Buffalo Stampede

Here are a couple of pictures from this week's cross country meet. The weather was perfect, but the course was tough to follow. In many places, the path was defined by logs laying on the ground. Did I mention that the course was on a horse ranch??? Unfortunately many of the paths were also marked with deposits from the horses. There were nine colleges at this meet. Texas A&M Commerce came in fourth. Maci placed third overall with a time of 20:45. We have a few weeks off before we head to Stillwater, OK.

Memphis Twilight Run

On Saturday night Maci ran in here first official college cross
country meet (actually this was her first cross country meet ever).
It was a 5k in the pouring rain in a path around a soccer complex in
Memphis, TN. Here you see her making the final corner near the finish
line. She placed 72nd out of 184 with a 20:39 time. She was the
first TAMUC runner across the finish line.

Coffee Makers...

So the coffee maker (or the more technically correct term is Super Automatic Expresso Machine) on the left is my most recent purchase. There is such a long story and life-lesson associated with this machine. For those in my Sunday School class, you know it all too well (after three well-intentioned lessons). Being a coffee snob, this was my dream machine (the best part of waking up is NOT Folgers in MY cup). I have been looking at it for over 2 years, just couldn't seem to justify buying such an expensive machine for coffee!

Now, the coffee maker on the right is Sherri's coffee maker. It does exactly as she wants; it makes coffee. $49.99 and she is proud of it! She loves the smell of her Folgers brewing in the morning.

Time will tell if Sherri will ever completely come over to my side of the counter, but for now we have to maintain two coffee makers... If this is our biggest disagreement, I am a fortunate man!

Mecca (for a coffee drinker anyway)...

So this is where it all began... Most of you probably know the story about Starbucks. When I started going to Seattle, I photographed the store many times. After all, I reaaaaalllllly like Starbucks coffee. And I really liked the different coffee cups that you could only get at the original Pikes Place store. Every time there was something about the picture where the mood didn't seem right (too many people, too dark, cars, too modern). Well, last summer we were down in the Pikes Place Market after dark and things were closing down. Most of the cars were gone and for some reason this one car was left in front of Starbucks. Talk about the perfect photo op! Unfortunately, the only camera that I had with me was a small point and shoot camera (one step above a cell phone camera). In case you don't know much about cameras, small point and shoot cameras don't do very well in dark conditions when you don't want to use the flash. The pictures tend to be blurry. Well all of that money that I spent on all of those expensive lenses and cameras didn't help a bit here. They were all at home and here I was with the perfect photo chance. A friend of mine once told me that the best camera in the world is the one that you have with you. This photo proves that. Probably the best photo that I will ever be able to take of this store... No matter how many times that I go to Seattle.

The Man...

Now this is something that I would love to buy and bring home for our backyard... However, I have been married to Sherri long enough to know that this would not be a good idea. There are certain things that you just know that are not worth an argument (unlike a very expensive coffee maker). You can spot these guys at a gift/coffee shop in Childress America along Highway 287, almost right in the middle of town. The coffee shop serves Seattle's Best Coffee. I would consider this some of the best coffee out there, even better than Starbucks... Ok, so back to the picture. There are several of the little guys tied to the posts, just waiting on someone like me (or you) to come along and take them home. I had to settle for the picture. :( Let me know if you travel through Childress America and see them...

Christ Died For Us...

So I took this on one of our trips to New York in 2006.  Not exactly my style of spreading the Good News, but I have to respect a guy like this...  In the middle of Time Square in New York City; one of the busiest places in the world.  How many people are REALLY paying attention to him, his salesmanship or his sign.  Yet, he continues...   Not in a "Bullhorn" kind of way (for the Noomiacs), but in a matter of fact kind of way.  So what is the probability that he will reach someone?  Well if you think about it, probably pretty good!  The chances are slim, but the number of prospects are high.  Plus, what makes ME think that I can actually convince someone to come to know Christ on MY own with MY dynamic ways of sharing the Gospel?  Both of us (he and I) are on a level playing field.  We both need God!  Without His prompting or plan, nothing happens on the other end...  In both cases, it starts with a person willing to share and ends with a person who needs Christ.  Hits me right in the face!  Who seems to be the more willing person to REALLY share Jesus???

The Wall...

This is a portion of a wall leading down to an alley below the Farmer's Market area of Pikes Market in downtown Seattle.  Every time that I have been to downtown Seattle I take several pictures of this wall.  Honestly, I can't say that I ever read the actual posters/advertisements/artwork.  I just think that when you put it all together, it has an appeal for a picture.  Some day I will compare all of the pictures to see how it changed (or stayed the same) over a long period of time.  I will be back in Seattle next week...

5K - Maci

Got up this morning at 5:30 am to get Maci to a 5K in Mckinney! Oh
how deep is a father's love (did I tell you it is Saturday
morning?)... Charles (her running mentor) came along too. Of course,
I brought my camera. So I look like the stalker with the camera. At
least nobody will mistake me for a runner...

Results:  Maci got 2nd place in her age group (15-19), 42nd overall (men and women) and 9th in the women's division. She beat all of her previous times. I think that she did great! Charles placed 1st in the Masters age group and 19th overall (men and women). Congratulations Maci and Charles!

Maci - Soccer

Over the years, I have taken probably more than ten thousand pictures of Maci playing soccer.  Tonight I decided maybe that I should post a few.  The bad part of having so many pictures is trying to find that one that I really like.  Found several, but I picked these mainly because I got tired of looking and decided to make a decision.  If you know me, I don't do well making decisions.  Oh well, funny how I have all of these pictures of Maci playing soccer and now she suddenly likes to run.  It is hard to take an exciting picture of a runner...  So in the first picture, she looks like she is dancing and playing soccer.  If it were me, this would be a sure sign that I was tripping.  The second picture shows the focus on the ball.  Incredible, considering that everyone around her (that you cannot see) is running towards the same ball.  The last picture just shows that girls are mean too...

