Exciting Last Few Days

 Lately I have managed to win a couple of online contests, one was an actual photo contest and the other a "Like us on Facebook" contest, both contests had photo enlargements as prizes. Well after much debate on which of my 1000's of shots to have enlarged, I decided on these 2. The bird shot was taken in Everglades N.P. and the Leaf was shot at Natural Falls S.P. in Oklahoma. Sheryl and I were quite pleased with how they turned out. Hmmm, now what to do with them???, not much wall space in the motorhome. Probably keep them to display during my photo sales.
The next exciting news was, the folks at Military Living magazine contacted me, requesting to use some of my photos on their website and publications. How cool is that!!! Of course I said yes and was happy as a clam to know a magazine thought they were good enough to use. No monetary compensation was requested and they will be giving me full credit for each photo used, and of course just knowing they will be enjoyed by lots of people works for me!
 

 After a few days of hanging around the house (been to hot to really get out much) I took a little backroads trip around the rural OKC area and ran across this sign. Well of course that instantly got my curiosity up, so I explored a little further.

 Yes indeed, the bridge was definitely out. I'm sure, if you've been following along on our journey, I'm a sucker for old and abandoned places. This bridge turned out to be pretty cool, so I just had to get some shots of it.

 Not even the roads exists anymore.

 I say it been quite a while since it's been used.

That's all the news around here that's fit to print, we'll be heading out towards Northern Arkansas on Aug 7th. Looking forward to some new scenery and fun with our kids who will be meeting us there for a week. Ok, until next time......................................

My First (Real) Wedding Shoot

 Hard to believe it's almost the end of the month already, my how time can fly, especially when your busy. These last couple of weeks have been just that. First off, Sheryl had her pinky toe operated on, to remove a piece of bone that never healed. You see she broke it while we were in Key West (no she wasn't drinking (that day.....lol) and it never healed. Shes doing pretty good now and due to get the stitches out here in a couple of days. Next on the agenda, a friend asked me if I would photograph their Sons wedding for them and I agreed. With the planning, bridle shoot and the wedding itself it all added up to several days and I must say quite the experience, now I know why wedding photographers charge so much.  As much fun as we had doing it, I don't think it's my cup of tea and I'll stick to travel and landscapes, not saying I wouldn't help out a friend or family again.

 The wedding was held at the Oklahoma State Capital Building and what a beautiful venue for a wedding. Surprisingly there is no charge for the use of it and they even provide all the chairs and tables needed for both the wedding and reception held on 2 different floors.
With Sheryl's help in posing everyone while I took the pictures, I believe they turned out pretty good for my first time. Everyone who saw the pictures so far has been very pleased, and of course that makes Sheryl and I happy as well.

 Fleeing the Scene of the Crime

 Wedding Party

 Striking a Pose

 Of course the Voluntary Signing of the License

The Happy Newlyweds

Our time here in OKC is coming closer to an end (finally), we have about to weeks left and we'll be off and running again. We'll need to stay with-in a day of so of here as we need to be back around mid Sep for an appointment. Then off to SW Kansas to celebrate Sheryl and her Twin Sisters birthday at the Family Homestead. After that another wedding in the OKC area and then we'll make our escape and head towards Key West again. Man this retirement gig with wear you out!!!

Ok, that's it for now, there is more, but we'll save that for our next post. Until then.............................

A 4th Birthday Party

 Our little grandson in Dallas turned 4 this month, so of course we had to drive down from OKC to be there. Mom and Dad put on quite the party.

 Naturally there were presents galore.

 The spread was amazing, with fresh fruit and veggies. The star of the however was the smoked brisket, Yum!!!

 With a whole herd of little ones in attendance, a bug hunt in the back yard helped with burning off a little energy. Little plastic bugs were hidden (not to hard) all around the back yard, with each kid getting a bucket and getting to keep all the bugs they could find! What a great idea.

 I think Sheryl's favorite part was being surrounded by grand babies.

 After the party was over, we broke out our gift, a Slip and Slide. The perfect present for a hot summer day. We can say with out a doubt, the kids loved it and had a ball.

Mom and dad even got in on the action, however, us old fogies opted out, nobody wants to see 200 pounds of Kevin hitting the wet ground (just wouldn't be pretty.......lol).
It was a great weekend away from OKC and of course seeing the kids and grand kids.

So that's it for now, take care and we'll see you back here again before long...............................

Family and Fireworks

 The last couple of weeks started out pretty slow and normal, but closer to the 4th of July holiday things really ramped up. It started out with going to the movies, not just any movie, but one of, what seems like, the few Drive In Theaters left in the country. This one happens to be in OKC, who knew??? We went with our daughter, son in law and the grand kiddos. Watched the new Tarzan movie, much better than we expected. It was a double feature, however us old folks and the ones with little ones all decided 2am just wouldn't work and we headed home. Great experience and will be taking in more drive-ins as we come across them in our travels.

 Next we got a surprised call from our daughter in Dallas, asking if they could come up for the 4th weekend, Of Course it was alright!!! It was a nice surprise and we really enjoyed having them here. As usual when we get together with family, I get all caught up in just enjoying the moments, I forget to take any pictures. However I did get a couple of Sheryl showing the Grand Kids how to feed the fish here in our little pond. They thought it was great new experience us and the kiddos won't soon forget.

 While they were here, they wanted to take in a fireworks show, being a big city, we were easily able to find a July 3rd show. This one was unique, as it was put on by the OKC Symphony. The Symphony put on a 90 minute concert with fireworks to follow. It was a great show and both the kids and grand kids loved it. To bad they had to head back home the next day, but it sure was fun having them here.

 July 4th, our daughter here in OKC invited us to go with them for a picnic and fireworks show in north OKC. Hey, why not, never seen two shows on a 4th weekend. We packed up the cars and headed north, leaving early so we could get a good spot. Boy did we get a good spot, backed right up to a grassy area with a front row seats to the fireworks show. Grilled up some burgers, watched the little ones run around and just kicked back and relaxed till the show started. One thing I will say, this had to be the most amazing fireworks show we have ever seen (and we have seen a lot) it's no wonder it rated as one of the top 10 firework shows in the country!!! If you happen to be in or around the OKC area on the 4th, it is well worth stopping by and checking out.
I have never taken any fireworks pictures before and wanted to try my hand at it, so with my gear in tow, I set up and believe I captured some pretty good ones. Here are a few of the many pictures I was able to get. Hope you enjoy.

Thanks for following along and we'll see you back here next time..........................