To the Mountains We Go

Matt and I decided on Sunday that we would enjoy the Lord's day by spending time in His creation. So we went to our favorite place, Pisgah National Forest of course. The sky was probably the bluest it's been all year. Unfortunately because of the drought, the leaves are not much to look at. The yellows all have a brown pigment in them, but you get the idea. So with this first shot of looking glass from the park way, I was very disappointed only because just 2 minutes before the Sun was shinning on the valley and on the red leaves in the foreground and it was on fire! It was beautiful. Since I didn't get there in time (b/c we had to turn the car around) I will always feel this shot will not live up to what was there just moments before. I'll have to wait another year for this shot. The leaves will be gone next weekend to try for it. :( I guess this is in a way one of the things I love so much about photography. It's the story behind catching the shot that makes it mean so much.



matt and I have decided to call this shot our Family Portrait. I think it's quite fitting and unique.



Isn't our darling Kenah Bear regal!

Meet Chef Matt

Typically I'm not one to take pictures of food. I personally hate going to restaurants where they have pictures of food on the menu. GROSS! Anyway, those of you that have eaten with Matt or spent significant time with him have picked up on the fact that he loves food and I don't mean just any food. The man has a sophisticated pallet and is not afraid to talk about it. This is of course intimidating to me so he mostly does the cooking. Don't get me wrong, he's not one of those husbands that turns their nose up. I just know he'd rather have it his way and that is fine by me. Ok, where I'm going with this is that I came home from church tonight (Matt couldn't go b/c he had to work late) and he was just sitting down to dinner. I figured he'd cook something for himself since I ate at church and when I got in the kitchen I saw this lovely plate of food he had prepared for himself. I thought it was the funniest, cutest thing. I really thought he only did the whole preparation thing for me when I was there. I guess not. Look at how the cherry tomatoes and the basil leaves make a berry/flower display and are placed on top of the couscous inside the bell pepper. Needless to say I immediately grabbed the camera once I realized I was staring at a master piece and of course the fact that it was just dang funny. So here's the shot I took to enjoy. Now you should all come visit and have some of Chef Matt's cooking. :)

Charles/Anders Wedding 08.24.07

This past weekend I had a wedding on Friday night, which I especially like. Friday weddings are so romantic to me for some reason. This wedding in particular was very sweet. It was a very small wedding of about 15 guests and that made it so itimate and special to everyone there. The bride is of course stunning. Everyone was fun to work with and as you can see the camera loved them all. Thanks Jennifer and Jonathan for sharing your special day with me. I had a blast.

Golden Bear

Today, I had a few moments after work to throw the ball with kenah and here are the results...



Her favorite toy...

Many things I could say here so if you've ever met or live with my dog then you know what I mean. :)


I hate 4th of July. God bless our country, but Kenah is scared of fireworks and this was the damage she did on our new house. :(


A classic Kenah moment when she really wants to go inside with you. LOL I love it!

Ok, I explain in the post after this one what these shots are all about. I just didn't have room. I know you all just couldn't wait to see shots of me! Just kidding! Matt really liked these and wanted me to post them. He's such a sweety. I can't imagine anything more great than your husband letting you know how beautiful he thinks you are. God has truly blessed me with him. :)

Beach Trip

Back in July I went to Sunset Beach NC with Abby (sister in-law) and Laurie (mother in-law) and we stayed at a really awesome big house one block from the beach. The best part was of course the outdoor shower I got to use. It was of course closed in for privacy. :)

Anyway, we really didn't do much, but lay around. So usually I'm the one taking pictures, but Matt's cousin, Sarah (who is also into photography), thought it would be fun to have some shots for Matt. Matt really liked them and wanted me to post them. I feel kind of vain posting them, but he liked them so much I figured, why not. I did get some cute shots of Parker. She's 7 and it was so funny watching Sarah tell her not be so sassy in the pictures. So I guess 7 is when little girls start realizing what they got! Oh, how scary for moms.

Finally, I got up early for a sunrise! I've posted some of the results. I'm not real impressed because I know exactly what is wrong with these shots, but anyway it was fun. I'm trying new stuff in photoshop and this was basically my first go at Bracketting. Hope you like...

Another Work Day Quote

Due to recent events at work, a quote that my old boss (whom I adore) used to say to me came to mind. Whenever things would change at work he would say...

