Recap

As 2011 comes to a close I thought I would recap some highlights from each month. Let's begin...

January - Peter had work in AZ, we still had stuff in our garage, and my dad's birthday. It all worked out that I could travel back to AZ with Peter for his work trip. We were going to kill 3 birds with 1 stone during this trip. Peter get his work done, surprise my dad for his birthday, and load up the remaining items in our garage.

February - We had a lot of SNOW days! Lyndsy's 14th birthday was one of them. My grandmother passed away and I was back in AZ just for an overnight trip.

March - Chloe started horse back riding lessons.  MeL & Dave moved to TX and are only 30 minutes away!

April - The girls had their 1st goat show in Denton. Launched my new website and had my first photo shoot. The girls also had another goat show in Aubrey. Lyndsy won a buckle.

May - Took Mother's Day Photo's for COC Metro in crazy wind! Chloe's 13th birthday and our 16th anniversary. School ended for the girls.

June - The girls and I volunteered to help with Beach Blast at Church and it was a blast! Peter's birthday and my sister's birthday.

July - The girls went to NM for church camp. Lyndsy went to a volleyball camp at Texas A&M. My birthday. Peter had work in AZ for 2 weeks so, we made a family vacation out of it. Chloe had her remaining 3 baby teeth pulled. Chloe stayed in AZ longer to visit her friend, Morgan, from Michigan.

August - Got the girls registered for school. Picked Chloe up from the airport! Went to my 1st ladies event with the lovely ladies of COC Metro. We went to Chick-fil-a, HIMprov, and for yogurt. Went to Women of Faith with some lovely ladies at COC Metro. Our family is now a little bigger. We are sponsoring, Zienabou, from Niger. Got my first EVER speeding ticket. =-(

September - Attended a photography class. Lyndsy is playing volleyball. Lots of lightning and rain. Had a high school senior photo shoot.

October - Last minute booth at the Peanut Festival. Went to AZ with Peter for the day, then flew to CA - where I went to Disneyland all by myself. My mom's birthday. Girls showing their goats at the North Texas State Fair. Saw Mandisa in concert with Lyndsy.

November - Day trip to Wichita, KS with Peter. Went to Canton with some ladies from church. Played 'whirly ball' for the 1st time. Had 3 photo shoots. Traveled to CA with Peter. Completed my 1st EVER 5k! Thanksgiving with family and friends.

December - Booth at AMS Arts & Crafts Extravaganza. COC Metro Ladies event. Started Body by Vi. 3 photo shoots. Christmas! Date night with Peter.

And that brings us to today - the last day of 2011. We enjoyed 'lunner' at Babe's Chicken, went for ice cream, checked our mail, and now relaxing. The girls have parties tonight and Peter and I are doing nothing.

Praying for a great 2012 - or as Eric Stonestreet is going to call it 20dozen!

God is Good!

God is so good! He definitely knows what He is doing especially when we have NO clue what we are doing!

This week the devil has been working overtime to get me to falter... and he succeeded at getting to me and to his advantage... I let him win! I didn't read my Bible verses daily, I let silly little things get to me, and sleep was a challenge every night. By golly, I know I am not perfect and I sure as heck don't want to be but, for once, I would like to not feel that damn devil hovering over me!

