My younger sister, Joleen, decided she and her kids would take an impromptu last minute trip to visit us in Orlando after she learned she’d be off work for the New Year’s weekend. Of course while they were here I took plenty of photos but I thought it might be more fun to rewind and share one old photo from when my sister and I were much younger. I believe my sister was under two and I was just four…yes, we were both little rugrats. Growing up my sister and I were pretty competitive and often times disagreed or antagonized one another – which I imagine is common for siblings. We do get along now – though I imagine my sister may be cursing me for embarrassing us both by sharing such a memorable photo of the two of us. {insert sisterly laugh}
Okay, I suppose I should stop laughing and share a few memorable photos from their trip to Orlando. On New Year’s eve we took a trip to Fort Christmas Park. It’s one of my favorite spots to take the kids in Orlando because they have forts that date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. There’s also a play ground and large open fields. Best of all, it’s free! On our ride there my nephew got a little car sick. He only wanted to rest when he arrived at Fort Christmas.
My niece Justice and my son Jaylen quickly became best buddies.
We were missing my oldest niece who lives out of state, but I just know my parents have to love seeing their grandkids having fun together.
I had to take just a few photos of just Justice and Adrian. He still wasn’t feeling so well.
We convinced him to let me take a few photos of just him, despite how cruddy he was feeling. Yes, for all of you who follow me in facebook or twitter – I photoshopped the sickness right out of his shirt in all these photos.
The kids decided to give me their serious faces for photos with my sister.
We walked around the forts and explored the historic things on display. The kids seemed to enjoy the adventure.
One of the things I like best about Fort Christmas is that they have amazing natural light coming through many of the windows in the forts. This always leaves me with endless possibilities for more dramatic and exciting portraits like these two of my niece and nephew.
By the end of our visit at Fort Christmas Adrian was feeling a little better – I suppose a kiss from his Momma helps him smile a little more.
On New Year’s day we headed out to Rollins College. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite places in central Florida to take photos…and on New Year’s there was absolutely no one on campus so the trip out was that much more enjoyable. We went there with the goal to take some really nice photos of my sister and the kids.
My nephew, Adrian is now seven and I swear he’s quickly becoming a little heartbreaker.
My niece, Justice, is now 11 years old and has grown so much since she visited us just before I had Jaylen.
Of course seeing them in this photo together is just priceless.
Justice was happy to pose for a few more photos and one with her Momma.
I took my daughter, Hope, along with us as we took photos. It’s tough to take her anywhere without taking photos. Thankfully she wasn’t opposed to me taking more photos of her in the new year.
I took a few more photos of the kids together. At this point everyone was cold and restless. They decided to do their own thing for the photos.
I plead with them to take just one really nice photo…and promised to show it’d be for Grandma & Papa…it took a few tries but we finally got one.
On New Year’s eve I was showing my niece Justice how to use my camera and let her take a few pictures. So before we left I asked her to take a photo of me and my sister. After seeing that first photo…I suppose it reminds us just how much we both have grown in the last 30 years.
Okay, now that I feel old…and we’re missing my family – we hope you all enjoyed the photos. They’re definitely moments we’ll remember years from now.
by Amanda Kern
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