My life...

Yesterday Chris washed up the old truck for Church. We had been wanting to get it out for sometime…it just seems like life gets too busy sometimes. After church we went back to the house, changed, picked up Little Bobby and went to Morganton (the next town over). One cannot be in a hurry while driving the old truck. We usually coast at about 40mph. We took the back roads as to not slow anyone else down. I love how the old and young wave at us while we are in the truck and how the old men will stop to talk to us or give up a “thumbs up”. We stopped at a gas station before taking our mini-trip. While at the station, an older man came up to us and started talking. We were both sitting in the truck and out of no where, the old man started crying and saying that he just buried his wife. He went on to talk about his wife and what a great lady she was. My eyes were watering up and it made me realize how lucky I was to have Chris by my side and how I hope can can grow old together. The old man was in our minds the rest of the afternoon. Chris and I went on to eat lunch at a BBQ joint and went for a walk on the Morganton Greenway. It was a perfect afternoon…..but why is it that we are always in such a hurry in life? Does it really matter if the laundry didn’t get folded today or the grass not mowed…will one day really hurt in the whole realm of life? Now...off to do the laundry...one day late!


The grass was so green this weekend that I had to take some pictures of my favorite shoes with the green grass! :)

Life in Marion, NC

This afternoon, after I was done running some errands, I came home to Chris working on the other end of the land on a fence. We are working on getting part of our land set up for cows! Who knew that it took so much time and HARD work to put up a fence for cows....!! Not to mention $$$!! Oh well, we will get through it...I mean, I know I will....I just talk his head off while he is sweating and digging and all that manly stuff. I offer to help, but assume I will just get in the way...so I talk away. ;) We are hoping to have at least 5 acres fenced in. Once we get that done, we will get a couple cows, and work on fencing in more of the land at that time. So, you may ask...why cows? ! ? I would have laughed at myself 10 years ago and would have never believed such a thing!! We mostly just want to raise our own, hormone free beef!!





Little Bobby watching daddy work hard! It is so funny...Chris will throw roots and limbs over the bank to get them out of the way. Little Bobby runs after them and thinks Chris is throwing a stick for him to fetch!



I picked some wildflowers from our field while Little Bobby was playing in the creek.


And finally, on my way up to the house, I grabbed my basket and walked to our garden to pick some spinach and leaf lettuce for dinner tonight! I love warm weather! :)

Day of Travel...

Well, today is a travel day. It is like 3:30am and we are headed out the door! I am sooo not a morning person!! Here was the highlight of my day from yesterday! Flowers delivered to me! :)

Oh, and Happy Earth Day!! :)



Daisies....my favorite! 2 Red roses for 2 years!


Pasty me.....I really like the photo of me 2 years ago in my white dress better than this one (but Chris made me post it this morning...ahhhh)

Happy Anniversary Baby!!

Today Chris and I celebrate 2 wonderful years of marriage! It was such a perfect day! There were daisies everywhere (my favorite flower), the weather was perfect (I was so scared with it being an outdoor wedding), but best of all, I had the man of my dreams! We got married at the Rumbling Bald resort in Lake Lure, NC. Our wedding day was followed by a day of rest then a week long trip to Playa Del Carmen. Chris and I have grown so much closer in the past two years and I am so excited to see what the future holds for us!

Crazy around here....a good crazy though :)

Chris and I are so excited to be heading to Washington to photograph a wedding. I never know what to pack when I travel. I either pack too much or never enough! The good news is that we are getting to Washington a few days early to celebrate our Anniversary as well! We hope to get some R&R along with seeing some amazing countryside on our hikes! I will keep you posted throughout the week but will have limited Internet access.

All packed up....I am only doing carry on because I refuse to spend $15 to check in each piece of luggage! ;)

Happy Day!

Happy Easter everyone! After church this morning, Chris and I plan to go or a hike (an Easter tradition), then head to his Grandmother's for dinner. We wish all of your families a safe and happy Easter!

Garden time!

Happy Good Friday! Chris and I had chose Good Friday to be our official "Garden Day". We woke up very early this morning (5am) to try to beat the storms that were forecasted for the the day! We ended up getting caught in the rain twice, and we were both a muddy mess....but the garden is in (minus a few peppers we want to get bigger before we plant)! Below are some photos I took this morning!

Packages

I love getting packages in the mail. They are especially special when you have no idea that they are coming! I remember back in college when I would get these big packages full of goodies. My parents and my aunt were especially great with sending both cards and packages. The whole time I was in college, packages kept coming to remind me of home. I really figured they would stop when school was over, or when I got married. Nope!! I still get them....I don't get to see my family at Easter most years or on my Birthday and other little holidays like Valentine's day due to living so far from home. However, they never let me forget they are thinking about me! My first easter package this year......



If you look real hard, you can see me taking the photo in the reflection! :)


Little Bobby is not sure what to think...


***Blogging Daily in April!!

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The boy is gone for the weekend...

Well, one boy that is. Chris headed out to Cherokee (to fish) and then to Nashville, TN to go Turkey Hunting with his good friend JD. Today, he sent me a photo from his blackberry of where he was...then this evening I got another photo of what he caught from fishing! There will be some good eating when he gets home on Sunday!

