have you seen blank: a vinylmation love story? it’s this great new stop motion animation created through a partnership between disney interactive and google. it’s 38 minutes and does not have any dialogue, however it’s very creative and surprisingly entertaining for both kids and adults. blank can be watched for free on google play. i highly recommend checking it out!!

google also has a bonus website to share frames of the film. once shared, you gain access to an extra short called cranes in love.

– ryan

clementine’s favorite book these days is a little book of sloth by lucy cooke. it’s the cutest book ever! it’s filled with photos of sloths hugging stuffed animals, as well as other sloths, and details on their daily lives. clem has learned a lot from the book and now wants to visit the sloths at the atlanta zoo anytime we head there. if you’re looking for a new book for your children or need a great gift, this book will definitely bring a smile to anyones face. visit slothville for more information and other adorable videos.

by the way, the atlanta zoo recently partnered with animal planet to create a live sloth cam!!! we can now watch these slow-moving animals from the comfort of our laptop.

we were able to find a little book of sloth at the little shop of stories in downtown decatur! this adorable independent children’s bookstore is in the decatur square right next to starbucks. it’s filled with great books and toys for kids of all ages. they also offer story readings, summer camps, book groups and more, so be sure to visit and help keep such independent stores alive!

– ryan

little shop of stories

133 east court square #a,
decatur, ga 30030
404-373-6300

we never thought we’d be the family driving around with dvd players on the backs of our headrests, however after going on a long road trip with the kids, we’ve learned they can be a life saver. we’re not promoting using such players for everyday use, but they definitely do a great job at grabbing your child’s attention during travels.

we purchased our sylvania dual-screen dvd player from walmart before a recent road trip to virginia. it was around $70 but totally worth the money in our opinion! one of the screens has the main controls/player which then connects to the other screen. we were concerned the cords would not reach across our car, since one carseat faces the front and one faces the back, but luckily they were long enough.

so yeah, we’ve totally become that family! if you have kids and are headed on a long road trip, we highly recommend investing in one of these players and not feeling bad about it!

– ryan & gub

clementine and grey have become fast friends! the first thing clem asks for in the mornings is her baby brother in the crib so they can hang out. it’s adorable!

you can also check out a video below with clem & grey reading together in the crib. they start out by ripping a page in hop on pop, which they know they aren’t supposed to do, so they both look around to see if they are in trouble. it’s pretty cute.

– ryan & gub

check out this great ikea commercial!

– ryan

today is the once in a hundred year astronomical event called the transit of venus, which won’t happen again until december 2117. to celebrate, the fernbank science center is hosting a a planetarium program, live viewing from the observatory, as well as a live feed nasa of the event from hawaii this evening. sounds fun!

– ryan & gub

update….here is a video of the event:

i tried filming time lapse of one of those mystical gardens earlier this week. it looked pretty cool, although it took way longer than expected. the box claims everything would finish within 10 hours, however after 24+ hours, 10,000+ photos and 3 camera battery changes, the mystical garden was still growing and we had to leave for the holidays. maybe it was too cold in our house or something, but it sure took forever.

– ryan

here’s to decorating the christmas tree and listening to loretta lynn’s a country christmas!

– ryan & gub

kinsey family farms

7170 jot-em down road
gainesville, ga 30506
770-887-6028

over the thanksgiving break i filmed some time lapse of a sunset with my new camera. i think it looked pretty good for my first attempt, although i would tweak the settings next time and try and start it earlier. i do like all of the movement of the duck on the pond though!

– ryan

the indie craft experience holiday shopping spectacular was fantastic as usual! we nearly finished our holiday shopping, so i would consider that a full success. and in case you missed it, don’t worry, ICE is also hosting a pop-up shop inside criminal records from december 1st through the 24th! they will have a ton of amazing handmade goods for sale.

i filmed some time lapse footage of the two-day event with my friend chase. below you can see the work-in-progress and also find more videos here. i plan on editing the footage together, but i thought it looked great and wanted to share! if you have high-speed internet, be sure to watch the clips in HD.

– ryan