Category Archives: Our Everyday

Our Trip to Colonial Williamsburg

Williamsburg Family Photos 

Every fall break since Owen started school, my mom and I have taken the boys on a little getaway. We’ve been going to the mountains, but this year we decided to go to Williamsburg and Jamestown. Owen absolutely loved it and did not want to leave. Harrison also had a great time because he usually goes along for the ride and is happy generally anywhere.

A few thoughts on Colonial Williamsburg…

1.I’d try to plan the trip around good weather. One of the fun parts of Williamsburg is that it is really like colonial life (which means no air conditioning) Squeezing a bunch of people in a bookbindery during the summer I imagine is super hot. We were super blessed with pretty cool misty rainy (but not pouring) weather, but a friend had been the weekend before and was miserable because of the heat.

2.Schedule any carriage rides before you come + look at their calendar of events online. Their website has a list of events everyday so you can see if there’s something you don’t want to miss. The carriage rides are just that – they aren’t tours or educational, just a fun ride around the city for the kiddos.

3.Everything is not open all the time so try to look up times for different things you may want to see. (Example – printing press was only open in the morning, Bindery was only open in the afternoon. Book binding was Owen’s favorite so this was important) The magazine also closed earlier so this was good to know, too.

4. Walk on the road instead of the sidewalks. We figured out on day two the brick sidewalks were hurting our feet so walk on the road as much as you can. (They are closed to cars during the day)

5.Wear tennis shoes. So much walking. Williamsburg does not look like a huge place, but I logged more steps than Disney.

6.Ride the bus to the Visitor’s Center and rent clothes or plan ahead. Dressing up was super fun for the boys. They have clothes for kids to rent at the Visitor’s center. You can ride the buses to the taverns, the outdoor market, Merchant’s square (so many friends recommended The Cheese Shop but it was too packed out when we went) the palace, and the visitor’s center. There might be more stops I couldn’t remember. We stayed at the Williamsburg Inn (loved the spiral staircase we walked down every time we left our room), so beautiful, but the Lodge is also right there super convenient within walking distance. (The Lodge also had an amazing buffet breakfast complete with gluten free pastries)  If you stayed somewhere else, I am thinking you could park at the visitor’s center and take the buses.

7. Make reservations for any dinners at Colonial Taverns. We ate at King’s Arm and Shields but Christiana Campbell’s tavern was our favorite. I think one authentic Colonial Williamsburg tavern eating experience by candlelight is really enough. (Food is also authentic but kids get a little leeway with chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese.) Christiana Campbell’s was George Washington’s favorite seafood restaurant so of course we had to go there. Owen is a huge George Washington fan.

8.There is someone in every building/house that explains their trade (silversmith) or history in the house (Wythe house)and Owen just loved all the learning and listening. He loved that the Wythe house had the actual banister Thomas Jefferson and George Washington probably touched, and he saw the room where Jefferson studied science with Wythe. It was really neat that most of the house was not a reproduction.

I could have spent a day or two more at Colonial Williamsburg. If you love history, it is so much fun, and my little Owen loves history so much so it was a treat.

*We also went to the Jamestown Settlement our third day. We were a little confused trying to figure out where to go because there’s two Jamestown areas and there’s a ferry. We knew we wanted to take the kids to the replica fort, ships, and Powhatan village, so we finally figured out to go to the Settlement. What an awesome place. They had talked a lot about Jamestown in first grade so Owen was really excited to see everything. The inside has some really cool artifacts + so much history, but the outside was definitely the kids favorite. There is a Powhatan village for the kids to explore, the James Fort, and then three ships just like what the English would have taken. I couldn’t even believe they traveled the ocean so far.

Overall, we had such a great time + loved seeing history come alive for the kids!

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As Seen in People Magazine + The Bump

Raleigh Maternity + Newborn Photographer

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Rebecca Keller is a Raleigh Newborn Photographer featured in the Bump, Let The Kids Dress Themselves and several other blogs.

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Llama Llama

Wake Forest Baby Lamb Photographer NC 

Some old fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.