Now that I have said that, let me explain why - in the midst of the devil hovering over me - I feel God is so good. This was a pretty busy week and not a good week to keep forgetting to pick up my 'happy' pills (as Peter calls them). Peter traveled for 3 days. I got a much needed hair cut. Lyndsy had a volleyball game in Gunter, TX.  I drove to Keller, TX for a photography class. My hair cut was a lot uneven so, I got it fixed. Lyndsy stayed home from school with chest pains (more like growing pains in her chest area) and we ran some errands. We had a dinner meeting with The Brawners. Went to the JV football game. Went to another volleyball game. Each day I felt the devil hovering. On my drive to Keller, TX, I think I drove behind every slow person on the road. While I was getting extremely impatient, I felt a sense of calm sweep over me, and I realized that God was putting those slow drivers and no passing zones in my path so I could see the beauty He created all around me. I arrived at my photography class just a minute late. You see, if I had MY way... I would have sped by all the beautiful scenery God created and arrived to my class completely stressed out. When I noticed my hair cut was a lot uneven... I didn't get mad, I called up the hair place and explained my situation and they were happy to make me a satisfied customer. All the mornings I woke up not feeling rested at all... God wrapped His arms around me and rocked me back to sleep (some times a little too well). I know that even though I didn't read my Bible verses daily, God was there to help me remember the words I needed when I was feeling overwhelmed with the devil's hovering! Even amongst all the busyness, God opened up 2 doors for possible jobs. Praise you Lord!!!!!

You see, I know God is good! Let me rephrase that... God is AWESOME!

A New Beginning...

This past weekend I attended the Women of Faith conference in Dallas with some of the ladies of my church (COC Metro). It was amazing! I so needed that time to reflect on so many things. Mostly, my time spent with God (or lack their of). 

Friday morning we met at a neutral location, sorted out who was riding in what cars, were given our room assignments, and then headed off to Dallas. I rode with Sarah, Barb, Amy, and Jen. It was great getting to know these beautiful ladies more. We arrived at American Airlines Center (AAC) found our seats and settled in for an amazing day of 'Over the Top' stories. We heard from Patsy Clairmont, who is such a little ball of fire! She came onto the stage wearing a bluish sequin, sparkly jacket and shiny red wedges! That woman is so amazing and inspirational! We also heard from Andy Andrews (yep, he is a man and crashed the conference). I am not sure how best to describe Andy. He is SO energetic (no really, he is! He ran around the stage and first rows of the audience and talked so fast) and full of the Holy Spirit it was contagious. He is also very inspiring. I am excited to read his books. We also saw some drama by Katherine Everett. There was some people from World Vision there with plenty of children in need of sponsoring. Peter and I have talked about sponsoring a child for years now and have never done it. I started to feel a need to pray about this and see where God was leading me. Sarah wanted to leave a little early to get checked into our rooms to beat the rush. We got to our hotel and after a little bit, were all ready to head to our room. After settling in, we all met in the lobby to head to dinner. We went to Ojada's for some Mexican food. I felt a little out of place at first, since I didn't really know the people I was sitting around but after a bit, everything was great! All of a sudden, we see Dane and James. They found seats around the two long rows of tables and proceeded to hang out with us. Hmmm. While waiting for our food to arrive, Dane stood up and told us he was going to give out some $25 gift cards to those who answer some trivia questions correctly. Some of the questions were: What is Sarah's favorite movie? (a- The Wizard of Oz). What is Dane's middle name? (a- Mitchell). What were 3 things (I think) that Sarah said drove her nuts about Brad? (a- his hair loss, leaving toothpaste in the sink...). It was good times had by all... even 2 guys raised their hands to answer. =-]

After dinner, we headed back to AAC for a night of entertainment. We heard from Patsy and Andy again as well as Lisa Welchel (Blair from The Facts of Life) and Mandisa! It was pretty crazy how much Lisa looks like she did forever ago! She is such an inspiration! Her story about having difficulty with finding friends hit so close to home! Her book is another I am looking forward to reading. I have to say that the highlight of the night was when Mandisa came out to sing! That girl has an amazing voice!!!!!! Plus, Lyndee and Beth were just singing away behind us. =-] They mentioned World Vision again and said that there were bags with info about a child on every seat. No one around me had a bag. Hmmm. That was about as far as I thought about it. We also heard from Brenda Warner. She has a very interesting story but is not a very good speaker. Oh well! I still enjoyed her. After the festivities ended at AAC, we headed back to the hotel to have snacks in the lobby. 


