Today's Random Pic...

We started seeing oil wells from the plane.....






.

Today's Random Pic....

Along the 'trail of tears' - modern day Oklahoma

.

A few more pics of the fam before we leave OKC...

One of the many treats of this trip has been being able to hang out/learn from my cousin Jason... a real photographer!





At the botanical gardens with Pris and Amber...





Ollie




.

More cute kids pics...

As promised.... what you come here for...

more pics of cute kids!

more to come....

.

From the fair...

Being out here has really been fun. We have done so many things that there really is no way to share them all. Over the weekend Dee went with her aunt for a few days, and I stayed with my family here in the city. Saturday night we went to the Oklahoma State Fair. Ok..... I know that this might be hard to believe... I don't think that I have ever been to a state fair before. It was a blast! I didn't ride any rides.... I did eat a few strange things... but best of all it was great to pal around with a couple of other photographers. Ron (my brother in law), Jason (Ron's son), and I ran around like a bunch of kids taking pictures.... pointing out shots to each other... and occasionally stopping to eat something fried. Here are a few of my pics...



















.

More pics from the fair....

"The moment of discovery" - Ron (on the left) showing a few of his pics to the rest of the family. I think that my favorite part is the fact that Jason is in the background already framing up a new shot.




.

OOOOOOOOOOOklahoma.........

Yep! We are in Oklahoma! We came out here this week to spend some time with our family. My sister and her family live out here, and Dee has an aunt that lives not too far away from them. Coming out here was one of the first things we decided to do when we started making plans for our time in the states. I am so glad that we did! I have thoroughly enjoyed our time out here!


We started our week off with a trip to the Oklahoma City bombing memorial. There is really no way to describe the feeling of grief.... respect... and peace at the memorial. The site sits in the middle of the downtown area, but is set in such a way that you don't see cars or hear traffic. There is a strange feeling standing there and thinking about what happened on that spring day in 1995.



There are three main sections to the memorial. The first is the reflecting pool and giant black walls. The time: 9:01 and 9:03 are each inscribed on a wall. These times mark the moment before the bomb - a time of innocence, and the time after the explosion - when nothing will be the same.






The second section is a green field where the building stood. There are chairs with the names of the individuals that were killed. Each chair is located in the field in a way so that it marks out where they were when the bomb went off.






The final section is the Survivor Tree. This tree is over 100 years old, and survived the blast despite the fact that the force of the blast ripped most of the branches off of it, glass and debris were embedded in its trunk, and fire from the cars parked beneath it burned it. Most people thought the tree could not survive. Almost a year after the bombing, however, family members, survivors, and rescue workers gathered for a memorial ceremony under the tree that had started to bloom once again.   In that instant the tree became a symbol of what the city had come through.













.

Jesus wept....

Statue outside of the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial...






.

The family that rocks together.....

.

I hate this time of year....

Well... I don't really hate this time of year... I just hate what comes this time of year. I had completely forgotten about the fact that every year (about this time) the Love Bugs come out. Now, for those of you who don't know, a Love Bug is not Hurbie car/Volkswagen! Love Bugs are little black flying bugs that come in hovering swarms all across the deepest parts of the South along the gulf coast. It goes by different cute names (honeymoon fly, telephonebug, kissybug or double-headedbug). It is not, however, a cute bug! They don't bite (thank goodness!), but do love to land on you and crawl around. These little black devils float and drift on breeze of these last summer days all the while copulating with its mate, hence its numerous romantic nicknames. The two bugs attach to each others hind quarters and remain that way for the rest of their lives. Even after the male dies the female holds on to him and continues to drift in the air. It is truly disgusting to see all of the dead bugs gathered at doors/windows and on the fronts of cars. I have tried to get some pictures for you but these were the best that I could get. Enjoy!












.

Today's Random Pics... (from Georgia)

St. Patrick in a church in Georgia









.

While in Atlanta...

I have to say that the best bit about being in Atlanta was getting to see some old friends who are now living there. They were nice enough to put us up for a few nights and it was great to have the time to catch up. Their three energetic boys were a lot of fun to roughhouse with and were willing subjects to photograph. One funny thing - The oldest boy kept asking me to tell him stories about the civil war....... he looks at the site with his dad and now has a new interest in all things related to the War of Northern Aggression - I mean Civil War.

Here are a few pics:
















.

A few more pics from the game...

Braking up a double play...






Meeting at the mound...





Us at the game....





.

Take me out to the ballpark...

We are in Atlanta all this week for some meetings... and I just could not resist the temptation. Dee and I went to another Brave's game. It was a midweek game and so the crowd was small, but we were able to get some of the best tickets in the ballpark.... row 4 next to the dugout! I have never been so close to the action. We could see into the dugout from our seats, and the players threw several of the foul balls/used balls into our section. One ball came so close that I could have caught it. A rather large man that was seated in front of me beat me to the catch by making a dive backwards over the back of his seat and onto his back in our row. He was about twice my size..... and needless to say I didn't get in his way... and I didn't get the ball. The second ball that came our way was a row behind us but nearly hit Dee in the head. Finally, I caught the eye of Brandon Jones (a player for the Braves) and he threw a foul ball he had retrieved right into my glove. Now....... I know that this might not be a really big deal to anyone else...... but I have always wanted to get a game ball - in fact it was on my list of things to do before I die.







.

Today's Random Pic... (Bugs pt.1)

.

Civil War pt. 5 (the last post... I promise!)

.

Civil War pt. 4

The United States Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American History, claiming more lives than The American Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, The War against Switzerland, The War of 1812, and the Vietnam War combined. It is estimated that during its four year term, over 620,000 solders were killed or missing in action, and countless others were left maimed with burns, severed limbs, swamp rot, and many other various ailments.


















.

Civil War pt. 3

I learned something very important about taking pictures at a civil war reenactment. Never wear a Boston Red Sox baseball hat. I was busy snapping pictures like a crazy person when from the viewing stands behind me I heard someone yell, "Shoot the Yankee sympathizer in the Boston cap!". The remark got a good laugh out of the crowd, and a red face from me. Mark that little oversight in my wardrobe up to inexperience....


Now... some more pictures....


The confederate advance









The Yankee calvery




.

The Civil War pt.2

Yankee cannon fire





The rebels return cannon fire





The confederate calvery waiting to attack




.

The civil war...

I have a confession to make....... I am a born and bread Southerner but I have never been to a civil war reenactment. It might come as a shock to many Yankees out there, but despite what the movies say we don't all spend our spare time reenacting the war (thank you - writer of the movie "Sweet Home Alabama").


When we decided that we were going to be back in the states for these six months I started making a list of all the things and places that I wanted to visit and photograph. Some of the things on the list were there for sentimental reasons, but others were there because I have always wanted to see or experience them. A civil war reenactment was at the top of the list. It is just one of those things that I think is truly 'southern' and would be a wonderful thing to photograph. So, when I saw that there was going to be a two day reenactment in north Alabama we made our plans and went to see the excitement. I was not disappointed! I actually went to both days of the two day event, and both days were completely different. One day the Yankees won, and one day the Rebels won. Both days, however, were scorching hot, and I could not help but feel sorry for the men, women, and children wearing the wool clothing out on the battle field.



Here are a few of the first pictures I am going to post. They were taken before and after the battle around the campsites.

















.