-Laura Ingalls Wilder

    If ya’ll know me, you know I am all about the light. (Do I say this enough? Probably too much)It’s 100% the most important part of any portrait..and I am always looking at the light, how it’s changing, where it is. So when I show up to photograph something, I have a million goals, but #1 is to have everyone in the best most beautiful light. If you’ve ever been around baby lambs, they can be super bouncy and jumpy, (this youtube is an example)it’s really quite adorable. (except when poor Ericka is running to catch one and bring it back, hahahaha. She might not think it’s so adorable. Our baby lamb became a runner during this year’s set of baby lamb minis!) So really they ran the show, I laughed until I cried, rolled in the grass (like major grass everywhere all over me) and we followed them around wherever they went and my light obssession OCD just had to go along for the ride. I’ve never been able to bottle feed a lamb, and the kids LOVED it. So many giggles! The photographer in me had some glass bottles from a few years ago when Ericka and I thought we were going to have a baby lamb for a session that would be bottle feeding. Of course, these lambs were like no way, give us back our bottles! ha! The kids loved feeding the sheep and the llamas, who were super friendly. What a beautiful farm and so well taken care of. Many memories made this evening, and super thankful for a dear friend of mine who opened up their home. (And isn’t her little boy just the cutest. How adorable is the photo of him with his sheep? So incredibly sweet!)

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Rebecca Keller Photography

As Seen in People Magazine + The Bump

Raleigh Maternity + Newborn Photographer

 

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Sunrise

NYC Central Park Family Photographer 

We went on an amazing crazy 1700 mile road trip for Spring Break this year (read all about it here) We crammed so much into a little bit of time..and we were supposed to be in NYC for two days, but it ended up being less than 24 hours because we had to rearrange our trip for a few things..All that being said, if I was going to take pictures in NYC, I’d definitely choose sunset, but, with being there with such little time, sunrise was our only option. And I mean, we had fifteen minutes maybe before it was too bright and covered in light. My husband loves me since he drove us the night before and slept five hours to get up at sunrise for this. He also helped me location scout something that showed the buildings but that would also work at sunrise. And lastly, of course, all his amazing sounds that make the boys crack up while I am trying to photograph them.*Husband of the year* We even picked our hotel to be close, and that worked out great. We did take a quick taxi drive there since it was a little dark, and we barely beat another photographer to the exact spot. Whhhhew. Central Park was hopping though…everyone in the city was up and working out. I really wanted an image with the skyline in the background and I love these so much of my little cuties. *Special thanks to Ericka for meeting me at Janie and Jack last minute to review wardrobe* Oh, and Harrison’s bowtie was the exact same print as Michael’s tie he wore on our wedding day, so it was must. Love it!

Styled by Little Apple Styles

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As Seen in People Magazine + The Bump

Raleigh Newborn and Maternity Photographer

Available for travel | Contact us for more info

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1700 Miles

Our Spring Break Road Trip 2017

Harrison loooves Thomas the train so much. Owen was never really interested in Thomas and Harrison knows every character by name and can quote the show like crazy. Somehow we found out about Thomas Land, which is fairly new and outside of Boston. We had been talking about going for a while, and it’s closed in the winter so we just kind of forgot about it. Owen’s spring break was coming up, and we were trying to figure out if we were going to go to the beach or just hang out here. The idea of a quick trip to Boston came up, but then we chatted about a few other ideas, and Michael mapped the whole thing out. We had to change our trip dates last minute because of my work + and then an event we wanted to be back for, and Michael was amazing at adjusting the trip and figuring out how to work everything out. I can’t even fathom maps or directions, so I’m so blessed to be married to a living Map. His brain works in math and geometry and all that, and mine just shuts down. I am so thankful for Google Maps which just tells me what to do. I even use the walking directions when I park downtown and need to walk somewhere. SERIOUSLY. I know! When we first moved into our neighborhood, I was so completely lost + scared. I used the one entrance/exit I knew of and didn’t make any other turns. Michael had figured six or more different ways out of the neighborhood by the next day. (We have been here ten years and I now finally can figure my way out in all directions)

