The more I shoot, the more I avoid direct sunlight. Most of my best shots are in cloudy conditions, avoiding the harsh highlights. You've got some nice background blurr on that shot!
I hear you Rick but alas the great diffusors in the sky were not around today...it was just cold and clear. In the original file the background stuff is sublime that is because of the 105 and the fact that the background stuff is far far away from the subject.