Marge's First Mother's Day

Sophie & Mai
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Wow, a year ago we weren't really thinking about being parents and yesterday we celebrated our first Mother's Day. We all had a nice time of course Sophie stole the show (as it should be) and all her grandparent and great grandmother jockeyed to hold her.

Can't wait for my first Father's Day.

Woodpecker

Woodpecker
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Got a picture of a cooler looking woodpecker at Tree Top Park in Davie! This guy was hammering away at the tree and you could hear him a mile away.

Maternity photos at the Ancient Spanish Monastery

Mai
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Went to the Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach to take some maternity shots of Marge now that she's starting to show a bit. This one was my favorite photo of the day (if not ever!). It had been raining all morning and we thought we weren't going to be able to take a single shot but the second we got there the skies cleared up and we had the whole place to ourselves.

Amature Photography

I've become quite the nature photographer since getting my new Canon- PowerShot 12.1 Megapixel Digital Camera (PowerShot SX20 IS). The camera is great and I highly recommend it. The one thing I'm not liking about it is that it takes crap night shots. Don't know if it's me or a setting issue, but I haven't been able to take a single night picture worth a damn. If anyone out there has a solution for this please let me know!

The nature photography started out as a way for me to practice taking pictures with the new camera, but it's become a hobby of sorts. The great thing is that Broward County has all these awesome wetland mitigation and conservation banks all over the place with boardwalks where visitors can see all sorts of native birds and wildlife. I find myself going out trying to capture more and more images of plants and animals. It's almost like hunting!

Right now my goal is to get a picture of a gray fox and a woodpecker. Wish me luck.

Kayaking at Oleta River

Mai and Alex
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

I went kayaking on my 31st birthday weekend with my 4 and a half week pregnant wife and my bestfriend, Frank, and his girlfriend, Christina. We went to Oleta River State Park down 163rd street. This park is a very nice slice of nature in the middle of urban (suburban?) North Miami Beach, with kayaks, biking trails, picnic areas, a beach ...

The kayaks were a bit pricey($35 bucks for an hour and a half), but we had a great time, the weather was awesome, and the place was beautiful.

Here are more pics.

Backyard Swamp

Hawk
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Bought a camera last week, a Canon Powershot SX 20 IS, and I've been taking lots of pictures of the marshes around my home. I'm really enjoying the zoom lens! Check them out.

UP!

IMG_2288
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

The Hot Air Balloon Ride I bought all the way back in March finally happened! It was well worth the wait though. The view of downtown Miami, rural Homestead, and the Everglades from 38,000 feet in the air (unencumbered by an airplane window) was absolutely amazing. I felt like a superhero flying around up there.

More pics here.

Fallen Tree

Fallen Tree
Originally uploaded by alexthoth

Tree Top Park... This tree fell and kept on growing, if that isn't insperational, I don't know what is.

I still can't get used to the idea that there's such cool places near where I live. Here's a link to more pics of Tree Top Park.