Photoshop Fun

Today I stumbled on a Photoshop tutorial through Pinterest.  And there went hours of my day :)  I got a little carried away as usual and spent quite a bit of time editing the photos that I just took over the weekend (see post below for the originals).  Here are a few different looks that I came up with while experimenting with textures.

Photoshoot: Christmas cards for the littlest McCoys

We took the opportunity over Thanksgiving break to try and get some photos of the nephews for their Christmas cards this year.  Jen brought some cute PJs for them to wear and the farm was the perfect setting. 

Which one is better?  Color or black and white?  I can't decide.

I saw a photo on Pinterest of a baby photographed with Christmas lights.  I wanted to give it a try with Dylan.  I think it came out pretty cool!

Thankful

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We certainly did!  We visited with all the McCoys and some friends in Johnson City, TN.  As per Thanksgiving tradition, the highlight of the trip was a visit to the farm.  This year, it was so great to have such warm weather!  It was almost too warm to even roast s'mores around the campfire, but we did anyways and they were heavenly.  

 We dropped our stuff off at the house and then took off on the fourwheelers.  We stopped in the woods for a minute for a couple of pics.  Here's Davin, Jason and Tom.  Not sure what they are all looking at!

How adorable is his little outfit?

The littlest nephew chilled back at the farmhouse.  All smiles.

Time to set up for the campfire grilling.  YUM!

It was seriously so hot by the fire, but we put up with it for yummy hotdogs and s'mores.

This year I made HOMEMADE marshmallows.  Matt didn't even think there was such a thing.  Made for some amazing s'mores and even better as an addition to Jason's famous hot chocolate that evening.  

Friends :)

I tried to get some cool photos while Matt was getting ready to shoot.  I think I succeeded! 

Can you even believe this photo?!  I shot a gun for the first time.  Yikes.  But if you look closely at my target, I'd say I didn't do too bad for my first time!

And look who else is a first time shooter!  

We had a great time at the farm, as usual, and a wonderful long Thanksgiving weekend with the McCoys.  We have so much to be thankful for!  

Oh, and the rest of the evening was spent in a 3-hour heated debate on whether the guys could run a half marathon without training, and then in what order they would finish.  It ended with Jennifer about to punch Jason, Matt laying on the floor with an ice pack on his back, Tom at one point betting up to $50,000 that he could beat Matt, and Kristinne being super thankful for her hubby and maybe not ever hanging out with the McCoy and Tom again.  Good times!

Life Lately

Things have been pretty cozy lately in the McCoy household.  Filled with lots of early Christmas spirit, warm baked goods, and puppies on pillows.  Or according to Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, "treats 'n snoozin', snoozin' 'n treeats" :)

Road Trip to Richmond, VA

Last weekend, we took a road trip to Richmond to visit with friends and cheer Kristinne on as she ran the Suntrust half marathon.  We stayed with the Stones while Greg, Kay, and Matthew were all in town for the event.  Matt and I were just getting over our colds, but we toughened up and made the trip anyways.  So glad we did! 

Faith

Saw this quote today and wanted to remember it.

Faith is risking what is

for what is yet to be.

It is taking small steps

knowing they lead to bigger ones.

Faith is holding on when you want to let go.

It is letting go when you want to hold on.

Faith is hearing God’s yes

when everything else says no.

It is believing all things are possible

in the midst of impossibilities.

Faith is looking beyond what is

for what is yet to be.

It is seeing the Light in darkness,

the presence of God in all.

~ Ellen M. Cuomo

Wedding Videos

And our recap of our trip to Colorado would not be complete without some wedding videos...

This was pretty much the cutest wedding dance I have ever witnessed!

This guy was so talented and so much fun to watch.  We all had such a blast at this wedding!

It's Been A While! Visit to Colorado Springs

I have been a bad blogger!  Time to change that with an update on our latest trip to Colorado Springs for Samantha and Josh's wedding!  I'm also in the process of doing a blog makeover.  I'm thinking of changing this blog to be mostly updates about Matt and I and what's going on our lives.  It's fun to keep track of events and everyday things to look back on later.  You might even see some posts from the hubs on here!

Anyways, on to our last big trip... 

Matt and I were so excited to make this trip out West and be a part of Sami's big day.  This was our first visit out to Colorado.  We were looking forward to taking in the beautiful mountain scenery!

The very best part about this trip was getting lots of time to hang out with old friends!  Here is Matt and I with the beautiful bride at the Welcome Reception at the Inverness Hotel.

 Old college roomies reunited again!  Love and miss you guys! 

Part of the bridal party.  Miss hanging out with these ladies at all of the wedding events this year!  We bonded over dance steps and crafting :)

Saturday morning was rehearsal time.  But who would have guessed that it would also be the first snowfall of the season for Colorado!  We all bundled up and made the scary snowy drive out to Crooked Willow Farms for the rehearsal.  It was freezing, but these two lovebirds don't seem to mind :)

Our big event for the day was going to be a trip up to Pike's Peak courtesy of Mr. Meyer.  We had been looking forward to this trip, and we were worried it would be cancelled due to the weather (aka I whined all morning about it being freezing and how I did not want to spend another minute of the day outside).  But luckily we were still able to make the train ride, and I am soooo glad we did!  It was so worth it!  We only went half way up the mountain because it was a blizzard at the very top.  But we enjoyed gorgeous views on our way up!

Our next adventure of the day was visiting the Garden of the Gods.  This was a wonderful way to see Colorado!  This was the same day as the rehearsal and train ride.  Can you believe it?  It turned absolutely gorgeous by lunchtime!

Then Sunday was the big day!  The girls spent Saturday night in the bridal cottage on Crooked Willow Farms.  Sunday morning was spent finishing up last minute details (including dance practice and singing rehearsals, oh my).  Then it was time for hair and makeup.  Sami looked stunning in her dress!!

I adore these ladies.

The wedding was so much fun.  Sami put so much thought into every little detail.  The venue was gorgeous and everything was perfect.

Congrats to the happy newlyweds!  We love you guys and we had a blast out in Colorado! xoxo