I had such a great Thanksgiving with my family this year. I was home from Tuesday till Friday night, and didn’t have access the internet, but aside from that, the trip was great. I was able to spend time with some friends that I only see an average of once a year, and was able to spend time with both of my sisters, which was wonderful.

Wednesday night, my sisters and I went to see Beowulf with my dad. As a former English Major, and having had to memorize the first 50 or so lines my freshman year, I was very disappointed with how far off the movie was. The cool thing was that the theatre I saw it in was showing the 3D version and it was really crazy. It is definitely not like I remember 3D being. The image was sharp, and the colors were like looking at photos. However, the characters were way to CG for my taste. I thought that 300 was much better, and if someone wants to take a stab at making Beowulf over, it would be to everyones benefit to discuss the movie with the creators of 300.

Thursday was awesome. Sleeping late, only to wake up and stuff myself is something that I never get to do on Thanksgiving. We usually have 30-40 people at my parents house, but this year we were able to pawn it on to my aunt. Our family is really close, and the night was filled with laughter, football and Wii. I was really hurt to see the NY Jets loose to Dallas after having put a beating on the Steelers. But tonight that loss will be forgotten as we destroy Miami at home. 

Friday my dad woke me up really early to go pheasant hunting with him and his friends from church. We did a father son day, and it was a great time. The coolest thing about pheasant hunting is watching the dog work the field. 

Afterwards we went inside and drank 20 year-old port, and caught up on the important things in everyones life. Here are the guys, (from left to right)Randy and his dad Steve Gooder, Rick, and my dad Ray.
We all had such a great time. The coolest thing about field sports like this is the amount of camaraderie that comes out of it. Every time a bird was flushed, we were shouting encouragement to whoever had the shot. Rick was working his puppy, (she is only 13 months old) and she was amazing to watch. She would point to birds that we couldn’t see until we had walked past them and then they would fly away. 

I have so much to be thankful for this year.

1) My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “you are a new creation in Christ Jesus” and it is because of his love that I am where I am today.

2) My amazing family. Mom, Dad, Ellie and Krista, I love you all so much and thank you for your support in my life.

3) I have lived with my grandfather for the past two years. He moved into a retirement community on Tuesday, but I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend with him, and getting to know him better. He is such a good spiritual mentor, and I love him so much.

4) My friends who support me and keep me in line, even when I want to get a little crazy.

5) Having graduated college, because it was getting pretty hairy towards the end.

6) My clients that have allowed me to come into their lives and photograph the most sacred day of their new life. I am truly blessed to be able to spend time with you and your families to capture moments that you may not remember otherwise. Your kindness and friendship has been awesome.

7) All the great people in the photography world that have helped me develop my business. Some of them I haven’t met yet, but their blogs and business models have been a great encouragement.

The ability to travel. Last year was an impromptu trip to Uganda, and this year is hopefully a trip that I have been planning for some time. 

9) All of you that read this blog and support my work. I thank you for the time you give to me, and I really appreciate it.

I hope that everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving. Remember the blessings that are in your life, and give thanks for it. 

I may possibly be the happiest person alive right now. Well maybe except for Mike Colon who lives in CA, and has perfect surfing weather in Newport Beach right now. But For me, here in Western PA, I am really stoked because this hopefully means the start of a GREAT ski season for Seven Springs and I am really getting antsy to start snowboarding. Now that school is done, my life will finally have time for one of my favorite past times.

The snow started as I was driving home last night. I only had a 20 minute drive but the last 5 miles or so were a blizzard. The snow was coming down so hard that I couldn’t use my high beams, and there was enough on the road, that I started to fishtail as I turned onto my road.

Anyways, I hope that everyone is enjoying their respective weather, but while I hate the cold, I love the snow. Keep lovin.

I had such a great weekend. Friday I got to hang out with some great friends, and Sunday I had the pleasure of seeing the Pittsburgh Steelers come back from an 11 point lead that the Cleveland Browns held at the end of the first half, and win by three points. After the Monday night game against Baltimore, ESPN was giving the Steelers 9 points but anyone who really knows the Steelers knows that they RARELY cover the spread. In a friendly bet between my buddy Todd who is a die hard Browns fan, I had the Steelers at +3. Way to go guys, they played a great Game.

Above is a picture of my friends Ashley (right) and Steph (center). We met up at like 1130 and proceeded to begin tailgating with some other friends of mine from Saddle Ridge. It was a great time, and we partied all day in celebration.

Here Ashley Steph, John, and I are just loving the energy after such a great game.
This was Ashley’s first game, and I am so happy that she got to see such a great fight. I do know that I don’t want to play the Browns in the Playoffs if this is how the game is going to go. I nearly had a heart attack on multiple occasions.

After the game we tailgated for a bit longer, but then it started to pour down rain so we headed to McFadden’s to have a few more drinks and get a little bit crazy.

We then headed over to Jerome Bettis’ Grill 36 for a quick bite to eat. The atmosphere is great, but the food wasn’t really all that hot, and it wasn’t like it was that busy when we got there, but I think that I will try it again to see if it improves. It did just open up recently, and all the reviews have been good so far, so who knows what happened.