Splurging On Us

Okay, so as with most folks that we know, Christmas is all about the kids this year. Totally!! This is how it should be, too !! We have Naomi from the 16th to the 24th, and so we are going to have plenty of time to really chill out and enjoy everyone's company.
Presents for the kdis will be overflowing as usual, and we'll make sure we have everyone else covered also. Isn't it funny, how Christmas becomes so much about what you get everyone else! I don't mean that in a money sense, or a 'keeping up with the Jones' sense, but rather making sure that you have really expressed to everyone else what they meant o you by getting them something thoughtful that means a lot to them. That is the fun of gift giving.

The downside of making sure you have everyone else covered is that you sometimes forget, figuratively, the person you care about more than anything in this world...your spouse. Obviously Steph and I haven't forgotten each other this year, but we decided that rather than 'surprise' each other with something, we would come up with ONE gift that we both want, that we could just share! Well, this weekend, while at the mall, we found that gift !

We are getting a Nikon D50 digital camera for each other.



We currently have 3 (yes, count them....THREE!) digital cameras at home. Why the hell would we need another? Well, none of our cameras actually give us what we truly want. We have one that does great video, one that takes great quick pics that is small and compact, and a third that we don't really use, but it will take average pics also. What we are really lacking is the ability to take fantastic photos of the kids growing up, the dogs, the sporting events, each other, and everything else that we want to, with the capabilities of getting it done right.

We went into Shutterbug in the mall and shopped around, and the Nikon rep happened to be there. Obviously they were biased towards their own product, but the D50 is phenomenal. It is being offered right now as part of a package deal where you get lenses and extra stuff for free.

It comes with a 18-55mm zoom lens...



...as well as the bigger better lens (55 - 200mm) for things further away like at sporting events etc!



Don't get me wrong...it isn't cheap, but we think it is an investment that is comepletely worth whatever we would spend on it. We have been taking pictures of Jack and naomi like crazy with our existing cameras, but realistically we need something that can kick some ass when we want it to. They rep was explaining it to Steph also which is important to me. Not being funny, but I would say 95% of all our photos of the kids do not have me in them!! Why? Because I am the one taking the pictures. Steph obviously gets the camera thing, but if we have something more point-and-shoot, versus having to mess with everything before the shot, she is more likely to take photos. She was actually more excited than I was I think!

Without sounding too nerdy, you can read all about the camera here.

Anyway, as soon as I get it I will take smoe pictures and let you all see what fantastic photgraphers we have become.