Posted by marypasicatanphotography on May 2, 2012
Our little man turned 6 just this past month on April 18th. We have always done his birthday at parks and we wanted to make it extra special this time since he is in school now. We invited his entire kindergarten class which worried me a little being the first time inviting that many children. About 2/3rd’s of his class showed up and they had a blast!!
Our son really wanted to do an Angry Bird themed party and my husband just took off running with the concept and whipped up some ideas he found on the net. He made a playable cake, the goodie bags and we all wore angry bird shirts except our daughter (couldn’t find her size). The not so literal “icing on the cake” was finding a giant Red Angry Bird piñata at Fiesta Mart (a multicultural grocery store) which was a near fiasco after we did not find it at our location near our house even though there were three of them available just the day before. So we sat in rush hour traffic for nearly an hour heading towards another Fiesta Mart just ten miles away hoping that they had the same piñata; luckily, they had one left.
Enjoy!
Mary
“Happy Birthday…Cha Cha Cha!”
(top) I making the kiddos dizzy. ;o)
(bottom) Our daughter getting in on the fun what she saw earlier.
Hubby and I were up until 2:30am finishing up the details. Oh what we do for our children…
Husbands first playable cake!! He ROCKED it!
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on April 16, 2012
My sister-in-law Tammy came to Houston fora 50K Racewalk in January. When she informed me a month prior I was soo excited to see her since it had been over 7 years!! This woman looks amazing!! But she hadn’t always looked this damn good. “From February 2005-December 2006, I lost 105 lb on Weight Watchers and went from couch potato to amateur racewalker.” She is an inspiration to so many women out there and to myself. She never gave up….and she became the 50K Women’s National Champion. Her time was 5:16:20. She also broke the American record for her age group (women 40-44) by over 14 minutes. WAY TO GO SISTA!! ;o)
Check out her blog here!
Mary
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on April 2, 2012
The weather has been really nice lately here in Houston (except for this morning), so Spring fever has struck us. My husband and I have tackled on many projects around the house, inside and out, including ripping up carpet, laying down flooring, painting walls and installing raised garden beds in the back, with help from my wonderful brother. I realized I missed last week’s post so here is a good one to make it up!
Have a great week everyone!
Mary
The weather has been really nice lately here in Houston (except for this morning), so Spring fever has struck us. My husband and I have tackled on many projects around the house, inside and out, including ripping up carpet, laying down flooring, painting walls and installing raised garden beds in the back, with help from my wonderful brother. I realized I missed last week’s post so here is a good one to make it up!
Have a great week everyone!
Mary
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This is Jim with his beautiful wife, Mary, along with their sweet children Luke, Samantha and Amanda. Jim is a 6th grade teacher and him and Mary are both the owners of Mayde Creek Aquatic Club. It should go without saying that all of their chidlren are excellent swimmers!
So after viewing my photography for some time they asked to schedule a shoot. I was thrilled!!…so thrilled I couldn’t stop laughing sometimes during the shoot. Mary had chosen all of their outfits and let me view them prior to the shoot…I think she did a fabulous job! Don’t you think?
They are a wonderful family and I’m proud to be related to them!…Meet the Thompson Family! ;o)
I made a few cute props including the”family” banner!
A friend of mine also gave me some adorable photo booth props for my son. I decided to use a few for the shoot to capture their true spirit as a wonderful family. ;o)
Luke is quite the clown!
We had a lot of fun and they were open to many ideas I had in store for their shoot.
Enjoy the rest!
And of course a little one on one time with the girls!
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on March 17, 2012
Yes they actually have 1/64th of Irish in them. Our son didn’t believe me, I don’t blame him…LOL!
We are currently in SC and the kids are really enjoying spending time with their grandparents especially Ava. This time she isn’t glued to my legs as usual and I am enjoying the little break. ;o)
Lola (Grandmother in Tagalog) kids and I went to Sesquicentennial State Park. I grew up coming here with my brother and two cousins. We took the trail, a 2 mile hiking trail that wraps around the lake, where I wanted to take a few photos of the kids. We probably only went .2 miles. I LOVE being able to share the things I did as a child with them when we come to visit SC! ♥
Have a green St. Pat’s Day…CHEERS!
Mary
Our little explorers!
His signature dance move
Peek-A-Boo
He loves his BIG tie!
Maybe she’ll grow up to be a tomboy like me…highly doubtful
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on March 12, 2012
Maybe some of you noticed there was no post last Monday. Last week I sat down at the computer and thought to myself, “I don’t have to post. The audience will understand. My Mom is visiting for only a week and I want to spend all the time I can with her!”
