Christening the cowboy boots

I have to admit, I've been a little bit of a poser when it comes to my cowboy boots. I had originally purchased them as a fashion statement, and not so much for practical purposes. Until today, my boots had never seen the sunny side of a farm or even a rodeo for that matter.

I woke up bright and early (8:30 a.m.) to help my good pal Sarah and her new husband Chad at her family farm. At this farm you will find cows, bulls, chickens, ducks, cats and an adorable dog name Spur.

Right after I arrived, she handed me an over-sized bottle and said, "You want to bottle feed Big Boy?" Initially I thought, yeah, that sounds cool. But then I thought, exactly how "big" is Big Boy? Let me remind you that I have never really been around real farm animals. But I had been wanting to go to the farm for quite a while so I was not going to leave any opportunities behind. So I grabbed the bottle by the nipple and fed Big Boy.

This is Big Boy. After I fed him, he was my new best friend.

This is the manager of the farm, Spur. She is a cow dog but really she's just there to greet everyone and keep you company. She was my best buddy. Can you see her beautiful eyes - one blue and one brown?

And this is Cowboy. He's a huge steer. Sarah let me feed him. She warned me, "When you go out there, don't worry. He's not running after you, he's running after the food." I thought, well if I'm holding the food, isn't he technically coming after me?

This picture cracks me up. On the left is Sarah and Chad on the right. They were putting on some sort of contraption that keeps the cow from kicking the calves as they milk her. I think they should send this picture out as a "just married" card to all their friends. I also really like the face the cow is making.

Fun photography project

My good pal Julie hooked me up with most recent photo gig. She has a friend who lives in Edmond who is about to move from her gorgeous older home to a new home in Oklahoma City. She asked me if I would come over and take photos of the house and of her sweet dog, Maddie. Here are some of my favorite shots:

Maddie's perched up on the couch where she looks out the window.

Did I mention this woman is an interior designer? If you are looking for one, I would recommend her.

Maddie in the window.

my nieces, the lake bums

I have the cutest nieces in the entire world. I'm serious. They have the sweetest little personalities - Ashton is the ornery one; Rylee is the serious one; Kennedy is the baby. This was a very special weekend as it was just my grandma, my brother and his three daughters and myself.

My grandma and I took the girls to Braum's to get ice cream. Children eating ice cream always ends up being a good photo op.

Another family tradition is that the kids get to lick the beaters when someone makes mashed potatoes. I remember fighting over the beaters with Chris (brother).

Kennedy came a long way in two days. When we first got to the lake, she made me hold her the entire time. By the end of the trip, she was jumping off the boat dock all by herself. Such a big girl!

Did I mention how hard it is to get three little girls to look the same direction at the same time and keep their eyes open?

One, two, three ... JUMP!

Question: How do you know when you have a good grandma?
Answer: When she will play in the mud with her great grandchildren.

Rylee looking cute after playing in the mud.

Ashton's muddy face is beautiful!

Green Acres is the place for me

A couple weeks ago Ryan and I went out to my good pal Sarah's family farm near Meeker to hang out, fish and have a weenie roast. Her family calls this place, Green Acres. We took Dax and Darbi and met Sarah, Chad and their dogs Scout and Hagen. We had so much fun! Here are some pics from the trip.

Darbi, Scout and Dax swimming

Me and my hunny

Yum

Dax

Sarah caught the only fish and it was a biggin'.

Pretty

Even the cows came out for the party.

Good times!

Happy Birthday Saxum

Saxum celebrated our six-year anniversary this evening with a cookout at Carol Troy's beautiful home. The entire Saxum team and their families came to celebrate six years of success. Here are a few shots from the evening.

The Saxum trifecta: Ethan (Adrianne's son), Violet (Matt's daughter) and Isaiah (Renzi's son)

Lisa (writer extraordinaire) and Tim (awesome landscaper)

Mandy (knows how to name kids), Vivian (gorgeous) and Matt (rocker)

That's me. And that's my signature pose.

Lindsay (pianist) and Nick (makes computer games)

Jason (hysterical), Ethan and Adrianne (proud new mama)

Houda (sensitive soul), Stephanie (my office mate) and Krista (PR bulldog)

Chad (holding a baby for the first time in his life)

Anthony (Antone) and Walter (he speaks Spanish, fluently)

Alaina (lover of the Earth) and Matt (serves our country in the Air Force)

Renzi speechin' it up. It's hard to believe that just three years ago when I joined Saxum, we all could have sat at one table. Now we're just one big happy family.

And the toast ... cheers!

The six year anniversary gift is iron. So Christina picked out a SAXUM branding iron. Very clever if I do say so myself. She said we can use it on unruly interns as well.

Lee Anne, Isaiah, Jackson and Renzi

Sarah came out to surprise Renzi with cupcakes and six candles. That's Carol looking fabulous in the red jacket.

Caster and Caster's nose enjoying a cupcake.

Vivian looking oh so cute!

Jackson enjoying his cupcake just before he dropped it.

Saxum at the OKC Museum of Art

Saxum recently announced the Oklahoma City Museum of Art as the first recipient of the Saxum Step Up campaign where we are donating $50,000 worth of public relations and creative services to one central Oklahoma nonprofit. As a kickoff to the project, the Museum invited us over for a behind-the-scenes tour topped off with Cocktails on the Skyline. If you have not been to the Museum of Art, you should really check it out. Amazing art, phenomenal facility, it's truly one of Oklahoma City's treasures. You can follow the Museum on Twitter @okcmoa.

Here are some photos from the Skyline. Did I mention the great view of downtown?

Me and our awesome summer interns: Mindy and Kasey. I will miss them.

Tricia, Houda and downtown Oklahoma City

Lisa, Haley and Walter

Chad and I pulling a Zoolander.

This photo was not taken at the Museum, but at Saxum on Kasey's last day. We are doing a "Saxum Tunnel". It's a new tradition. We're all about traditions at Saxum.