The next morning the hotel had a very elaborate spread for breakfast. Then it was off to the AAC one last time. This morning when I got to my seat their was a bag with a picture of a little girl in it from World Vision. I was the only one in my row that had a picture (at least of the people directly next to me). I looked at the little girls picture and promptly set it aside. Still unsure what to do, I went along with the day. Today we heard from Patsy Clairmont again. Heard Sandi Patti sing and speak. Brenda Warner speak again - rather finish her story from last night. Another drama. Amy Grant was our singing entertainment for the day and she too, has an amazing voice. She is just a little dry in her sense of humor and speaks so quietly. After Amy Grant, we heard from Marilyn Meberg. She is a fascinating woman as well. But after the quiet voice of Amy Grant and the more mono tone voice of Marilyn Meberg... I was ready for a nap. At some point in the afternoon, I decided to check out this bag with the little girls picture. I took out the paper with her picture and information and began to read. Her name is Zeinebuo and she is 8 years old. She loves math and to dance. When I read those two pieces of information, I knew this little girl was going to be ours! Well, ours in the sense that I had to sponsor a little girl that encompassed both of my own girls! I texted Peter and gave him her information as well as her picture. With Peter's blessing, I filled out the form so, we could be her sponsor. When I handed the payment information to the lady at the World Vision table, I felt God had his hand in choosing Buo (her new nickname)for us! I can't wait to get her first letter and send her ours! Thank you God, for putting Buo on my seat! 

This is Buo. Isn't she beautiful?

The day was coming to a close and I was on cloud 9. 


We took a group photo and then headed off back toward Aubrey.

I actually had Sarah drop me off at Buffalo Wild Wings to meet Peter and MeL & Dave to watch the UFC fights. 


So, after telling you all that happened during the conference, I come to the 'A New Beginning...' part of my post. I have come to the realization that my life has been all about me and not about Jesus. I am tired of feeling as if something is missing! I pray for people, myself, needs, and whatever else but feel like I am missing something as I do. The realization here is that I am crying out to God but not as loud as He is crying out to me! I have to make an effort to come before God, read His word, and most of all... live my life FOR Him not for myself. I looked in my Bible for advice and discovered several verses concerning Discovering God's Will. My goal is to read these verses daily and really let them sink in. So far, I have been doing well with my goal and the exciting thing is that I feel calmer. When I start to feel agitated, I just tell myself to calm down and I refer back to those verses. I know that Jesus wouldn't get mad over silly things like I do. 


Thank you Lord for opening my eyes to see that this life is so not about me but ALL ABOUT YOU!

Summer Vacation to AZ

The girls both wanted to go back to AZ to visit friends and family this summer so we scheduled their plane tickets and began to figure out where they would stay, for how long, how they would get from place to place, etc... Peter would be working a few days in AZ when the girls would be there but those plans went a little haywire! Installs/Trainings were moved all around and ended up making his 3 or 4 day work trip to AZ a 10 day trip! At that point we decided to make it a Chave vacation with all 4 of us! Peter would be flying in from Colorado and meeting the girls and I at our gate on Wednesday, July 13th. I was scheduled to leave that following Monday and everyone else was scheduled to leave on the 23rd.

So here is how our trip went...

DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY
The girls and I got up bright and early to make our 7:15am flight. Thank you to my father-in-law for taking us. We get to the airport, proceed to the Southwest counter to check our bags. We are 2nd in line but step aside to fill out ID tags for our bags. When I look up to get back in line, the line is now about 25 or so people deep and everyone is moving at a snails pace. WTH? We finally get up to the counter and get our bags checked! Then it's time to tackle security. We get in line and wait our turn. Once we get thru the security check we now stand in line for the other part of security. This is going so well. The TSA workers are moving extremely slow, they are training new employees (which is perfectly necessary but, when they are going that slow the lines begin to get long and travelers begin to get impatient!), and then everything comes to a halt! Not quite sure why they stopped everything but it was kind of creepy. You could hear a pin drop! Things finally get going again and we get through security and head to our gate. Phew! Our plane arrives and we take off without any issues.