"Well, we need to rearrange the deck furniture on this titanic"

Anyone in a sales position for a big corporation can appreciate this. :)

Cecil is No More

Ladies and Gentlemen Cecil has finally stepped out of this world and into the next. I always thought her passing would be different than it actually was (I'll explain in a moment), but nonetheless she passed. She served me through the ladder part of high school and I believe her best years were in college. So many people enjoyed her company and great gas milage to many concerts and beach trips. Kenah also had many long rides in the back seat to Columbia. You know, she never left me stranded and was always dependable. My dad has been driving her the last four years and I'm so impressed that she made it this far, but alas she is gone and she definitely went out with a bang (almost literally)

So the story goes that my dad go up last Wednesday morning and notice a smoke smell in the air. He goes outside to find one of the garages on fire and Cecil in flames! Apparently, lightening had struck the garage the day before during a storm and we didn't know it. Fire had gained momentum all during the night and by the morning it had consumed Cecil and the garage to the unsalvagable point. :( Anyway, I'm glad my dad is ok and the house wasn't caught in the fire as well. He did loose a lot of memories in the garage so that is very sad. Needless to say, Cecil is gone and I honestly didn't think this would be her demise, but it does make for a good story. My she RIP.

Unpacking Can Be Fun

So yeah there are ways to make unpacking your stuff in a new house fun. I totally got lost in picture world tonight and since Laura's recent visit I had her in mind for most of these. First of all, ladies please take notice of the four of us at Brooke's going away to Africa party! We are so tan and YOUNG?! Jackie is the only one missing in the shot. :( I'll show love to her with another post though. Of course for the next two pics we have Kenah and I at Looking Glass. I miss my curls so much. Also I had to post this one of Kenah since Laura informed me that she is actually eight. :( I still have not gotten over this. I take her face in my hands and tell her how much I love her every night. Imgine when we have kids. Finally, I've got this last pic that Laura was asking about on her visit. She mentioned the day we bought boiled peanuts and how funny it was that we caught a shot of these two beautiful feamullets (I believe they are both female). Anyway, you get the idea. I honestly can't believe I found this shot and I wish you all could have seen the glee and excitment in my face at that moment. I almost called Allison to tell her! LOL Ok, will post again soon.

Favorite Business Quote

So, for all my peeps out there who have jobs that deal with the general public or have client based interaction...here is my favorite quote I recently discovered that goes out to you. This was supplied to me by a co-worker today.

"I never had an appointment where I wanted the other person to show up."
-George Costanza

Clemson Down Hill Racing

A couple of weeks ago Matt had a downhill race in Clemson. It's so funny to see what a big kid my husband is once he gets on, near, or around a bicycle. Allison and Chad joined in the festivities. It was so nice to have them there and it meant so much to Matt, I know.

Going to these races really gets me in the mood to ride my own bike. So, the next day we went back out to the course and I thought "oh I'll just roll over these technical areas". Boy was I wrong, I don't know how they do it. One of the drops was like 25 ft and that wall ride you see here was really intense. We saw one guy crash here in the picture where you see Matt jumping a gap and Allison, Chad, and I all thought he was dead. I thought to myself...well now I've witnessed my first fatality, but he just popped right back up and was on his bike again and going on down the path in now time at all. They wear so much armor and padding that it's actually pretty safe and way less injuries than you see in road biking believe it or not. So anyway, I thought you all might like another race story to log. :)

Our New Home

We hope everyone will come visit soon. We close May 31st! It's in Pelham Falls and the neighborhood has 2 pools, walking trail, swim team, river for tubing, and much more. Lots of young families live here and it's a great place to raise children and in a great school district also.

Anyway, just wanted to share and let everyone know since it's been so long since we've posted. We've been so busy and trying to get everything in order for the move.

Love you all, Matt and Olive

John Rock

All you Mountain Lovers out there will enjoy this!! This past Sunday Matt and I decided on a whim to go up to the mountains after church. It was so much fun and Kenah thoroughly enjoyed herself of course. It was in the 30s and I know this is nothing to Laura, but for us this is pretty cold. The wind was crazy and that made it even colder. The hike was only about an hour long and we got to the top at about 5pm or so. When we got to the top the wind was so fierce. I was so scared to walk out onto the rock. For those of you who have done Looking Glass it's kinda like that on top. I couldn't even stand up because of the wind and not to mention that ice had frozen all over the rock. I did manage to get myself out there enough to snap this shot of Looking Glass from a distance. I love it and I need you guys to tell me if you like the b&w better or the color. And of course here is one of my darling Kenah who was so terrified of the wind and looked so pitiful being so wind-blown. It was hilarious! LOL

Our House is For Sale!

Yep that's right! We're trying to move. Eventhough we love our little house we feel it's time to move across town to be closer to friends and family. So if you guys know of anyone who wants a really cute house let me know!

Mom's Paintings

My mom painted these two water colors when I was about 5 or so. Some of my earliest memories are of her sitting in the living room with all her art supplies spread about and just painting away. JM and I have been encouraging her to pick up a brush again so I can put more up in the house. I had these two framed recently that she gave to me about a year ago. They look so great in our bedroom. Anyway, I wanted to share with everyone just how talented Vonda really is! :)