This trip was truly such a memory, and I can’t get over just how well the kids did. We covered 1700 miles in the car. We left after Michael got home from work on Thursday the 13th, and drove to Waldorf, Maryland. Since Good Friday was the next day, and we came home Tuesday night, he only had to miss two days of work, which was awesome. Friday morning, we left Waldorf and stopped in Annapolis. We ate breakfast at Chick and Ruth’s Delly, which was so yum. We definitely had to try the crabcakes + corned beef hash. We did have other breakfast foods like bacon and eggs, too. Michael found this spot, and it was such a neat building. They say The Pledge of Allegiance there everyday – 8:30 AM Monday – Friday and 9:30 AM on the weekends. From their website, “It was the site of the original Annapolis City Hotel, from 1788 to 1890. On this site George Washington lived for some time after he retired as Commander in chief.” One thing I loved about this trip was just so much history we got to see and learn about. After breakfast, we walked around Annapolis for a little bit, and then got back on the road.1 annapolis MD 0001P I N this to pinterest1 annapolis MD 0002P I N this to pinterest

Friday was a big day…We did Annapolis that morning, and then drove to NJ for Diggerland, which just opened for the season. We probably spent around 4 hours there and did not do everything at the park. I was really amazed at how they adapted all of the equipment for the kiddos. It was also perfect for both of our kid’s ages. There were some rides only for Harrison’s age and some only for Owen’s (see here for the height requirements) I was looking over their website on Thursday morning and saw the height requirements, and was like AHHH I gotta go measure Harrison. So naturally I went to the closest best spot I know to measure a child – Brusters. HA! Who doesn’t need a dirt sundae when packing for vacation anyway? So, whoever thought of this park is brilliant – what little boy doesn’t love riding in a Garbage truck aka the Greased Beast. It goes up in the air and shakes like it’s throwing the trash out…Owen loved it. I think the Ground Shuttle was my favorite. Owen looooved being about to drive the Backhoe – that was such a cool ride. The barrel train may have been Harrison’s favorite- because, trains, but he also loved driving the Dumper Truck with Michael. Owen and Michael both rode the Spin Dizzy which looked super fun. Michael LOVES all things rollercoasters, and it looks like Owen will be the same way. It was a great park, and it wasn’t too crazy busy as we thought it might be on Good Friday. When we left Diggerland, we stopped by Liberty Park in New Jersery and Owen got a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty, which was on his list of things he wanted to see in NY. Then, we drove 7 hours to Plimoth, outside of Boston, where we stayed for two nights.

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On our way to Plimoth, we stopped at a rest stop. Let me tell you about rest stops in the Northeast. We are missing out here in NC. It’s like a party…think a full food court at a mall. Here in NC, there’s a bathroom and you might get a drink machine. I think people were meeting up and hanging out at the rest stops up north. Have you ever driven 40 to Wilmington? We totally need one of these mega cool rest stops along the way. We got to Plimoth late that night and slept in.3 Thomas Land Edaville 0017P I N this to pinterest

Liberty Park

Saturday was our day for Thomas Land. Woooo hoooo. It wasn’t too far from our hotel, and Harrison was beyond excited. Thomas Land is part of an older bigger park called Edaville. When you get there, you walk through Edaville to get to the back section which is Thomas Land, and the also have Dino Land. You pay one admission and you get access to all three. Dino Land was not open yet (opens in May I think), but we spent 4 1/2 hours just on Thomas Land, so were worn out at that point and didn’t do any of the Edaville rides. You could spend a whole day there if you wanted to ride all the other rides. It looks like Christmas is big there because they have a little Scrooge village. Edaville had also just opened for the season, and the crowds were not bad at all. In fact, at one point, there was a Thomas Show and people were eating lunch and we got to just walk on a ton of rides, and the boys rode by themselves. They had a super cute show at Tidmouth Sheds where Gordon, Emily, Percy, and maybe someone else made a cranberry pie. Cranberries are big in Boston, and Harrison also got a Thomas Land Thomas that had a freight car filled with cranberries. Harrison loved being able to play on Percy – he had a wheel and levers, etc on the back, and it was a huge hit with the kids. The Flynn ride was super cute because Owen could put out the fire + Harrison got to drive. Just like Diggerland, Thomas Land was great for both of their ages – I was surprised at just how much Owen LOVED Thomas Land. Toby’s Tilting Tracks, The Troublesome Trucks Runaway Coaster, Rockin Bulstrode, and Cranky’s Crane Drop were Owen’s favorites, all perfect for his age. Harrison loved riding on Thomas, of course, and riding Winston’s skyline express was also a hit. Tidmouth Sheds was probably his favorite. He got to see the show twice while we were there, and he just loved the talking trains.

