Waiting on Landon....

Landon's not here yet! It looks like June 28th is NOT happening since obviously it's June 29th and I'm not jumping up and down screaming, "I'm an aunt!" :) Looks like Landon's original due date was right - July 4th. So it could really be anytime now. If he's not here by the 5th, they are going to induce and my sweet little nephew will be here on our 2nd anniversary. :) We are all waiting on you, sweet little Landon! Your Dallas Cowboy room is all ready for you! Your stars are on the wall... Your clothes are all hung... Your bed is made... We are all just waiting on your arrival... Any day now! :)

the Dog Days of Summer

Remember these guys? Fluffy and Scruffy?

This was Conner and Scooter just a few weeks ago! But since the temperature is reaching 100 degrees day after day, we decided to give them a summer hair cut.

This is our boys now! We had them totally shaved! Aren't they cute?!

I know he looks mad in this picture but Conner really does LOVE his new do! He's so much cooler now!

I love his little spots!

And Scooter is like a different dog! Even his personality has changed. He is so much more playful and puppy like. I truly believe that he feels sooo much better now that all that hair is gone!

My favorite part is his fluffy little puff ball on the end of his tail!

Isn't it precious? A little girly, maybe, but it's still cute!

Happy First Day of Summer!

Weekend Review: Father's Day weekend

Whew! What a packed weekend! My parents came in town Friday night to celebrate Father's Day. I went to dinner with mom, dad, my two brothers, my sister-in-law and my nephew (in utero). I was disappointed that Buie had to work most of the weekend, but he did manage to sneak in some golf time with dad and his two brother-in-laws. It was a little hot to enjoy it thoroughly but they were happy for the memories made! I was only sad that I didn't get a picture of the four of them in their golf gear. While the guys were golfing, the ladies (my mom, me and Nicole, my sister-in-law) went last minute shopping for Landon. He'll be here in ONE WEEK and my mom, being a first time grandmother, needed some baby things for their house in Louisiana for when they come down to visit.

Everyone (except Buie and Amanda and me because I'm taking the pic), hanging out at Craig and Nicole's house.

This is my oldest brother, Chris. I just thought this was a cute pic, and it was the only one he was in all weekend.

Saturday night, we went to dinner and gave dad a few Father's Day presents. I bought him a green golf shirt. He loved it so much he wore it to dinner that night. :)

Sunday morning we all went to church together and ate at Panera Bread. By the way, let me just recommend the new salad they have. I'm not sure the name of it but it has strawberries, mandarin oranges, pecans and poppyseed dressing. So good! After lunch, mom came back to my house and helped me do a little painting in my home office. I started painting it about a month ago and just haven't had a chance to finish it yet. We got another wall done...sigh, but it's not done yet. Hopefully soon though!

All in all, it was a great weekend! I'm blessed to have such a great family! Hope you had a great weekend!

Soon and very soon!

I have mentioned a time or two that I am EXTREMELY excited to be a first time aunt this summer. The due date was July 4th and we were all excited to welcome a little patriotic baby into our family. This will be my parents first grandchild. My brother was secretly hoping for a boy, like most men do, and he found out that he is getting his wish! Nicole, my sister in law, promised him that if they had a boy they could decorate the nursery in a Dallas Cowboys theme. Yes, that's right - I said Dallas Cowboys. lol. We are all big fans! :)

Well, the point of this blog post is simply to say that little Landon is coming early! Nicole went to her check-up and found out that he is ahead of schedule. If he has not made his appearance by June 28th, then they are going to induce on the 28th! Yikes! That's like 2 weeks away! I'm so excited!
This is me and mom-to-be, Nicole, my sister-in-law with baby Landon. This was taken on Mother's Day! I cannot wait to be an aunt and hold baby Landon in my arms!

Vacation (Part 3) -the last one...I promise!

On our last full day in Keystone, we had the day to ourselves. Lisa and Caleb went on a hike, but since I was STILL not used to the elevation changes after four days, we opted for something a little less strenuous - Horse back riding! :) Seriously, though, the elevation was making me do some weird things. All week long, I felt bloated & puffy. I had nosebleeds and this may be WAY too much information but everytime I ate it messed my stomach up. I also had a really bad headache the first two days we were there. I found out later that if you ever go to the mountains, like we did, you are suppossed to allow yourself at least 24 hours in Denver (which is at a lower elevation) to allow your body to adjust slowly to the change in elevation. I guess we'll no better next time!

But the elevation couldn't stop up from our trail ride! Here we are on our horses: Buie's horse's name is Pythagoras or Py for short. He was big and strong just like Buie! :) My horse's name was Lucas and Lucas and I bonded because well, he is a snacker too. Everytime we slowed down enough or passed by a bright green patch of grass, Lucas slowly creeped over to the grass to snack. We weren't supposed to let them snack on the trail ride (not sure why) but just between you and me, I let him have a few bites here and there. Lucas was so obedient (besides the snacking). He went left when I pulled left and stopped when I pulled up. I think he probably could have walked that trail with his eyes closed.

This was apparently Buie's first time EVER to be on a horse! I had a hard time believing him because he was such a natural. He just swung his leg over the top of the horse and he was up, like he had mounted a thousand times!

