Captive Thoughts

Just wanted to remind you how cute Kaya is.

Last night Kathy and I met up at Red Dog for a little doggy exercise.  We then ventured over to Otto Armleder Memorial Dog Park.  Which is the biggest dog park I have ever seen.

Kaya was already a little tired but she still wandered around and played.  But the last 15 minutes or so, is what did the little one in.

She found a friend, who rolled her completely in a patch dirt.  My white puppy is not white currently…she is pig pen tan.

She was tired but she let me get a couple of pictures.

Watch out she will melt your heart but then she’ll get you dirty!

Hi…

I haven’t forgotten you all, I promise.

There has been a lot going on lately or at least so it seems.

Kaya was “fixed” almost a month ago and it made all plans go to the back burner for about 10 days.   This was the night after she had her surgery.  She must have laid on me or Steph and slept for a good six hours.

It broke my heart to see her hurting, but I know in the long run it was a wise and smart decision.  She wasn’t a fan of the cone but she survived.

She is now back to her old self now, so no worries.

I took Caleb’s 6 month pictures the other weekend.  That kid is just too dang cute.  He makes my job super easy.  How is it possible for this kiddo to take a bad picture!

Then this past weekend I shot my very first wedding.  Sure I had a wedding back last year with a studio but I didn’t take a single picture so I don’t really count it at all.  I would have been sunk without the help of my friend Rudy.  Throughout the course of the event  he gave me lots of little tips and I learned a lot.

I really like this picture.  I love the black and white and the emotion that picture gives off.

On the artsy side I love this picture.

I’m not sure why I love it so much.  I love the light bokeh in the background and the fact that I know two of the blobs are the bride and the groom.  I loved the centerpieces so that may play into.  But it is a favorite of mine.

And starting today I am one of the set photographers of an indie film called “Hitting the Nuts: The True Story of the 2009 Scott County Series of Poker“.  I am excited to be apart of something like this.  It’s crazy to think of the talent among the folks I know.  You should check out the article the Cincinnati Enquirer is running on the film, “Storyteller, soul-saver…and filmaker“.  If you are a twitter person, the hashtag #htn is for the production.

I know it’s not much of an update, but it’s better than nothing right?

Kaya went to the VOA dog park on Saturday evening where she wore herself and got nice and dirty.

But she’s still cute.

Kaya just wanted to let you know that she is cute and she has stolen your heart.

You can go on about your day now. :)

So on Tuesday, May 19 I went to the Cincinnati Reds Bark in the Park.  Bark in the Park is where you can attend the Reds game with your dog.  Apparently every MLB team has a Bark in the Park event.  The tickets were my birthday present from Kaya.

We were allowed to arrive at 5pm to pick up our tickets and to enjoy the pre-game fun.  We got there sometime after 5 and much to my surprise there wasn’t a line at all.

Of course Kaya and I had to take our picture in front of the stadium.  It’s a “memory frozen in time”.

Of course she had no interest in looking at the camera but oh well.  You can’t win them all.

They had lots of things to check out.  An agility course, a photo booth, and random tables for various animal organizations.  They had various contests - smallest dog, biggest dog, cutest dressed, and looks the most like their owner.  (We didn’t enter any contests.)

They always were having a special doggie parade before the game that took place on the warning track.  Honestly it was the one part that I really really wanted to do.  Granted it was purely selfish because I wanted to be that close to the field.  I love baseball and the thought of being able to be on the field - it was just too cool.

So we made it a point to listen for the details on the parade.  Around 6ish we started playing follow the leader to get to the point where we would enter the field.  Around 6:30ish is when the parade started.  I am not going to lie - it was freaking awesome!

To walk out on the warning track and be next to the grass.  To see all the seats and the people that were there looking at everyone.  It be on that level.  There’s nothing quite like it.

To my surprise the parade went around the entire field.  We walked past the visitor’s dugout, onto of the visitor’s warm up circle, behind home plate, in front of the Reds dugout, and back passed the bullpens and back out.  (My camera battery was dying so I didn’t take pictures of the last few things.)

We did stop and get some pictures with my cell phone while we were on the field.  You can see them here and here.

After the parade we decided it was time for Kaya’s first ballpark hot dog.  She loves hot dogs.  We use them as a treats at home, so we knew she would like it.  Isn’t she just too cute?!

I will say that it was about now that we could tell Kaya was getting tired.  She laid down a lot and chilled out.  As much as I love to watch a Reds game, I knew Kaya wasn’t going to last too long.

We chilled for a bit and took some pictures up in the stands (here and here) and then decided to head home.  Kaya crashed out in the crate as soon as I started driving.

It was soooo much fun.  It was very cool to be able to bring my puppy with me and for there to be things for her to do.  I was so proud of her because she was a good doggie.  She wasn’t a pain to the other dogs or to Steph and I.  You could tell she was having fun. It was just super cool.

Thanks Kaya (and Stephanie) for an awesome birthday present!

***There are videos of the experience here if you would like to see them.

L to R

Paul O’Neil, Barry Larkin, Kaya (as Lou Pinella), Chris Sabo, and Eric Davis