We took a little trip out to Austin since neither of us had been there. Along the way, the trees started to darken. I then realized these were from all of the wildfires last year! I was contemplating on stopping to take photos right then and there. If I waited to do it on my way back home then I wouldn’t have had any light to work with, so I went ahead and stopped. It was very surreal to be this close to what remains from the wildfires; it’s sad to think of all the people and animals that lost more than just their homes…
Here is our son posing with a charred branch
Over 1 Million Acres Burned
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on February 27, 2012
Last week I realized I’m becoming more attracted to soft lighted photography. Here are the roses my loving husband gave to me for Valentine’s Day which he never forgets every year. ♥ I took this photo almost 2 weeks later. I love the textures and colors the roses have and the evening light giving them a calming gentle effect.
“With age comes beauty.”
Have a wonderful week!
Mary
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on February 20, 2012
It was a beautiful day when I went to pick up my painting of Toby. I finally got to meet Kermit and see his beautiful creation. You know when you meet someone and they are completely real and show that on the outside? Kermit is a very kind warm person with a gentle soul. He does many wonderful things for the Houston community such as teach art to the terminally ill patients at surrounding hospitals of Houston. “When people do art, they tend to forget their illness for a little while,”
- Kermit
Back in time:
I remember my time as a patient at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for a few months. At 13 yrs of age, I didn’t realize the people that lifted my spirits when I was alone were mostly volunteers. My primary doctor, Dr. Robin Cotton, wouldn’t allow me back home, for my safety, because of my medical history and my mother had to go back to SC to work. My amazing aunt stepped in to help take care of me while I was healing. She was an hour away but came to visit me often along with her four boys! I will always love her for that. The moments I was by myself, the volunteers were there. I remember one artist who was a cartoonist, he asked me what I wanted him to draw. First he drew me as a basketball player. The next time he came, we had a little more fun. I asked for a humorous drawing of myself on the operating table: a jack-in-the-box was coming out of my throat! The other one was of me climbing a mountain and the nurses and doctors cheering me on. He wasn’t so sure if it was a great idea hanging them on the outside of my room, especially the the operating table one, but I loved them and they received lots of laughs! I still have them.
Thank you to all the volunteers for all you do.
This post really isn’t what I was intending it to be; about winning a photo contest through West Subaru of Houston, TX. But here is a little snippet of the photo contest I won.
I had won a 24X30” portrait painting of one of my dogs from Kermit Patrick Eisenhut, a Texas artist known for his “playful characters and realistic animal portraits”. I took this photo of Toby and decided to go with this one of his eyes closed for a humorous portrait. He painted a SECOND piece from the photo for a painting donation for the Houston Art League’s Gala in November 2011!
I took 2 photos so he could include his Texas tag in the second photo.
Amazing painting! When I met Kermit he pointed out how the sky in the painting mimicked the sky in reality. The day before it was raining; notice the umbrellas. “Playful & whymsical, like Mary Poppins.” - said Kermit.
Photo submission that won.
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on February 14, 2012
I just had to post something on Valentine’s Day. I took these photos at Discovery Green in downtown Houston last Feb. Our son was 4 and our daughter just turned 9 months. At the time of day one of the skyline buildings behind us was reflecting the sun on the children. It was a great huge reflector, meanwhile you could feel the burning sensation on your skin. ;o) Here they are enjoying sugar free cupcakes!
The “art boxes” by artist Margo Sawyer, a professor of art at the University of Texas at Austin, creates a beautiful background for any playful photography.
Don’t forget to say “I Love You” or even give a hug to a friend in need today. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Mary
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on February 13, 2012
Dedicating the first post to our children, our little monkey & little lamb.
I love you with all my heart and more,
Mommy
Have you heard of this sweet book, Guess How Much I Love You? If you are a parent or are expecting this is a must have! You can purchase this book on Amazon or you can go to your nearest family book store such as Half Price Books.
I came across this quote on Pinterest and thought, “why not?”. It’s a slighty modified quote of the last line from Guess How Much I Love You. I hadn’t painted our dining room walls yet and decided to paint the quote on it. Our son got in on the fun a little and helped Mommy paint a few letters. I LOVE it and love reading this book to our children so it fit perfectly for a little Valentine mini-shoot.
Enjoy! From my heart to yours… Happy Valentines Day. ♥
Mary
The one photo of them together that turned out. They gave Mommy a workout. ;o)
Our Silly Monkeys.
Our Handsome.
Peek-A-Boo
Can’t forget our fur babies. Look how much they enjoyed their photo taken.
(Below) Checkin’ out Nino’s face. (Top Right) Looking for a bird…and Nino tries to go in for a steal. (Bottom Right) Spitting out the dog treat! I had no idea she was making sure they tasted good for the doggies.
All Done!
Posted by marypasicatanphotography on February 8, 2012
Stay tuned on weekly blog posts about my photo shoots of families, our children, the sheltered animals at Citizens for Animal Protection and misc. things that I find interesting or create.
Please view adoptable animals at CAP. They are located in Houston, TX off of West I-10 near Barkers Cypress Rd.
Sincerely,
Mary
Mary Hartshorn – Feb. 28, 2012 at 6:13 a.m.