An Intersection

So this intersection is outside of Childress, actually in Kirkland, TX.  Interesting in the pattern.  Notice the intersection of Road 22 and Road BB (hopefully, you can click on the picture to enlarge it to make the signs big enough to see).  Coincidence that it was a repeating second number and a repeating second letter (kinda like having to explain the blonde joke to the brunette)?  Looked for the intersection of Road 21 and Road BA.  No luck...

It's lonely out there...

Another picture from nowhere.  That seems to be one of my favorite things to do.  I remember being out in the middle of nowhere, walking through another cemetary with prairie grass and mesquite trees (and let's not forget the occasional headstone).  So I was not exactly in an area where you would expect a phone call.  Absolute quiet; the only noise was the wind.  My cell phone ringtone blares an intro to the David Crowder song "Everybody wants to go to heaven... but nobody wants to die".  It was as if someone jumped out of the grave next to me.  It was Sherri (on the phone, not in the grave), calling to see if I was ok...

Jamaica

These pictures were taken on a family trip to Jamaica during spring break in 2005.  It was interesting to me that if a tree died or if it was blown over, they didn't let it go to waste.  They would carve an image in the remaining part of the tree.  The first tree was right on the beach adjacent to the reclining chairs.  The second carving was done while we were staying in our room.  Our room was right behind this statue.  We woke up every morning to the sounds of a hatchet cutting away at the tree.  I guess they started early, because by midday they were busy partaking in a favorite local past time in Jamaica...

Cheese

Sadi would kill me if she knew that I posted this one.  It was blurry and I made it sorta cartooned to make it look less like her.  Sadi likes to take "random pictures" with my camera.  The problem is that she usually takes a hundred or more "random pictures" at a high frame rate.  I have to sort through them and delete most, but I HAD to save this one of her taking a picture of herself in the mirror.

More Best Friends

Ok, so now I may have found a way to take pictures of my kids (or maybe this is my calling in taking pictures).  First Maci asked me to take pictures of her with her best friend before they went off to college (separate colleges).  Then, after Sadi saw the pictures, she wanted me to do the same for her.  Again, I resorted to downtown Greenville and visited the same locations, but changed up the poses.  In this first one, they were peeking through the crack in the doors.  Looked cute to me...  The second one was just a good closeup of them both smiling.  Plus, the garage door handle and cracked wood/paint add character to the picture.  The last one started out goofy, but after I took a few, it started to look better.  Sadi and Mikayla actually liked it...

Starbucks

The weather was perfect in Greenville for Starbucks outside tonight.
It was actually a little chilly. Strange for a July night in Texas...

Corn Dogs

Wow! It worked and it was easy. So easy that I am posting this one
also! Love the corn dogs even though they are probably made out of
chicken feet or some ancilliary part like that. Ok, enough about
that; back to the picture...

Took this picture from my iPhone at the Hunt County Fair. Looked neat
on the phone so I wanted to see what it looks like on my blog.

Best Friends

Maci and her friend Jenna wanted "best friend" pictures on Sunday night, so I gathered up my camera stuff and went downtown g'ville.  It is amazing how many places there are to take pictures there.  This is one taken in front of an old wooden garage door.  Last time I was downtown taking pictures the door was weathered wood.  This time, somebody (probably the owner) decided to paint the door black.  From a photography standpoint, the black is much better.  Thanks to whoever did this!  Of course, I added a little flair to the picture by making it black & white and "cartooning" it slightly.

If you are downtown taking pictures, you have to venture over to the railroad tracks.  This one "turned" out pretty good (get the pun.)...  I told them to fall backwards and flip if they heard a train coming.  Me, I was going to stay there long enough to get a picture of a fast-moving train coming at me.  After all, how many opportunities would you get to take a picture like that.  Wow, got way off subject there...

Snoqualmie Falls - Seattle

Yet another visit to Seattle.  Scheduled a late night flight out after two long days of work (trying to get sympathy here) so that I could have time to go and do something different.  According to the propoganda, Snoqualmie Falls cascades 270 feet (100 feet higher than Niagra Falls) through a rock gorge.  It is one of Washington state's most popular scenic attractions.  You can view the falls from an observation area at the top.  Then you can go down a half-mile trail through the trees and open slopes to get to the base of the falls.  I have pictures from both the top and at the base.  At the bottom, it is a matter of perspective.  The falls are ENORMOUS, but one of the pictures with me in it makes me look massive with a small waterfall backdrop.  This was just proof that I was there...  On my way down I passed a man and a lady that caught my eye.  The man had an interesting walking stick (or maybe it was to fend off the bears).  As you can see, they were happy to let me take their picture.  Also on my way down the trail I passed an older guy that was huffing, puffing and struggling to get up the steep trail.  I thought to myself how easy this was and how I hope to never be as out of shape as the old guy.  Well, on my way back up the trail, I passed many a younger guy that had the same look on their face while they were looking at me pouring sweat with every slow step.  Man it stinks getting older.  Well at least my pictures are better than theirs...

Belated 4th of July in Greenville

These are pictures that Sadi and I took at the Greenville Sports park on Saturday night.  Most were just of the fireworks, but I tried to get a little artsy on one (seems to be my theme)...  I set up the camera and Sadi got to use the remote to fire away (no pun intended...)  All of the fireworks pictures on the internet make it look easy.  For me, it is definitely alot of luck in your timing and exposure.  Oh well, these were good enough for me!