You would never know it's only 7:15am! =-]

We arrive in Phoenix after a stop in El Paso. We get off the plane and there is Peter! Woot Woot! I dislike being away from him for even a minute. We head to baggage claim and gather up all our luggage. Three girls flying = a lot of luggage! Then we head outside to meet Mary Jo. We drop her off at her house and head off to run some errands since we can't check in to our hotel yet. We go to Bookman's, Peter Piper Pizza for lunch (not as good as I remember), my parents, and then to our hotel. We settle in and then Chloe and I head down to the pool.

Lyndsy is waiting to meet up with Ashley M to go to youth and spend the night. Dinner later at Red Robin, quick stop at WalMart to get drinks and snacks to fill our mini fridge, and then sleepy time!

DAY 2 - THURSDAY
Peter heads off to work and Chloe and I get up and head down to breakfast. After breakfast we had the hotel shuttle to take us over to San Tan Village to wander around. Ok... I must state this now! Arizona is miserable HOT! Ok, back to day 2. We wanted to see Chris G so I texted him to see if he was working today. He said not until 1pm so we wandered around til then.  It was so much fun seeing the look on his face when Chloe ran up to him and hugged him! No picture as my hands were full. Sorry. We chatted with Chris for a bit in the store, saw Shirley B there too, and then walked over to WalMart to buy some jeans for Peter. I think we were crazy! Need I remind you (better yet, myself) that it is miserable HOT here? By this time, Peter was done working so he picked Lyndsy up from Ashley's and we met them at NYPD Pizza for lunch (more walking in this heat!). We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. The jeans I bought for Peter didn't fit so we headed back to WalMart to exchange them and then he dropped the girls and I off at Old Navy. He had to work this night so we were left to wander around in the heat - again. Lyndsy wanted to see Chris so, we walked over to the mall again, saw Chris for a few minutes, went to exchange some shoes for Lyndsy and then met Chris again when he got off work. We went over to Chris & Ashley's house to hang out and play games. They introduced us to Catch Phrase (way fun!) and then we played Catan. Finally, Chris drove us back to our hotel. Peter finally got back and that ends day 2.

DAY 3 - FRIDAY
Peter heads off to work and the girls and I sleep in. We head down to breakfast and then get ready to meet my sister and mom for some fun. Once they both arrive, we did a quick photo shoot. See below for a peek.

 This was photo #1... this set the tone for the rest of the shoot

 Big sis and the girls

 My mama

 Big sis, mama, and the girls

 fishy faces

 Nana & her grand kids

Aunt Shelly & her nieces

Between my sister and Lyndsy, they made this session a little difficult. I kept getting my sister with her eyes closed and Lyndsy kept making funny faces. Ugh! =-p After pictures we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and then to get manicures and pedicures. My mom ended up dropping us off cuz she was having stomach issues. The rest of us girls got much needed pampering! After our pampering we went back to the hotel so the girls could get their stuff. They left with my sister to spend the night and I chilled until Peter got back. Dinner was Carraba's. That was the end of day 3.

DAY 4 - SATURDAY

Peter went off to work yet again (He didn't have one day off the whole 10 days) and I slept in again. I did a whole lot of nothing today. I watched a couple episodes of Deadliest Catch, looked for a job online, showered and made myself presentable. When Peter was done working for the day we went to see Larry Crowne (pretty good movie - not exactly what I thought it would be, but pretty good). We headed to Scottsdale to get the girls from my sister. As we waited, we ate Chipotle for a late dinner. Back to the hotel for showers and bed! This ends day 4.

