We’ve been using the same photographer for about 3-4 years now. It never fails, she always seems to find perfect pictures among chaos. We were unable to get family photos done around Christmas, so when her Spring Mini Sessions opened, we scheduled one.
One thing has changed since the last family photo session – three of us are wearing glasses. For the first time ever, I was a bit disappointed with the photos. About half of them had glare on our glasses. Honestly, I’m not sure if our photographer’s assistant did the editing or not, but I was surprised at how many of them had glare.
I attempted to download a few photo apps to see if I could fix them, but every last app wanted credit card information or a subscription for 6 months. I wasn’t about to do that. I attempted to use Gemini and Chat GPT to see if they might be able to get rid of it, and it was hit and miss. One program removed my daughters eye glasses completely along with her eyebrows!
I did drop a note to the photographer, and perhaps she has a way to get rid of it. I’m not sure. I hope so. As I said, we’ve been pretty loyal customers and I hope there is something she can do.
There were some good pictures, though. There was no real bunny this year, but the kids did get one to snuggle.
As difficult as it is to get these to to sit still, there were a couple nice ones of the two of them.
Sadly, it was the family photos that the glare played a factor in. Too many people with glasses, perhaps? A couple of these were run through AI, but the glare is still there.
She had the kids take a few together with Sam, but the glare really messed those up. By the time it was my turn to get a couple with the kids, Andrew was kind of done with pictures. Ella, however, is always happy to get pictures with me. She also always knows how to make a dad feel special.
I really hope that our photographer reaches out. I have a couple friends who take pictures, but I don’t know if they’d be able to correct them. Fingers crossed.
I feel like it’s been forever since I posted a personal update. My wife’s surgery, her recovery, the daily features, and this week’s Share Your Nostalgia, I’ve been a bit busy. So let me bring you up to date.
My wife is recovering nicely. She will be heading in for another post op check up next week. Her hope is that they clear her to go back to work. She had made it no secret that she is bored and hates laying around. She’s already been her stubborn self and doing things that the doctor told her not to do. That’s how I know she is ready to go back!
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Our photographer, Beth, at Enjoy The View hosted a Spring Mini session recently. We love taking our kids here. The session is 15 minutes long, which is about how long they will behave. Beth had a dog that the kids loved named Roxie. They asked her where Roxie was when they walked in. Beth whispered to us that Roxie had passed away a few days before. Ella heard her and after the session, she told us she had to get a card for “Miss Beth” because “she has to be really sad.”
When the session started, they were ok. However 5 minutes in, they started to get crazy. They were moving SO much. I cannot even believe the great shots she got of them. Sam and I looked at each other when we saw the photos and asked, “Were we at the same session? I could swear they never stood still!”
Here is one of my favorites:
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My brother came up for a visit over the weekend. The kids have been cooped up and wanted to get out of the house. We decided to take them to the Sloan Museum, which has a lot of fun for kids. They have this huge water area for them to play.
They also have a cool treehouse that they can climb in.
When we pulled in, we could see just how busy they were, but we ventured in anyway. It was packed. We had the two kids and four adults and it was a challenge for us to keep them in our sight. They love playing with the other kids, but for us, it was wall to wall people and I was afraid we’d lose sight of them. In the end, they had fun and I was glad to be out of there!
We all went to dinner afterward at our favorite steakhouse – Lucky’s. My brother had never been there before, and we have never taken the kids there. Andrew was a hoot.
They brought out a salad and he was eating it when he found a leaf of spinach. “What?! A leaf?!? Who puts leaves in a salad?!”
There was a bottle of wine on the table and they asked if they could have some. We said that it was not for kids and it was alcohol. Andrew says, “Alcohol?!? People die from that on Dr. G!”
(Dr. G Medical Examiner is a show that follows this doctor doing Autopsies!)
Despite the 30 minute wait, the food was excellent. My brother and his partner decided they would go back to the hotel because it was close to bedtime. Sam and I walked in the door and we were ready for bed.
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My brother has read just about everything on Anne Frank. Sam knows that I read a lot of World War II books. She had asked if we’d ever been to the Holocaust museum here in Michigan. I had no idea that there was one. We looked and they were open on Sunday, so we met there about 1pm. We took the kids to Nana’s.
When we walked in, the first thing I saw was a train car. As many know, German soldiers loaded many Jewish people on these cars and took them to the gas chambers. I had read about these cars, which many books describe in detail. I felt it was smaller than I pictured.
This museum not only looks at the events of WWII and the Holocaust, but it takes it a step further and features the stories of survivors who moved to the US and to Michigan. I was disappointed when we found out that one of those survivors was there doing a talk an hour before we arrived. Her name was Irene Miller.
She has written a book about her experience and they had copies in the museum shop. My brother and I both bought copies. When I got home, I noticed she had autographed them. I cannot wait to read this.
It took us about 90 minutes to go through, but I can see where it might take longer. There are many of those codes you can scan with your phone and it takes you to videos with more information. As you get to the end of your trip, there is a hallway with Michigan survivors.
It truly was a very moving experience. I am so glad that we all decided to go. I hope to go back again soon and revisit some of the things we didn’t do.
One of the most sobering facts was that there were over 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust. A quote on the museum website from a Midland High School student makes a good point:
“The Zekelman Holocaust Center shows how much of an impact the Holocaust had on the world. Looking at the number six million in history class doesn’t show much, but seeing the impact here does.”
On the outside of the building are six peaks. They represent those 6 million lives.
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My brother’s visits are never long enough, but I am always glad to see him. We’re hoping to make the trip down to see him over the summer, if possible.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 