From Chris's Blackberry..


Chris's catch


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Happy April!!

Rain really is good. It might have caused a few sessions to get postponed, but that's okay! I love how everything starts to grow and bloom in April. Chris and I knew the rain was coming so we frantically have been working on seeding our yard. As many of you know, we started building our house about 2 years ago. Chris cleared the land of all the trees for our house site. Most of the property is filled with trees so I talked him into a BIG GREEN YARD. Chris: "You know that there will be a lot of mowing with a BIG yard. If we keep trees close to the house, we won't have to mow as much." Me: But Baby.....I grew up with a BIG yard and had so much fun with it. I want our children to enjoy a yard like I did. Chris: "Cristen, you are right, you are always right" (okay, so maybe I added in the last part, but I do have my big yard!) :) So I won that battle in the house building process. However, we have been facing a whole other battle. Getting the grass to grow. We heard it takes about 3 years to get it the way you want it. We are on year 2......aerate, lime, fertilize, seed, straw. I actually think Chris likes it...it gives him an excuse to get on our tractor. Boys and their toys!!


Chris on his favorite toy! Can you believe that we bought the tractor while we were still engaged!? Who would have really known how much we (he) would use it. I got banned from it after a couple of months of having it (I hit a rock...opps)!




This is my tractor. Chris says I can play with this tractor as much as I would like. It is plastic and I cannot break anything with it. So I wasn't raised to drive a tractor.....geesh!! :)



Today starts the event of blogging daily for a WHOLE month!!

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April is almost here! Seriously, can you believe it? April is a VERY exciting month both personally and professionally! I cannot wait to share with you all of the exciting news Autumn Olive Photography has to share over the next couple of months!

To help celebrate April, I will be blogging everyday in April! Yes, everyday!!! And, to keep me on my toes....if I miss ONE day of blogging, the first person to email me will get a prize!

Here is a quick photo of my little man...yes, I know purple is not a "boy" color, but he just looked so darn cute!! :)



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Sunset

Just wanted to share. I was looking through some photos I took last week and I found this.....Happy Sunday!!

A couple of ideas...

My head has been flowing with ideas lately!! Here is one that I have been wanting to show for a few days now. Just take a clear glass jar, cut the photo to fit the jar, and then place the photo in the jar! I think this would be a great idea for a centerpiece for a wedding or even somewhere in the house! These photos are from a September wedding! Happy Thursday! :)

Something New!

You can now follow Autumn Olive Photography on Twitter. To follow the "everyday happenings" just click on follow! There will also be an active Twitter thread on my blog! It will be at the bottom of the page! :)

A hike in Morganton

After Chris and I both worked all day Saturday (doing different projects), we decided that we needed to take an afternoon for "us" on Sunday. This is what an "us" Sunday afternoon looks like. Now we are refreshed for the rest of the week (we hope so at least!) :)

Here are a few photos with our point and shoot camera.





The view


My Boys!


We could hardly keep Little Bobby out of the water! :) Chris and I laughed so hard!

Old Fort

Happy Spring (I know, I know....1 day late)! Here are a couple of photos from my morning in Old Fort!

A Big FUN Project!

Here is just a quick shot from this evening. This is a BIG project I am working on.....! More details to come! :)

Ps. Please pay no attention to the dirty shield on my helmet! Chris has told me soooo many times that I need to clean it and it just keeps slipping my mind. I guess that shows you that is has been awhile since I have been on my motorcycle! :(

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

In celebration of St. Patrick's day, I went around the house yesterday and photographed items that were GREEN!! :) Don't forget to wear your green today!!

Kiwi...one of my favorite fruits!


Green M&M's.


Our only plant we can keep alive in the house


Green jello....yummy...it was our dessert last night for dinner!


Green glass....Chris started me this collection when I first met him. We did whitewater kayaking at that time (well, he did the big stuff and I did the small water). He would find glass bottles that had been broken in the creeks that had no sharp edges left to them. The glass had been pounded against the rocks/waves/sand and were now smooth, beat-up pieces of glass. He would give them to my for good luck when I paddled.


My favorite towel


Little Bobby's Dog house (green roof). Yes, it is in our bedroom (not outside like most dog houses). When we are gone during the day, Little Bobby has our bedroom all to himself, along with a little doggy door to get out onto the gated porch. Yes, this dog is spoiled! But really, have you seen how cute he is?? :)

Charlotte

I went to Charlotte last night for the 'Tots 2 Teens' tour and it was wonderful!! I forgot to take a photo of Sandy and the stage while I was listening to Sandy speak, so I only have a couple from before the show!



Look at all those toys!! I got to try a few lenses out. I now know which one I am buying next!! :)


All of the photographers looking at the latest in albums!

It feels like Spring!

The weather was amazing here today! Chris and I had the house open the whole day and played outside for most of it (played/worked...at least we were outside!) Here is just a quick photo of my sun catcher!

I also wanted to announce the winner to the Chili's gift card from last month's contest (sorry for the delay)! I assigned each person a number and had an online program pick the number. Tammy Chavies is the winner! Congrats! There will be more contests to come so stay tuned!!