A moment captured

Last month my family gathered in Indy to celebrate the 50th anniversary of my parents. (See earlier entry)

During the mass, Mom and Dad renewed their wedding vows. It was a simple and beautiful moment, until my father turned toward all of us and we could see tears on his cheeks, his complexion that reddened shade it gets when we weep.

Well, that's all it took for this famly to dissolve into our own little rivers of tears.

But there was a moment happening right in front of me I would have missed but for this picture. Three of my parents' grandchildren were gathered together in the front pew. As the vow renewals began and Dad showed his emotion, these three cousins found themselves reaching for each other.

There are lots of great pictures from our weekend celebration...this mass was just the beginning. But I think this is my favorite.

Look up in the sky! It's a plane! And a bomber! And a country star!

Then there was the 2006 Terre Haute Air Fair with an evening concert by Air Force veteran Craig Morgan. (Redneck Yacht Club, Little Bit Of Life, etc)

My sister Chris came over and boy did we have fun walking around the airport checking out all there was to see and do. We snagged our cowgirl hats (see mine in picture) from the fabulous Army men at the climbing wall. Good thing Chris is still limber enough to get up that wall, I really wanted a hat.

Although meeting Craig Morgan was a definite thrill, I have to say the most memorable moment was standing in front of the Furniture Gallery tent waiting for the Stealth Bomber to fly over my head. The classical music accompanying its arrival was PERFECT....and there it was...a tiny blip in the distant sky, coming slowly closer....but mysteriously no sound emitting. Closer, closer and I whipped out my camera and held it skyward in hopes of getting lucky with my aim. It was a beautiful sunny day and I got lucky...PERFECT pictures of this extraordinary military vehicle on my phone. I'd share them if I knew how to get them out.

The concert itself was an amazing success! The crowd was estimated to be 8-thousand, which is comparable to a good concert at Hulman Center, and Craig is a showman. I LOVED being up on that stage with so many happy fans getting psyched up.

Now my sister Marjie wants to know how I get these stars to wrap their arms around me like this.

I think I'll keep THAT secret to myself a little longer. ;-)

Jeff Bates is HOT

Ladies, I'm sure you will agree: Jeff Bates is HOT. He is SO much cuter in person than I expected him to be! And an extraordinary flirt.

When I interviewed him, I asked if he was single. Like most men, I had to pry it out of him that he has a girlfriend. So forget about hooking up with him this go around.

But I asked him how a lady would get his attention and he suggested, "oh, just come up close and whisper "hey baby" in my ear!"

So I did. This picture was snapped seconds later. Great guy, go see him when you get the chance!