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After Thomas Land, we drove out to Cape Cod, and ended up at the Creamery in Hyannis. We had promised the boys ice cream at DiggerLand and so we were finally about to get them some. I had never been to Cape Cod – it’s just so beautiful, and loved seeing all the houses. We drove up to the water – so gorgeous! After eating ice cream (we kinda had dessert first) we asked around for the best spot for seafood and ended up at Baxter’s. They had just opened for the season, so it was quiet. (Plus we were eating early..people started arriving when we were leaving) Oh man, the shrimp was delicious. After dinner, we drove to Plymouth Rock and The National Monument to the Forefathers because I have an ancestor that came over on the Mayflower. Even my dad still has his souvenir from when he was little, and his parents brought him to show him his family history. Owen was all about Plymouth Rock and that was something he really wanted to do on our trip since he had learned so much about the Pilgrims and the Mayflower at school. When we got back to the hotel that night, Michael ran out to Walmart which was across the street for Easter baskets, ha! We had decided not to drag ours around in the car.

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The next morning, we got up and we had a plan for which church we were going to in Boston, which a friend had recommended. We got so turned around with all the tunnels + highways in Boston, that we were going to be just so late after parking. (That’s how confusing Boston is, if Michael makes a wrong turn..just way too many tunnels and turns. He has to love when I try to help him with the GPS…then we are definitely making a wrong turn) I had never heard of the Big Dig – wow. So we found parking in the North End, which was close to Old North Church, where the lantern was hung for Paul Revere. We were late but they still let us in to church. I have not been in many old churches, where a pew has a door and then benches, so you are kind of like in a little room. You can still see the pastor, but the kids had a lot of space to run around in there. Also, the door to our pew was broken, so the usher let us know we were stuck in there, and he would have to get us out. I didn’t feel claustrophobic at that point or anything. And there was a sign in the little pew room explaining who was buried under our pew.

After church, we went to our lunch reservation at Beneventos in Boston’s Little Italy. It was yum + I had their house speciality. The trolley tour was next which was really great, and we got to see a ton of the city. The photos of the buildings were taken from the trolley. (Read about the giant teakettle here) I really loved seeing all the history in Boston. We were signed up for a boat ride, too, but it was just HOT. The trolley was great + we got to see where the Boston Tea Party was, which was something Owen really wanted to see. We rode the trolley back to a stop near our car + then headed for NYC. We had no trouble driving into the city, parked next to our hotel, and were so beat, we fell asleep quickly…Because, the next morning we were waking up at 5AM.

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My husband is a trooper. You know he loves me when he will plan a trip where he drives 1700 miles, sleeps for only 5 hours and heads out at 6AM to Central Park to take photos of the boys. (I’ll share more of these soon. A huge thank you to Little Apple Styles for picking out the boys’ super cute clothes)The city was so quiet at 6 AM but I was shocked at how many people were in Central Park exercising. We took photos for around 15 minutes + then grabbed a taxi back to our hotel. The boys really did not know what to think being in the taxi and seeing all the traffic and tall buildings. Harrison, our lover of all things transportation, was just so quiet + soaking everything in. It is a rare moment for him not to be chatting about something. We changed the boys + checked out of the hotel so that we could hang out in New York. (yes, we were there for less than 24 hours!) The original plan was to stay in NY for two days, but then an event got planned for someone so so special to us that we couldn’t miss, so we headed back a day early. Breakfast started with Pik A Bagel, since bagels are so NY and we’d almost hit our 10,000 steps by breakfast. Times Square was kind of funny…When Harrison was four months old, I went on a trip to NY and took a picture with Spiderman and sent it to my mom. Owen has never forgotten that. (He was 3 1/2 but that’s just how his little brain works…he doesn’t forget ANYTHING! ha!) So one thing Owen wanted to do was go to Times Square and see who might be there. He saw Batman and really wanted a photo with Batman..Well, it was like 9 something in the morning, and Times Square was pretty quiet for Times Square..and all of a sudden, a swarm of “super heroes” or whatever you want to call Olaf, appeared for a photo with Owen. I was crying I was laughing so hard because we really only wanted Batman but no one would leave because of course, they all wanted to make money. Needless to say, to get out of there, Owen got a photo with all of them, and Michael spent all of his cash! ha! The boys really wanted to go to MnM world, and you know Owen wanted to go to the Lego store, which was fun for them to see Rockefeller Center. People were still ice skating even though we were in short sleeves.The boys got me a sweet present at Tiffany + Co, (really so much fun to go there!) and Michael, of course, wanted to stop in Niketown. For lunch, we waited about 35 minutes at Serendipity, so not bad at all, although I think you can make reservations. The boys loooooved the frozen hot chocolate! I’m not sure if he’s always there, but the owner was there signing books, so that’s what Mimi got from me. (Serendipity 3 was the location we went to + where the movie was filmed) We did walk around a ton and got to see so much + the boys loved it. Harrison did get tired at one point + requested Michael carry him, but the boys stayed in great spirits. When we were finally done and at a crazy amount of steps, I was like, let’s just take a taxi back! HA! A taxi is my BFF.