When we came to our first steep hill, I was like "Oh my!" But our horses handled it like pros. To help them out, our guides told us to lean forward to help shift the weight forward - like Buie is doing here in this picture.

Made it up the first steep incline! Good job baby!

Over the river... No problem!

We managed to hand off the camera (without dropping it) so Buie could get a pic of me on Lucas! We had such a great time on our trail ride!

I think the only time I got even a little bit nervous was when Lucas would walk SO CLOSE to the cliffs. This cliff is not even a big drop off. He would walk right next to the edge of the cliff - SCARY!

I think the funniest part of the whole ride was when Lucas bit Py in the butt and then Py reared back and kicked Lucas in the chest. I told you he was a snacker! hehe. He got a little hungry and thought the bootie looked yummy, I guess.

Here we are at the end of our ride. The whole trail ride was almost 2 hours. It went up the mountains and back down, so there were some pretty steep inclines and declines we had to navigate but it was fun! The coolest part to me was that part of the trail was where the ski lifts were. They weren't in use though when we went. The lifts had just closed down for the season.
Can you see the ski lifts in this pic below?

Read part 1 and part 2 of our vacation.

Vacation (Part 2)

So, in our vacation, part 1, you heard all about the gorgeous golf courses and our amazing spa day. Jealous yet!? Well, there were PLENTY more marvelous golf scenes to capture but don't think that Lisa and I spent ALL of our vacation indoors in a spa. Heck no! As I told you before, the wives, Lisa and I, share a love for photography and the great outdoors. It is no surprise that Colorado is a outdoorsman's (or woman's) paradise, but Colorado is also a photographer's haven! We had so much fun just simply sightseeing and taking in all the beauty that the state had to offer.

Lisa wanted to go down the road to the base of the mountain at Keystone and we were SHOCKED to see that the ski lifts were still open so of course we bought a foot pass and headed on up! Remember we are from Arkansas and Texas so even the fact that there was still snow on the ground was cool to us...but the fact that people were snowboarding and skiing on June 7th was almost beyond belief! The fact that the day we picked to go to the base was the same day it was closing was just luck - it was like a big party! So fun! There were all kinds of people out skiing and snowboarding there that day and of course we took pics of the *really* special ones (like this guy in a Superman costume) On the slopes that day, we saw Batman, Spiderman, Superman, a Hotdog and numerous guys skiing in three piece suits and girls in bikinis.

We weren't exactly prepared for skiing. I was wearing linen pants and flip flops. I mean, after all the weather was a PERFECT 72 degrees! But it didn't matter to us, we hoped right on and started taking pics! It was GORGEOUS!

Another day we went down to a nearby marina and got some great shots:

Stay tuned for shots from our trail ride!

Martha's Favorite

Before I continue expounding on our vacation, I must take a minute to brag on our baby, Conner. A few months ago, I entered Conner in a Pet Photos contest on Martha Stewart's website. It was under the category, 'snow angels.' I picked one of our all-time favorite shots of Conner - it was his first time ever to see snow. I remember him going outside and just sitting and staring at the sky. It was too cute and of course, I snapped a pic!

When I got an email from MarthaStewart.com about their all-time favorite pet picks from the YEAR, you can imagine how THRILLED I was to find that Conner was one of the top 59 in the world! Yup, he was number 11 in their favorite pet picks. They picked their favorite photos from all of the contests in the past and put just their favs in one spot. Go here to see Conner on Martha's website!

Here's the photo they liked so much! :)

Vacation! (Part 1)

We're baaaack! After a MUCH needed vacation, Buie and I are finally home, though NOT quite caught up on sleep yet.
Last Thursday after work, we boarded a plane to Denver International airport and arrived just two hours later - thank you Wright Brothers! We then hopped in our rental car and drove about 2 more hours to Keystone Resort to meet up with another couple who arrived a few hours earlier. Caleb and Lisa shared a condo with us for the long weekend. Caleb is one of Buie's best friends from college and married Lisa about 8 years ago. Buie was happy to find out that Lisa and I have a lot in common and share a love for photography, traveling, design and anything creative! Lisa and I quickly found out that we also share a love of spas! :) Our first full day in Keystone kicked off quickly as the boys headed over to the golf course for 36 holes and the ladies went to a full day of pampering at our very own spa day! Lisa and I kept saying, "The decadence is calling!" (If any of your girls have seen Sex and the City 2, then you understand what I am talking about.) I'm a dork so I actually googled the word "decadence" and it means 'a luxurious self-indulgence.' And that is exactly what it was. We were lavished with a hot stone massage, a fitness facial, manicure and pedicure. This was part of my Christmas present from my WONDERFUL husband! And it was worth every penny! :)

While we were relaxing and enjoying the 'self-indulgence', our boys were enjoying the AMAZING views on the golf courses. And the word AMAZING does not even begin to describe the views. INCREDIBLE. UNBELIEVABLE. MAGNIFICENT. Check out some of my favorite shots...

The courses were so beautiful, the guys said we just HAD to come along with them the next day to take pics. So, of course, who could say no to beautiful mountains, blue skies, a brand new wide angle and getting to hang out with our husbands.

So Lisa and I tagged along the next day in our own cart and had the best time! Of course, not too much fun - we had to remember the golf rules and be quiet when others were teeing off, etc. But for the most part, we were well behaved. ;)