Saturday, December 29, 2012

LIGHTS, RIVER, ACTION!

My mom saw just one commercial and she was determined we would go. She loves to take the boys on new and fun adventures and this was no different. We loaded up the cars and headed to Carlsbad, NM for the day. We had dinner then enjoyed the evening on the beautiful, colorful, freezing Pecos River admiring the luxurious homes and their fabulous Christmas lights. It was a fun day and the boys loved it! We were so happy to spend the day together and were even more happy to have both of our parents there with us. The only person missing was David but we'll be sure to drag him on our next adventure!

Please excuse the grain, it was dark and I stupidly forgot my flash :(


















Monday, December 24, 2012

RASCON: FAMILY

Maritza and Erik are such a fun couple to be around and their daughter Sonya is a hoot! I can't wait to meet their new baby when he's done cookin', I'm sure he'll be just as cool :) It was a cold and windy day when we shot these photos but I bet you can't even tell, they're pros like that!















Thursday, December 20, 2012

2ND PLACE AND CACTUS THORNS

A couple of weeks ago my 5 year old nephew, Jordan, had his first dirt bike race. I'm so proud of him. I've never had the guts to enter any races (unless you count that one time in 3rd grade when I thought I was fast and asked to run in the field day race and came in dead last, but we won't count that time). 

Here is Jordan inspecting his beast.
 

And this is where the race was located. I know. It SUCKS!

Lorina and Joshua played games while we waited for the race to start.

 And Lokie was trying to be a tough boy barking at the other dogs.
 

We made a sweet friend while we were there :)

 And right before the race started I was overcome with nervousness. But doesn't Jordan look like a boss in all of his gear?!

The race started. There were four boys racing together and Jordan started off in first place. Until he got to the first turn. Then it was a mess from there. David had to chase him through the entire racing path because Jordan kept crashing and falling off his bike. We couldn't see the entire path because of the way it's all laid out. We watched the boys come through the exit about 2, sometimes 3 times each. But still, no Jordan. And we waited. And we worried as women often do. And then we see Jordan and David coming through the end of the path. And Jordan falls in front of us. I run to him and he seems frustrated. He starts taking off his gloves and they're covered in cactus thorns. I help him take a few of the thorns out. I yell at David to get Jordan's helmet off of him. I look into Jordan's eyes and I see embarrassment. And I start bawling, like a baby. I hate to see him hurt. I notice all the cactus thorns on the side of his little body and I'm angry and sad. Jordan tells us he's done with this race and we go back to the trailer. I help him get his gear off and he pulls out the last few thorns on his own. No tears in sight. I ask him if he had fun and to my surprise he says yes. Then he asks me when he will get his trophy. I couldn't be more proud of this resilient kid.

There was only Jordan and one other kid that were in the 6 year old class so Jordan officially took home 2nd place. It may not be obvious in the photos below but Jordan was so excited and proud of himself. He wore that medal for days after he won it. And boy, did he earn it :)










Monday, December 10, 2012

FRIENDS

They bring out my wild side. They can get even the deepest, darkest secrets out of me. We have so much fun together like we've known each other forever.  My friends MeMe, Melissa, Corey and Robyn are the best. And even though we've all grown up and have our own adult lives to deal with, we can still get together a few times a year like we saw one another just yesterday. I'm thankful for the friendship we formed at Zookini's those years ago. I'm hopeful this friendship will last a lifetime. 

Here we are with Heidi and Stephanie, the original Zoo-crew at the new Zookini's in Lubbock :) Ahh, Memories....


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

MELISSA: MATERNITY

I know I go on and on about Lubbock but it really brought me some great things! A few in particular are my amazing friends whom I still go visit from time to time. A couple of weeks ago I got to hang out with them and while I was there I snapped a few shots of my super cute preggo friend, Melissa. She's due this month and I had to post these before she popped! She's one of those few people who wanted to be pregnant and got pregnant! I think she's crazy but just see how she shines :) Melissa, you are a beautiful mommy-to-be and I'm so happy I was able to see you before this little baby arrives! I hope it's a boy! Or a girl! And definitely not an alien ;) Love you, friend!




Tuesday, November 27, 2012

THANKSGIVING: GIVING THANKS

There is only one month left of the year and how many of my goals from New Years did I accomplish? ZERO! AHHH! So much for being a self-employed photographer by October! Who knew it'd be so much work?! I knew it'd be tough so that's why I'm not going to be so hard on myself! Thankfully, I still have the rest of my life to reach my goals :)

In other news, Thanksgiving is OVER and I'm proud to say we hosted our first Thanksgiving meal at our house and it was a success! My cousin, Sophie helped me prep and cook our yummy turkey. I made a couple of sides and my fab mother-in-law saved the day with several other meal necessities. It was a great day with great family. My super fun sister-from-another-mister, Suzanne and her kids came by and made the meal even better! Suzanne's husband is a firefighter and was on duty Thanksgiving day (BOO!) but we reaped the benefits with her and her crazy kids presence :)
Now, I'm trying to ignore the large left over pecan pie in the fridge and get back to normal sized meals. I'm thankful for the holidays because they give us all a reason to eat and get together!


I tried to get some cute pics of the boys before they left for Mami's but it was impossible, so, I just caught them playing on the swings. Way funner, I think :)

Monday, November 12, 2012

REYES GRANDKIDS

WoW! Talk about energy! These kids were so easy to photograph! They had so much fun and even though it was chilly outside, they still gave me some amazing smiles! I hope you all enjoy the beautiful faces of the Reyes Grandkids :)