DAY 5 - SUNDAY

Another day of Peter heading off to work and the girls and I sleeping in (my sleeping in was really making up for the restless nights I have been having). We went down for breakfast - again - then back up to our room to get dressed and ready for the day. The girls wanted to go to the movies so we went to see Monte Carlo. Pretty cute movie. Thought it was going to be a lot like the Lizzie McGuire movie but it wasn't. After the movie we had the hotel shuttle pick us up and take us back to the hotel. Chloe was spending the night at her friend Darien's house tonight so she got all her stuff together and Darien's mom picked her up. Lyndsy and I waited for Peter to get back and then we went to Famous Dave's for dinner. This ends day 5. 

DAY 6 - MONDAY

I bet you can't guess how this day starts out? =-p That's it... just like the others. Lyndsy and I took the hotel shuttle back to the mall to go see Harry Potter 2. LOVED this movie just as much as the others! I am so sad that they are all done! When we came out of the movie there was a dust storm coming so we hung out in Charming Charlie until Peter came to get us. Found some really cute pink sandals! On our way to dinner, a dust storm was hovering over the valley. We decided to name it 'Haboobie - the wife of Haboob'. Dinner tonight was The Old Spaghetti Factory at Chandler Mall. Pretty good but not as good as I remember. Back to the hotel and this ends day 6.

DAY 7 - TUESDAY
Peter = work. The girls and I = sleep in. Today was another day back at San Tan mall for window shopping and to finally check out a store that we have passed numerous times that had 50% off sale signs all over. We walked from store to store keeping cool in their air conditioning and finally made it to Romy - the store with the sale signs. Everything in the store was 50% off and I purchased a dress and 2 tank tops. I also bought those really cute pink sandals from Charming Charlie. After we were shopped out and exhausted from the heat, we had the hotel shuttle pick us up and take us to Filiberto's to get lunch (there isn't one here in TX or anything like it) then back to the hotel. Then we all chilled until Peter got back. Dinner tonight was BJ's Brewhouse and I was extremely sad to find out that my favorite meal (their meatloaf is was delicious) is no longer on the menu. They do however still have my favorite beverage - Jerry Burst Cider! And this was the night we were celebrating my birthday as a family. =-[ Oh well, I was with my family and that's all that matters! Back to the hotel and this ends day 7.

DAY 8 - WEDNESDAY
Peter dropped the girls and I off at my mom's work so I could borrow her car today. Lyndsy got a sports physical. She is officially taller than I am! YUCK! The girls and I went to a place called Jump Street (they have a bunch of trampolines to jump on) and bounced around for an hour. (I was exhausted after 5 minutes - forgot how much energy it takes to jump on a trampoline). Here are a few pictures.

After the exhausting hour, we went to lunch at Chipotle, then headed to my parents to do a couple loads of laundry. We were waiting to hear back from Mrs. Bolton to see if she was still at school and being the impatient person I am, I decided to call the school. She was still there so, we hopped in the car and drove out to Copper Basin. We were walking down the 6th grade hallway and I saw Mr. Sutterby and was saying hi to him when Mrs. Bolton comes running out of her classroom saying, "I recognize that voice". We hung out with Mrs. Bolton for a while, saw Mrs. Theisen and Mr. Fehr. Oh, I forgot to mention that Chloe received a text from her good friend Morgan (who moved to Michigan) that said they will be here on August 4th and want Chloe to stay with them. We got back to my parents house grabbed our laundry and headed back to my mom's work where chocolate cake was waiting for us. Thank you Shae! Peter picked the girls and I up from my mom's work then we headed to McDonald's for a quick bite to eat. Back to the hotel for showers and bed. Have to get up early tomorrow. End of day 8.

DAY 9 - THURSDAY
Peter dropped Chloe and I off at the dentists office. Yep, we went to the dentist while we were here too (at least Chloe did)! She had 2 loose teeth that we just couldn't pull out and their dentist (Gilbert Pediatric Dentistry - Dr James Johnson - if anyone needs an AWESOME pediatric dentist) said if we ever needed teeth pulled to come on in. They tell me she is ready and that they pulled her last 3 baby teeth. Did you catch that? The LAST 3 baby teeth! My baby girl has all her adult teeth!

