason, this one i really liked. A story about a guy from a motorcycle club (like the baaaaad kind of an MC club- outlaws) and a girl who escapes from a totally backwards-ass, crazy Waco type religious sect to be taken under the wing of the main guy in the MC. Two things that totally do not go together, but she made them work. Some p*rn, lots of cursing, not a typical love story and not always 100% believable when it comes to her blending into a new life, but such a good read anyway. I am hoping for a sequel!!Lineage- Joe Hart may be a new favorite author. Hints of Stephen King (he grew up reading SK books), lots of supernatural, and great character development. At first the two storylines don’t tie together at all, but then they do. The concentration camp parts were even hard for me to read (and you know gore doesn’t bother me) at times, but if you can deal with it for a little while, you’ll enjoy the rest. 

    we were liars- another YA book but i still really enjoyed it. Told you, I’m still like 15-17 years old at heart. The twist at the end  is very twisty! I didn’t figure it out till right before it was revealed but was still kinda surprised when they did finally say it.

    China Dolls- if you liked the other Lisa See books, you’ll like this one. About 3 chinese girls leaving home to peruse an entertainment career in San Francisco right before and during WW2. Not too political (you know I don’t like that!) but interesting getting a taste of history from sorta inside. Interwoven lives and all that. The Neighbor- a good short story harkening back to the old Dean Koontz I used to love reading. But you have to read The City first.

    The City- Dean Koontz is readable again. I was not a fan of most of his recent books, but this one was good. 

    The Colorado Kid- short story by the Master himself. No supernatural really in this one, more of a mystery. Definitely quick and enjoyable.

    The Dinner- I don’t know what to say about this one. I liked it and didn’t like it at the same time. But it surely made an impression. Its one of those books where its hard (like, really, really hard) to like and root for any of the morally bereft characters. And the tension in the book filled me with tension too. I was kinda glad it was over. But it was interesting and unforgettable too. Read at your own risk.

    Mr. Mercedes- loved it. Absolutely no supernatural anything in it anywhere, but a giant, fast paced, heart racing mystery with amazingly developed characters. Sounds like there will be a sequel too. Yay!!The Three- another one with a strong start but with an ending that didn’t explain shit, didn’t tie anything up and left me annoyed cause the beginning was so good with so much potential. A story about 3 plane crashes (yeah, yeah i know…) on the same day with only 1 child from each flight surviving and what happens after. The Submissive, The Dominant and the Training- all pretty much 50 Shades rehashed, but MUCH better writing and editing. So lots of p*rn, a rich guy and a young, quirky girl. If you liked the other series, read these too. 

    The Ruins- a bunch of friends on vacation in Mexico end up somewhere they shouldn’t and bad things happen. It was really, really good but I think it could’ve been a little shorter. There’s a movie too and I watched part of it- book is much better.And then She Was Gone- a Jaycee Duggard/Elizabeth Smart type of story where a kidnapped girl is eventually found and brought home- and the repercussions for everyone involved. If you like that kind of story, this was a good one.

    Redeployment- a bunch of short stories from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Very, very disturbing but very, very eye opening. How any soldiers come home (with or without PTSD) and function in life after war is still amazing to me. It was written by a Regis graduate. I can’t say that I enjoyed it per se, and its not light reading, but I would still recommend it. Its kinda heartbreaking. Because of this book, I am hoping to go volunteer at the VA this year.

    House of Glass- fiction based on the Petit Family murders in Cheshire CT. If you can deal with that, its a really well written book. Edge of your seat.

    The Troop- I may have mentioned this one before, but I loved it. Stephen King meets Lord of the Flies. A boy scout troop goes to a remote, isolated place for a campout and bad shit happens. Like really bad shit.Camp- a must read for anyone who has gone and survived sleep away camp. A family secret and teenage girls= a sure gigantic, bullying, heartbreaking mess. Loved it. Hush Little Baby- a woman with a seemingly perfect life, kids & husband (the husband is pretty fucking far from perfect) and what she has to do to survive/escape. A fast and exciting read.

    And I just downloaded a bunch of new books for the rest of summer and start of fall, so reviews on those when I’m done with a good chunk of them. Happy reading and let me know what you think of any of them if you pick them up.

  • bsquared business,  personal

    a sleepover

    I know its been a while since I blogged (sorry!) but we were away last week on vacation to Seattle and Denver. John is closing in quickly on his goal of taking the boys to every major league baseball park in the country (and Canada). And after this trip I think they only have like 2 stadiums left, both in Texas. More on the trip soon- I have to get caught up on editing client sessions before I can even think about working on the trip’s photos. Coming up on the blog soon…an extended family backyard session, a blondie family beach session, a family session in an amazing yard with dinosaurs (don’t worry, you’ll see soon), a ginormous extended family session on the east end of long island, and a beautiful & casual hamptons wedding. I have my editing work cut out for me.

    In the meantime, here’s one from a recent Timmy & James sleepover. Taken at 12:17am. They had stuff to do and discuss, couldn’t get them to sleep but it was good for the picture taking!

  • personal,  school

    end of the year pool party

    One of the families from Timmy’s class was so nice in hosting an end of the school year pool party for their class. It was a super afternoon for the boys with lots of fun, food and ridiculousness. I stopped by a little early to take some pictures (cause what else would I do!?) Thanks again Carolyn & Ed- it was great!! And it was Timmy’s first official full day off of physical restrictions from his appendectomy- a great way to celebrate!

     

  • personal,  school

    last day of school

    Ok, so I’m trying really really hard to catch up and at least get the last day of school pictures posted before the summer is over. At least I attained one goal…

    Timmy & James on the last day of school…

    …and the first day of school (3rd grade). Crazy what a huge difference, right??
    Jack & Timmy on the last day of school……and Jack & Timmy way back in 2008 when they were about 2.5 years old. They’ve been best friends for a loooooong time. (and sorry I have no picture of them from the first day of 3rd grade but they were in different classes again this year (ahem, Colleen) and they didn’t line up close by on the first day.)Our friend Kim and her family are moving away, so I grabbed a few shots of her and Sharon and her daughter too. We will all miss you!!!And that’s what walking out of elementary school looks like on your last day there, ever. Freeeeeee!Hope you are all enjoying the summer so far. Lots more pictures to come this week, stay tuned.