LEGOLAND Florida First Anniversary

Bright Lights, Brick City! The month of October marks the 1st Anniversary of LEGOLAND Florida and the family friendly Halloween festivities of Brick-or-Treat. Beautiful Fall weather this weekend contrasts with last year's rainy LEGOLAND Florida sneak preview weekend in 2011. Miniland USA is transformed into a Halloween Brick-or-Treat spooktacular. Ghostly goblins and scary LEGO creatures of the night haunt the LEGO grounds of Miniland USA. My young ones gobbled up all the free trick or treat candies of the Brick-or-Treat Trail and I clicked pictures a many of illuminated LEGO cities in Miniland USA. When it comes to sugared freebies, corporate endorsements are a blessing. Look who's big enough to ride with the family? My 19 month old baby daughter can finally join us in theme park rides. No more stroller duty for her! Look who's too cheap to buy the souvenir photo of this glorious event? My 18 megapixel Canon EOS Rebel T4i saved me at least twenty bucks! Nothing says togetherness better than social connectivity under the old Banyan Tree in Cypress Gardens at LEGOLAND Florida. The Apple iPhone is the glue that bonds long time family friends of Getawaymoments. At first glance, progress moving nowhere! Second glance, LEGOLAND Florida closes at 9pm on weekends in October. Miniland USA is illuminated like NYC's Time Square and the Las Vegas Strip but all in LEGO. Even the Tampa Bay skyline makes a night debut! Old City Hall, Tampa Theater and even the "beer" can building glimmers in the fake Hillsborough river moonlight. Miniland USA at night is quite remarkable... A year has gone by but Youtube makes video memories last forever. Just a quick montage of the rainy preview weekend at LEGOLAND Florida last year. Get a towel, you will definitely need it... Take one part baby stroller and one part GoPro Hero 2 to LEGOLAND Florida. You have yourself the ultimate mobile infant dolly to glide the crowded streets of Miniland USA. When the cinematic greats of Getawaymoments and ChadSorianoPhotoBlog converge, you also have vehicular verite at its best! Happy orange LEGO pumpkin Halloween from the Soriano family! May all your trick or treat bags be filled with less candy corn and more chocolate with a heavy emphasis on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Who could say no to this adorable baby? I see chocolate and iPhone 6 in her future. You can see more cuteness in my LEGOLAND Florida First Anniversary and Brick-orTreat Gallery 2012 shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T4i/650D. Stay updated with the latest gear by Becoming a Fan on my Facebook Fan Page and following me on Twitter!.

A Labor of Love

A few words spoken rewards the thankless without expectation. The diaper changes, the sibling rivalry and the constant attention to every wanton need wanes with a simple baby babble of "Hi, DaDa!". In this family, Labor Day celebrates achievement in milestones.



The hours of preparation by my beloved wife honors the memory of marinated Pinchos of Puerto Rico. Sliced pork seasoned and skewered like Filipino kabobs over flame pleasures the palate and numbs parental headaches of child upbringing. Sounds like good medicine to me!



Growing up is hard to do these days. Academic expectations are higher and more demanding from school and parents. Homework, tests, projects and more homework can seem overwhelming to little minds with big hearts. Madeline and Jude, keep up the good school work and it will all make sense when you are adults.



Parental patience burns faster than marshmallows roasted over an open flame without adult supervision. Add a little Hershey's chocolate sandwiched between two crispy graham crackers, you have yourself a potentially sweet s'mores meltdown. Can somebody please pass "some more" virtue?



Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer but not in this household. Family trips to the beach for sunset strolls and sandy swim sessions last until the cooler weather arrives for two more months. Two very very long months of more Florida heat and humidity...



Almost 18 months old and counting for my baby daughter Serena this Labor Day Weekend. Your spoken words are growing and adorable to parental ears. The bursting charm and cuteness are as big as your never ending appetite for cheeseburgers in paradise.



You can view more corn cobs and pics in my Labor Day Weekend 2012 Gallery shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T4i/650D paired with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens.



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First Day of School 2012

Kipling and Sperry Top-Sider make way of the departed. Summer days of staying up late and watching endless hours of television has come to an abrupt end for my kids. As for the adults, the extra strong cup of coffee eases the routine of school's first day morning chaos but not rush hour traffic with never ending road construction. Things never change...



A double digit birthday is graciously followed by the big 5th grade for my oldest daughter. More complicated curriculum complemented with difficult homework and challenging exams fill her designer backpack with wheels. Who said schoolwork has to be boring?



Gone are the days of preschool separation anxieties. They are formidably replaced with procrastination and inherent stubbornness of this Spelling Bee Champion. The 2nd grade is monumental in the Catholic world. You officially confess your sins with Reconciliation and receive First Holy Communion all in one school year. Original Sin and unleavened bread are on the menu this season.



A new Principal roams the hallways of St. Stephen Catholic School. Her name is Sister Carina Okeke and she comes from a seven year tenure as Principal from the New Jersey Catholic school system. Simple may describe her vows but in reality her active vocation of prayer, service and new Principal of our school seem quite admirable. My family and St. Stephen Catholic welcomes you with open arms.



Cousin chaos returns to 8th grade. My nephew is in middle school now and ready for his launch into high school next year. Time definitely goes by in mere seconds when it comes to family. Cherish the moment and snap a picture that will last forever.



You can view more photos in my First Day of School 2012 Gallery shot with the Canon 1D Mark IV paired with the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens.



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Happy 10th Birthday Madeline !