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We drove the two hours to Philly that night to meet up with some friends to eat dinner, which was just so much fun + then we headed two hours to Maryland where we spent the night. The next morning we fought through crazy DC traffic (at 10AM) and barely made it back to NC with 30 minutes to spare before our friends’ event. Needless to say, we crashed that night. And I can’t even believe my husband went to work the next day! I was exhausted and I didn’t even do the driving!

So thankful for this trip, the memories made, and my sweet husband that made it all happen!

A few IPHONE snaps from our trip….

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As Seen in People Magazine, The Bump + Several Blogs Including Lemonade + Lenses | Rebecca Keller

 

 

 

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Going to Biltmore With Kids

Biltmore Kids Photography 

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This was a trip we took last fall for the boys’ fall break. It was the second time My mom and I took the boys to the mountains for fall break. (You can read more about our trip last year here) Owen also was in kindergarten last year so our first official fall break! His kindergarten trip we only went to Sky Top + The Grove Park Inn, but this year we decided to add in Biltmore + stay at Biltmore. This was a two day trip. Yep, two days. So we crammed a lot in! We started early in the morning and drove all the way to Sky Top and spent a few hours there. We grabbed some apples, rode the hay ride, went through the bamboo forest, fed the animals, and of course, ate doughnuts.

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If you ever stop here, that walkway is rotted through so stay far far away from it:)Ok, we were close, but just don’t walk on it.

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Then, we left Sky Top and headed to a 4PM Carriage ride at Biltmore. We checked in to The Inn at Biltmore, which was just awesome. So, the best part of staying at Biltmore was the shuttle buses. We took one to the carriage ride, which then took us to dinner after. Harrison loves looking at and talking about, “neigh neighs.” He still calls them this even though he knows they are horses. The boys looooooved the carriage ride, and oh my, My mom and I did, too. We learned so much more about Biltmore and it’s the only tour where you can see those views of the back of the house, so cool!

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I haven’t been to Biltmore in several years, and I didn’t even know about the dairy and all we learned about the forest and how it was planted. (Read more about the dairy here) So, of course, the boys had to have ice cream from the Creamery, inspired by the Biltmore Dairy, both days we were there. We also ate dinner at the Bistro which was super yummy.
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The boys did really well on the house tour. There is a tour for kids narrated by Cedric, The Biltmore dog but Owen got tired of it pretty quickly. He was fascinated with finding all the secret doors and secret passageways. Harrison just likes to follow his brother around and do whatever he does. We ate lunch at the Stable Cafe and then headed to Antler Hill Village to pet the barnyard animals. Biltmore Kids Photography _4036P I N this to pinterestBiltmore Kids Photography_4037P I N this to pinterestBiltmore Kids Photography_4038P I N this to pinterest….which afterwards we had one last ice cream + headed home. It was such a fun adventure, and it wasn’t too long for the kiddos to enjoy Biltmore! See more info for kids + families here. 
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As Seen in People Magazine + The Bump | Raleigh Family + Kids Photography

 

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