 The little treasure chest they gave her filled with her last 3 baby teeth!

Perspective on just how little the 'little' treasure chest is.

After her appointment we called the hotel shuttle to come pick us up. We got back to the hotel, got Lyndsy and went down for breakfast. After breakfast the girls left to go spend the day and night with my parents. They took them to Brunswick XL for some bumper cars, bowling, and games. Here are a few pictures from their fun. (disclaimer... I did not take any of these pictures).

 Lyndsy tearing up the lanes

 Chloe's turn

 My dad  WAY too serious to be going on the bumper cars!

 Now that's better! He is chasing Chloe's blur =-]

 Of course my dad would find a game that has a gun

Prize time!

Once the girls left and Peter got back from doing his work, we met up with my sister to pick up Lyndsy's iPod cable that she forgot at her house. We picked Shelly up and went to Mr. Goodcents. Yum! After lunch we went back to our hotel and hung out. Later, Peter and I went to Gordon Biersch for a yummy dinner! Then we stopped off at Charming Charlie to pick up some sandals for Chloe. Back to the hotel and this ends day 9.

DAY 10 - FRIDAY

Peter was going to drop me off at my parents on his way to working but I didn't sleep very well and decided to sleep in. I got up and asked my mom to pick me up at the hotel and take me back to her house. She picked me up along with my final loads of laundry and set off to Target then her house. Started laundry, woke the girls up - well they were already up, and hung out. Peter said he would be done fairly early so, he came to pick us up and since we weren't able to meet up with Mrs. Bolton for lunch we headed to Port-a-Subs. Back at the hotel we packed up our stuff for our departure the next day. Mrs. Bolton called and said she was able to meet for dinner so the girls and I headed to YC's to meet her. By now we had decided to allow Chloe to stay until August 10th so, I confirmed with Mrs. Bolton that Chloe could stay with her until The Merlino's arrived. Of course, she was more than willing to let Chloe stay with her. =-] We had a great time at dinner with Mrs. Bolton. After dinner we went back to the hotel to get the girls stuff together since they were spending the night at Tandra's house. Once Tammy, Tandra's mom, picked the girls up Peter and I met up with Jim and Heather for drinks and dinner (well dinner for everyone but me - I had dessert). Always nice to hang out with dear old friends. Back to the hotel to end day 10.

DAY 11 - SATURDAY

Today Peter and I slept in! Woot Woot! No work for Peter today! We leisurely got up, finished packing, and ready to leave. We checked and rechecked that we had everything we brought then packed up the car and went to Einstein Bagels. We had to make a quick stop at WalMart to get socks for Chloe before picking Lyndsy up to head to the airport. We got to Tandra's house and let the girls eat their lunch then said our goodbyes to Chloe. So sad to leave her in AZ but I know that she will be in good hands and have a blast! We got to the airport, checked our bags, got through security, and made it to our gate. I went to the bathroom and when I came back Peter was in line at the counter. He had received a text that our flight from El Paso to Dallas was cancelled. WTH? Thank goodness my husband is on top of things and was the first in line. The ladies at the gate worked their magic and got everyone on another flight in El Paso. We got on the plane and sat for what seemed like forever! It was miserable hot and they told us that there was too much weight on the plane and with the heat they would have to take some cargo off before we could take off. Finally, we got off the ground and heading towards El Paso. 

Yeah, we are on the plane heading back to TX!

 Peter waiting to board the plane in El Paso. (and some grumpy woman in the background)

Once in El Paso we had to switch planes. Lyndsy and I shared some pasta before we made our final leg of our trip home. We finally made it to Dallas, got our luggage and met our brother-in-law at the curb. We got back to the house, said hello to the doggies, unpacked, showered, and crashed! And that ends day 11.

There you have it! The Chave Arizona Vacation 2011!

