Christmas '08

Another Christmas has come and gone. 363 more shopping days until the next one. Not a leap year right? No....can't be, it's an odd year. Ok, so after spending a nice Christmas Eve at the house watching a movie and eating lasagna and chocolate covered strawberries, we headed out the next morning for Gordon & Kathy's house (the in-laws).
First, let me say that I am very blessed to have a great family-in-law. They have always been wonderful to my kids and me. They also have a great love for God and set a good example for us with their marriage.
So anyway, enough sucking up here, we had a nice little gathering at their house.

Kathy holding Kyle.
Eric working on some mashed potatoes.Gordon.Cynthia and her sister Cheryl.Yours truly,Cynthia gave Kyle a new sippy cup before we ate. Alas, he had other ideas....

Joshua had the recliner pulled up to the table and was ready to eat.Other pictures from the day...

Enjoying cigars that Eric brought for us...

Before we left, Gordon and Kathy had a special presentation for Cristian. It started with sort of a gag gift. These long johns have been passed around the family for decades. Whoever receives them has to add something to the long johns and re-gift them to another member of the family next year.

Here are the same long johns from back in the 70's with Cynthia's grandmother...

Cris them moved on to the fun present but wasn't sure what to make of it.As we photographers know, there are few things as beautiful as the moment it "clicks". Here was his moment. Gordon and Kathy explained that he was going to Hawaii for his graduation present. Think he was happy?

Merry Christmas everyone! Please remember our servicemen and women who can't be home for the holidays. M

Consumerism does not equal Christmas

I saw this on [b]ecker's blog and had to repost it.

The Advent Conspiracy Promo Video from theadvance on Vimeo.

Air Force vs. BYU

Once again thanks to my wife's connections with the Denver Pipe Band and the Bennett School of Irish Dance, we were fortunate enough to get field passes to the Air Force/BYU game. Each year, several of the area's pipe bands and Irish dance schools get to perform at halftime with the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps. Since Cynthia had injured her back recently, she opted to help me photograph the event rather than dance. Kent Burns, who plays the bass drum for the City of Denver Pipe Band and El Jebel Shrine Band as well as being retired Army, coordinates the event in addition to getting me full access to the stadium for the day. He was able to secure an extra press pass this year for Cynthia so she could run around with me on the field. Thanks Ken for everything you do each year! Your hard work always pays off in an amazing halftime show.

We showed up early to get photos of the cadets and various performers rehearsing the show. It is really incredible when you consider that all these groups only have that morning to rehearse the performance.

Here is our fearless leader...






Here are some photos from the morning rehearsal...

Mary looking fabulous as always...Other groups were also getting warmed up for the day.

Air force parachuters...

The dance team...Cheerleaders...The Bird even broke out his ATV with the spinners...The Bird knows that the ladies always go for a cool ride.


Of course, there is alway somebody who thinks they know how to take pictures too...or someone who thinks playing a musical instrument is easy.
Some of the younger dancers took the opportunity to meet some of the Air Force cheerleaders...We moved into the stadium as the game was getting ready to start. It is always great to see how enthusiastic the cadets are during the game. You don't get any of the stupid college kid behavior you sometimes see at a non-military school. It makes you very optomistic for the future of our country. These young men and women are a truly inspiring group of people. As someone who spent 12 years wearing the Air Force uniform, I am really proud of what I see every year at the Air Force Academy.The halftime show was a great success as always.We had a blast taking pictures during the rest of the game.

It's alway a great experience at the Air Force Academy. Thanks to all of you who put so much effort into the day. I am already looking forward to next year.

Anyone interested in viewing/purchasing any of the photos from the event can go to my http://airforceshow2008.weddingherald.com/ . You can go to http://lonestarphoto.photoshop.com/ if you just want to see a slideshow of all the pictures.

M.