What a week or two I’ve had.. where do I even begin? I headed out West to visit my family as I hadn’t seen them in just over a year. It was my first time to return to the county fair since high school! I had so much fun seeing my brothers and sisters compete and giving them tips on how to impress those judges. I spent an entire week away from my office, my computer, and my car.. exchange for a rental car a new bed or shower nearly every night, my suitcase in the trunk(I pretty much just lived outta my car), and my loyal companion Maggie. :)
Our journey got off to a rough start after my husband graciously dropped us off at the airport for our early morning flight. Maggie wasn’t the biggest fan of the little carry on bag she had to be in but she was a very good sport and didn’t whine hardly at all! We settled onto the plane and as we taxied out for take off I fell asleep. An hour later I woke up- and we were still in Atlanta headed back to the gate for a “mechanical inspection”. **Sigh** Seriously? Back to the gate-20 minutes later and the captain informed us we’d be changing planes. Such is life I suppose so off we went… boarded the second plane and Mags wasn’t sure what to think. They quickly got us onto a runway and into the air and finally we were off! The flight was smooth and Maggie did extremely well (this was her first flight). Landing in Denver we discovered we had to wait for a gate.. so an hour later we finally got off the plane. At this point Mags had been cooped up for nearly 6 hours and needless to say she was over it. I grabbed our luggage, double checked to make sure I still had everything (dog, camera bag, backpack, suitcase… check) and headed out to grab a cab. The cab driver was cool enough to let Maggie be in my lap it wasn’t too long before we were finally making some progress on our journey- it could only get better from here- Right!?
We got the car- found something to eat and headed into Denver to Washington Park to meet a friend I haven’ t seen in years. We went to high school together and she recently moved into town and was free to join us at the park. Maggie loved running around and stretching her legs after being held up in the little carry on bag for soooo long! She quickly discovered the blackbirds were very exciting and tried to chase a couple of those down but wasn’t quite successful. Paddle boats were next- Let’s see the last time I was in a paddle boast was in 1990.. yea it’d been awhile! I paddled with my friend and Mags went for a swim.
We bid goodbye to Tamera and went around the corner to see Andy and Mary. I met these two amazing people while I was living in Manila. It was SO great to catch up with them and see their new little home. Good times! We were all quite tired from our day and and opted to stay in and cook homemade pizza. YUM!
A little envious of Mary’s couch. Just in case you wondered.. that’s the superstar and my most loyal travel companion… Maggie.
Ahh.. nothing like a cool evening under the stars.
The next morning I went back to the Park to meet John and Lisa for an anniversary session. We happened to cross paths in Denver (they live in Northeastern TN) and John wanted to surprise Lisa with a session.. so that’s just what we did!
They are such a sweet couple! They’re more on the quiet side but their love and affection for one another is overflowing. I can’t wait to share their full session with you- they were just sooo much fun and are SO cute together!! SO in love and very happily married.. Happy 1st anniversary to you both- here’s to many, many more years!
Love this!
So sweet…
With no time to spare we wrapped up their session and I hit the road going North to Kimball, Nebraska. I had 6 brothers and sisters competing in the 4-H horse show and I didn’t want to miss their riding events. I’m so glad I was finally able to go out and enjoy seeing them compete. They all did SO well.. and I promise I’ve got more images to share from that day as well ;).
Javonna isn’t quite old enough to compete but she’s pretty attached to Little Beauty.. she was kind enough to share with her big sister that day. ;)
Maggie wasn’t sure what to think of all the new sounds and smells. She was pretty curious about those four legged creatures that were SO much BIGGER than she is!
Everything wrapped up late that night.. after the show we packed up and headed home. Riyatta had taken a spill with her horse earlier in the day and it wasn’t until she got off the horse that she realized just how bad her leg hurt when she tried to walk. She had significant swelling so we decided it’d be best to go get an x-ray (yes it was like 11:30pm MST). Off to the ER we went (it’s only 45 minutes away)… 1:30am we had an answer.. no visible cracks but it was quite possible she cracked the growth plates. Lots of Ice and Elevation and rest was ordered.. and she unwillingly obliged.
2:30AM (4:30 my time) we rolled into the house. Riyatta and I made our beds on the trampoline (I used to sleep under the stars all the time as a kid). The tramp isn’t nearly as comfortable as I remembered and I’m a much lighter sleeper than I realized as well! I was successful in gaining a couple of hours of sleep and it was up and at ‘em for another full day.
Thursday was spent with the family and doing pictures for my sister and her family. She married Casey 4 years ago and they’ve got 3 kids under the age of 3. I had my work cut out for me! How to get 3 kids under 3 to look and smile at you all at the same time? Skill or pure luck??? I think it was a little of both! Was it a success? You’ll have to wait and see. :-D For now I’ll share one of my favorites so far…
After the session we packed up again and headed back to town (another 45 minutes the other direction) for the Gymkhana. Don’t know what a Gymkhana is?? I’ll share more on that in the next post!
1.5 days down and the fun has just begun!
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