Good Friend, Good Food, and Fireworks

Yesterday was Independence Day and a lot of fun! I made scalloped potatoes, macaroni salad, and burgers to take over to MeL & Dave's. They were so gracious in asking us over to BBQ! (Not really... I asked if they minded if we came over to BBQ and being the awesome friends they of course, said yes!) It is always great to hang out with The Dishman's! I am SO very thankful that they moved so close to us!

Our BBQ consisted of munching on tortilla chips and dips, eating DELICIOUS grilled onions, burgers on the grill, macaroni salad, and scalloped potatoes. Oh I almost forgot... our dessert was a very sweet giant cookie from Sam's Club. I have been asking for one for years for my b-day and since Peter will be gone for my b-day this year (insert sad face here) he got one for me early. 

After filling our bellies with such yummy food, we sat on the couch and chilled. Well, sort of chilled. Lyndsy was in rare form and was tormenting Chloe and I (I was dishing it back of course). I think we made their dogs a little nervous. Oops. Sorry Shelby and Shadow!

On our way home we stopped off to pick up some fireworks. We got the 'Kids Pack' complete with sparklers, poppers, grenades, smoke bombs, and more. We dropped off all the leftover food and headed off to Barbara's house. 

Here are some pictures of what we did...

 sparklers...

 fire and sparklers...

 sparklers...

  yep! more sparklers...

 and even more sparklers...

 not sure what happened here

 tank... didn't work so well on dirt

chicken thing... 

Barbara's neighbor was setting off bigger and better fireworks so we took the rest of our 'Kid Pack' and hung out with them for a while. The girls and I set off bottle rockets and I guess after Peter and I left, Lyndsy was lighting off the bigger and better fireworks herself. Good thing Barbara's neighbor is a fireman!

Thank you to everyone for a great 1st July 4th in Texas!

Summer

Well, summer is here and we have been busy! Our church held Beach Blast, which was VBS, and man was it a BLAST! We celebrated Peter's birthday last Thursday, Lyndsy has attended an overnight volleyball camp at UNT, and now the girls are spending the week in Glorietta, NM at church camp. Peter and I are also traveling this week. We are currently in Lincoln, Nebraska. Tomorrow we fly to Arizona for an overnight-er and then home on Thursday night. The girls will be back Saturday night and I am so excited to hear all about how camp went. Ya see, this is really tough for me (Peter too). We haven't gone a whole week without any communication with the girls. We know that they made it to camp safely and cell phones are no longer allowed.

Next week Lyndsy goes to Texas A&M for another volleyball camp... this time for 3 days! Looking forward to the long drive out there. =-] Peter is traveling again (for what seems like forever) to Denver and then Arizona again. The girls leave for a 10 day trip to Arizona on the 13th and unless I am employed by then I will be going with them for a few days and we will meet Peter at the airport. We are finalizing all of the details for the girls trip (who they will stay with, for how long, who will drive them around, etc) and will let everyone know as soon as it's done.

Once the girls are back from Arizona, I think our schedule is back to normal.

Well, that is all I have for now.

Photo Shoot & Easter

Last Sunday our church (COC Metro) had an Easter Egg Drop and Picnic after church. They were going to drop 25,000 easter eggs from a helicopter for kids of all ages to gather. Camera in hand I was able to get some pretty cool shots of the eggs falling from the sky, hitting the ground, and kids scurrying about. 

Some eggs were already on the ground as they couldn't fit 25k eggs in the helicopter

The helicopter getting ready to drop the eggs

Eggs falling from the sky

Yes these are eggs!

And the race to see who can get the most is on...

I sent several pics from this day to the church and I soon had an email in my inbox asking if I would be a 2nd photographer for Mother's Day. That made my day! So if you are in the area of North Dallas on Mother's Day, stop by COC Metro and get your mother's day photo.

This past Saturday I took pictures of the girls and my niece and nephew. The day was calling for thunderstorms and just yuck weather so I was a little nervous. But the weather cooperated and we got some great pictures. See for yourself.

