Twice the Fun!

My cousin and his wife had to work this weekend so we had the opportunity to take care of their kids this Saturday.  Two parents, four kids and eight hours.  You can pretty much guess what happened.  Despite our best efforts to entertain, time seemed to stand still.  The kids were dropped off around 8.  We got dressed, ate breakfast, played Legos, ran around the house and had remote control car races.  Michelle enthusiastically asked me how we were doing (with respect to time).  She didn't look so hot when I told her it was only 9:30.  Our lives were beginning to look like the TV series 24.  The frightening thing is the older brother P is well behaved and a great playmate for Aidan.  The younger daughter was mellow and was a piece of cake for a one year old. 

So here's a photography tip when taking photos of four kids with no parental supervision (i.e. babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers each running around doing their own thing).  Stuff all four kids into a small pack and play and snap away.  It's also a great way to have five minutes to yourself - not that I needed it or anything.

For whatever reasons, the kids thought it'd be fun to use their feet to block the camera.  It's super fun trying to achieve focus using a wide angle lens with feet kicking wildly within inches of my face.  Another tip - set the focus point on the mellowest, read, immobile child.