Double digits are in your future now. 10 years old, 10 candles, 10 fingers, 10 toes and 10 generations of Apple iPhones fill your ever growing mind of everything pink. Happy 10th Birthday Madeline!



The final countdown has begun to your teenage years. Once shy and unsure, you are now open and confident. Parental grip is tightening to the point of asphyxiation but at this point we maybe getting ahead of ourselves. With the proper guidance and your favorite Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse, the path to adulthood just got easier.



A family tree has many branches. Your siblings and cousins look up to the eldest wise-woman for knowledge and the latest Carly Rae Jepsen pop song lyrics.



I have to admit my Canon fault. My first born was digitally photographed with a Sony Cyber-shot DSC F707. Although, I was shooting film with a 35mm Canon EOS 3 before my jump to digital, I quickly realized my true calling with a Canon EOS 10D. Maybe "10" is truly a magical number.



An ice skating birthday party plus the latest Canon Rebel T4i/650D equals another video test to capture the special moments. With ice comes snow to low light ice rinks with disco lights. Snow meaning ISO 6400 video noise in less than ideal lighting conditions. What choice do I have?



With every birthday comes cake and a lurking hungry younger brother with fork in hand to steal your glory. No worries, your smothering sibling has a younger sister to eat his cake very soon. It seems a decade is certainly not long enough...



Meet my youngest and future menace to my son along with more "Ice-capades" in Madeline's 10th Birthday Gallery shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T4i/650D.



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Happy Easter !

Warmer days, later sunsets and colored eggs springs Easter joy once again to candy craving children. Over a dozen hard boiled eggs and plenty of colored vinegar later, Easter Sunday bunny hopped to an over easy delight.



Sharing is easy with your older cousin when you barely have four front baby teeth to devour egg hunting treasure. My 13 month daughter loves anything with sugar and will soon be walking on two feet to join the egg hunting festivities.



Easter means wear your Sunday's best, especially when photographed with the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Easter came early for me when I picked up my 22 megapixel full frame DSLR featuring a new 61 point auto focusing system and a 6 frames per second shooting capability. There are much more amazing features to list but that will have to wait for my upcoming Canon 5D Mark III Practical Review and Video Test.



Easter cupcakes are the new colored eggs this season. Think of sugary moist cupcakes covered with sweet icing and finally topped off with a Peep. It is Cupcake Wars versus the Easter Bunny.



You can view more eggs and cupcakes in my Easter 2012 Gallery shot with the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III and the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV.



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Epic

Bigger than life itself. No fabled heroes on this New Year's Day but only humbled eyes capturing a chronicle of events called my family. Year 2011 has passed and the dauntless task of 2012 seems as bright as the New Year's Eve firework's display at LEGOLAND Florida.



Cousins forever. Just like Dick Clark's Times Square Ball Drop for New Year's Eve, the countdown is ticking for priceless childhood moments. School winter break converged masses upon central Florida with several theme parks closing its doors due to over capacity. We braved the traffic and crowds and hit LEGOLAND Florida with a vengeful bite of Granny Apple Fries with delightful whip cream.



Enamored by bombs bursting in air like my wife, my almost 10 month old daughter shares the same fondness for elaborate firework displays. Armed with store bought 500 gram gunpowder cakes, my brother in law illuminates the neighborhood with theme park quality fireworks. The little ones duck and cover while the adults and the local County Sheriff gaze with mouths agape.



A thousand points of light shine bright upon the best Christmas of my lifetime. "The best Christmas" may sound cliche to my kid's gift filled eyes but it is an epic truth to me.



My oldest niece meets the youngest of the Soriano family only for the second time this year. Despite this gap, my baby daughter stares deep into her oldest cousin's eyes with a lifetime of familiarity...Epic.



You can view more photos in my New Year's Eve for 2012 Gallery shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i paired with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens.

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'Tis the Season to be Jolly !

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Soriano family. The hustle and bustle of gift giving and re-gifting comes to an abrupt end but this season's chaos truly wanes on New Year's day.



The spirit of Christmas is in every LEGO brick of this 6 ton LEGO Christmas tree at LEGOLAND Florida. Half a million LEGO bricks later and 30 feet into the sky, adults and kids were bright eyed and bushy tailed to this magnificent spectacle. My kids spent 30 seconds at the LEGO Christmas tree and 2 hours at the LEGO store drooling at the goodies. So much for Christmas spirit...



One more week to return unwanted Christmas sweaters, redeem gift cards for that "real" present and horde once again for the after-Christmas shopping events until the adults get back to work and the kids return to school.



My children celebrate the trifecta of Christmas Day. Opening gifts at my mother's house, opening gifts again at my in-law's house and finally opening gifts in the Soriano household. Call it the triple threat of ear to ear smiles and wallet shrinking.



Cousin chaos returns. My favorite niece and nephew came for a visit for exactly 2 hours and 45 minutes. I savored every minute and second of this rare opportunity.



Gifts come in many forms but this gift is special. Wrapped in a diaper and this year's latest baby fashion, my soon to be 10 month old daughter is truly the best present under the tree.



Christmas is all about the kids. Adults have 364 other days to celebrate. Okay, maybe 363 days including birthdays.



The towering skyline of downtown of my family holiday photo does not compare to the unseasonably high temperatures this Christmas Day in Tampa, Florida. No snowstorms and winter gridlock but just mid 80 degree temperatures for my kids to enjoy. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!



You can view more pictures shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D in my Christmas 2011 Gallery.

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