Levi and Lyndsy... I think this could be a print ad for a magazine selling buckles or something

Winning buckles

Chloe and Karlee

Boots

What we call "The Album Cover"

Another "album cover"

Karlee

Lyndsy

Chloe

Levi

A big thank you to all the kids for letting me photograph them!

Yesterday was Easter and well... it was AWESOME! We went to church at 11:00, MeL and Dave met us there. The whole service was amazing! Great worship, great message - Jesus gave the best Encore!, and baptisms! After church we met up with Barbara and the kids and headed off to spend the day at Six Flags. We had a lot of fun (at least I did)! The older kids paired up (thanks Alex for coming along), Barbara and Karlee wandered about, and The Dishmans, Peter, & I did as many roller coasters as we could. The Texas Giant just reopened on Friday so we were really wanting to ride that one. We rode Batman, Tony Hawk (not it's real name but that is what I call it), Texas Giant, Batman again, and Texas Giant again. The Texas Giant lives up to it's name! While waiting in line (about 30-45 min - better than at least 2 hours the day before!) we got to see just how tall and how steep the first drop is. I was quite nervous for the first drop! Once we got behind the gates and were next in line, the adrenaline was pumping and I was ready to go! The climb to the top was fun and then.... well let's just say I was glad the lap bar was very secure! The first drop was freakin' scary! The rest of the ride was so much fun! I screamed and laughed and screamed some more. When it was over, I was ready to go again! We took Chloe and Levi on it right before the park closed. It was our turn to get on. The car that we were going to be getting on stopped short and created some kind of malfunction. They had maintenance come and after running all three cars through once, we got on! I was with Levi, Peter and Chloe behind us, and MeL and Dave behind them. The second time was just as awesome as the first! 

After leaving the park we headed towards home to get some dinner. The weather was pretty bad in Denton and Aubrey with thunderstorms, rain, and a tornado watch! As we were driving the sky to our left was pretty black and I was getting a little nervous. Those clouds are all too familiar! We made it to Olive Garden just in time for a big rain storm and to quench Dave's thirst. We ate and then went home. 

It was a great Easter!

380 Photography... COMING SOON

Well it's official; I have decided to name my new photography business 380 Photography!I am mainly going to focus on taking pictures and selling those pictures to anyone who wants a print. I will also take pictures for people of their kids, animals (preferably ones that cooperate), buildings, etc... I haven't worked out all of the details but will soon. I haven't registered the domain yet or worked on a website but I HAVE taken more pictures to add to it once it is up and running!

This past Wednesday and Thursday, I traveled with Peter to Denver. We went to two pretty small towns (Timnath and Calhan). I didn't take any pictures of Timnath (since we were only there for about 20 minutes or so) but I did take some in Calhan. When in small towns, there is typically not a lot around. Mainly houses and old buildings. Well, I don't feel comfortable photographing someone's house without their approval so, old buildings is typically what I will go for. Plus, they have so much character and personality to them... how can you not be drawn to them? Anyway, I believe that I took some of my best yet!  I will start with my absolute favorite!

Old Building... I just LOVE this picture! I love everything about it!

Huge Bicycle

Close-up of the foot pedal of the bike

Not quite sure what this is... just thought it looked cool

Driving along trying to find something to photograph and this is what I found. The sun was peaking thru the clouds... can't really tell here though

A very large rooster sitting on a pole... I like this angle better than the entire thing

Water Tower

 Old building again... just different edit

Same building just different side 

Same building... opposite side and different angle

 This is another favorite... To me it looks like a painting

 

Well, there you have it! Some pretty cool pictures (at least I think so) that I am pretty proud to share!

 

UPCOMING: I am super excited to take picture of the girls and possibly my niece and nephew the day before Easter. I have so many ideas in my head that I had to write them down so I don't forget! Some involve boots, a bench, a tree, and blue-bonnets. Did I say that I am super excited? Oh, I guess that I did! =-p

Well, that is all I have for now! Stay tuned...