climbing that mountain

"hey man, think you can climb to the top of that rock there?"

"i'm not sure, but lets see!"

this is how i imagine the first set of rock climbers got their start. crazy- yes. frightening- yes. absolutely amazing- yes.

for me, rock climbing is more that knowing where to put your hands and feet, its overcoming the very practical part of my brain that's saying 'your insane!! please, step off the mountain!' i've never been a daredevil or risk taker (the most i gamble at casinos is $5) but i've always looked at my aunt and uncles climbing pics and thought how amazing that would be.

so there i was, hugging a mountain for dear life while completely harnessed into gear that could hold at least 5x my weight (and in my new snazzy climbing shoes, of course!). although ray kicked my butt at climbing (he even lead a climb for the first time!), i feel a sense of accomplishment, and hopefully, now that i have the most expensive pair of shoes i've ever bought, encouragement to keep 'climbing that mountain..'

here's the climbing pics, later i'll post some nature pics (you already know i love 'em!)

did i mention, crazy?

aunt ml uncle dave

an amazing climbing friend of theirs

cousin mason cousin addie

and me! a little out of focus..but look at that view!

and the result of me climbing

(this is not what it's supposed to look like)

and the two first time lead climbers! (a lead climber is the first one up that mountain who, along that way, sets up the rope for the rest of us to climb of off. it can mean a potentially longer fall, but these two did great!)

photo shooting with the phamily

hello from albuquerque! heres some pics of my cousins, mason (6) and addie (10). dont they make great models!! these are set in their fabulous backyard (there'll be more nature pics later)

today we're packing up and getting ready to head to the mountains!

on the road again

you heard it! on our third out of state trip in 3 months, we are now on I-40 headed west to albuquerque, nm! ray and i are visiting my aunt and uncle and their 2 kids~ a truly amazing family. they are taking us on a camping/climbing trip in the mountains.. i can't wait! this picture is of me climbing in my tomboy days, boy am i glad those are over ;c)

baby nathaniel

here's baby nathaniel! he's jennifer's (yesterday's bride-to-be) nephew. after our engagement shoot, we headed to her sisters house to grab a few pics of this cute kido.

the adorable, loving family

jennifer and nathaniel

such precious features!
we got out his toys and started playing :c)
this was auntie's idea~a father's tender heart
and a mother's sweet love

thanks again to all of ray's editing..this was all him!

oh how i love: love.

okay, so it sounds pretty simple.. i love love. i know its corny, but i am forever grateful for the love that my friends and family have shown me over the years, and now that i have a husband who absolutely adores me, it takes love to a whole new level. the purpose of these pictures is to show the love of a couple who will soon be committing their lives to each other. but the work that went on behind the pics expresses just as much love as the actual prints do. ray, in fulfillment of his word, pulled an allnighter the night before our mission trip to finish editing these pictures of our friends so that they could get them as he had promised. in my love for photography, ray has shown his undying love and support of me, and i just wanted to take this moment to thank him. so thanks ray! you always amaze me :c)

and about the couple.. jen and nick have been dating for years, and on some unknown date next year, will become one. both of them pretty much never stop, so i was excited that we were able to get together for this shoot!

we started at oneok in downtown tulsa (the employer of both of them)

then we moved on to a beautiful downtown church, they were wedding site shopping

during our shoot :c)

oh how i love: love.

God is Good~ at oak grove

on saturday we got to help lifechruch.tv and serveral other okc chruches do an amazing mission in a local section 8 housing district. from landscaping, arts and crafts, haircuts, photography, medical aid, and fellowship.. it was an amazing combination of gifts provided to this community. the sheer number of participants willing to wake up before the sun on a saturday morning was amazing, and leaving the community with an area to be proud of was humbling.

the landscaping was a prime project

the faces of God's children

backlighting a kitten~beautiful!

more faces

our photography philanthropy... see how much they enjoyed it :c)

and the highlight was the huge waterslide!

God is Good

teaser..

okay, so i'm totally getting photoshop hooked with all these cool actions!! here's a teaser of one of my best friends, dre and her soon-to-be hubby, mark! (i say teaser because i'm lovin' a lot of the images and will be blogging a lot more :c)

although our orignal plans of shooting at martin nature park failed (what park closes at 6:00?! this one i guess..), we found a great substitue at the myriad gardens...

aren't they just cute together?

loved the backlighting here!

and of course.. a little goofing off!

on a sidenote.. the sky had the most amazing clouds today (i'm lucky i didn't wreck my car looking at them on my way home from work!) but i was telling everyone about them, and although a picture can not do justice, here's my attempt..