Dakota's Birthday

Happy Birthday Dakota Bear

This little girl is three, today! Before taking her to Rosa's house, we took her out to her food place of choice. She picked Chick-Fil-A.

Last night, we took portraits on the front lawn. Dakota was upset because her crown kept slipping.

Once we got it situated on her head, she was all smiles. Diva!

These girls, make life better.

Our plan for this evening:
I'm going to bake a cake before the girls get home and then once it cools, I'm going to let them ice it. Things are probably going to get messy, but I know they will love eating and icing the cake.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Dakota!
Here are the things I love the most about you...
Your outgoing personality.
How you can strike up a conversation with anyone.
How confident you are in yourself.
How you are not afraid to speak your mind.
Your kindness.

Graduating From Kindergarten

Here's a throwback to the first day of school, back in August.

Our Stay at Great Wolf Lodge

After the Sunday ballet performance, Cheyenne and I drove to met Trey and Dakota at Great Wolf Lodge. This trip was kind of a spur of the moment trip. Trey's cousin, Jeremy and his wife were planning on staying there, so we decided to meet them there.

We got a room for one night. The cool thing about GWL is that you can start playing at the park as early as 1 pm, check into the hotel around 4 pm, spend the night at the hotel and the next day you can still enjoy the water park until 9 pm. Essentially, you get 2 days of play and one night of rest. We could've stayed longer, but one night was right for us.

There are two play areas, one inside and one outside. I spent the majority of the time outside. It was INSANELY gorgeous weather.

The kids ate snacks on the patio.


There is a resturant on-site called the Lodge (I think that's the name). It was delicious and affordable for a family of four!!!!

Monday morning, I ran 4 miles around the area. Across the street from GWL is Gaylord Texas. Wow, that's a pretty site.

Monday morning, the girls went on a quest around the resort. It's like a scavenger hunt. You use wands to activate the MagiQuest stations.

When you book a room at GWL, you get a free scoop of ice cream. The four of us shared one scoop. LOL!

Monday mid-morning and afternoon we swam and sat poolside.

Dakota is short, so we stayed in the kiddie section for the majority of the time and she swam all over that side.

Dakota was drawn to this wolf. Every time we would pass it, she would stop and sit on it.

This was our last stop at GWL lobby, before saying goodbye to Jeremy and Elizabeth.

Before driving home, we stopped by Rainforest Cafe.



This was a fun and extremly fast getaway. The girls LOVED our family getaway and refuse to take off their purple GWL bands. We are hopping to go on more adventures like this more often!

Saturday, I recorded Josh and Sommer's wedding in Mineloa. It was a gorgeous wedding, despite the morning rain. The rain cleared up - in time for the outdoor reception.

Sommer booked me a hotel room, so I wouldn't have to make a 2 hour drive home following the reception. I woke up pretty early on Sunday, drove to the church to pick up a cord I had accidentally left behind (it's not a wedding unless I forget something) and then I made the drive back home.

Later that afternoon, Cheyenne and I had a ballet date at Bass Hall.
While we were there, we met up with Amanda (She use to watch the girls for me). I won an extra pair of ballet tickets (it was a Texas Ballet Theater FB contest) and I gave her my tickets, since I already had a pair. I also won tickets to the Botanical Gardens and Japanese Garden...I kept those and plan on taking the family this summer before it gets too hot.

I'm surprised how much Cheyenne likes going to the ballet and can sit through it without getting fidgety. Typically, the show is about 2 hours long. The intermission and breaks help. She takes a pen and notepad in case she doesn't want to watch parts of the performance. This was the first time, this season, she sat and watched the majority of the show. Going to the ballet is something we look forward to doing together. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in a previous post, but I went ahead and subscribed to another season with Texas Ballet Theater, so that means we'll be going to more shows in the fall and spring. Now, I'd like to look into doing something with Dakota….some one-on-one with her. She's too young for the ballet, right now. If you have any ideas, let me know. I'll be kicking some ideas around.

After the ballet Chey and I drove to Grapevine to meet Dakota and Trey at Great Wolf Lodge! I'll write more about that in the next blog post!

Guest at a Wedding

Today, I was a guest at a wedding, actually it was a vow renewal. It was for Amanda and Drew. Amanda use to watch the girls for me. I didn't get the best photo, but a photographer was there and I got a picture with Amanda, if I get a copy of it - I'll share it. Amanda looked amazing in her gown.

During the ceremony, Dakota had a hard time sitting still, she's two - what do you expect? We stood in the lobby for a few mintues and then headed to the front of the church and I took a few pictures of the girls, while we waited for the ceremony to conclude.

Mother's Day

I hope all you moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. I had a good one! Chey made me a heartwarming card and Dakota gave me lots of hugs and kisses. I may have ordered an Apple watch too. Trey and the girls contributed to that gift.

 I wanted to go to church, but I worked a wedding Saturday and I was exhausted. I'm looking forward to going to church, next week! For lunch, they took me to Logan's Roadhouse (I love me some steak and sweet potatoes) and then we went to Dairy Queen.

These girls make my heart full.

P.S. Look at that massive weed, to the far right!

Running Around the House

I got a new piece of equipment - it is a glidecam. I've been practicing around the house. I had Dakota run around and I was following her. Here is a short snippet of that…The majority of the footage I've captured, so far looks pretty terrible. I need a ton of practice!!!!!

This is what the glidecam looks like. It's heavy and the most challenging piece of equipment!

Friday, I watched my nephew for a few hours, while my older sister packed. She's moving back to Abilene. I'm sad she's moving, but at the same time, I'm happy for her new chapter in life.

That Was Loud

What Matters The Most to Me

I've been busy with work in the best possible way. It's a blessing, but I still want to take time to capture what matters the most to me. Earlier today, I filmed a birthday party event...when I got home I made dinner and then the girls, Trey and I decided to play outside.

Front Yard Fun

Sock Hop: Daddy Daughter Date Night Edition

Trey's mom and Maghen made the girls new poodle skirts. They are too cute!

Trey took the girls out on a date! I was planning on going for a short run while they were out, but then it started to rain outside. I might still go, if it stops or I might run on the treadmill.

Learning Photography Skills at an Early Age

Cheyenne and I did some volunteer work in Arlington. We spent an hour cleaning and then the remaining time we took pictures for the event.

Chey was taking photos on the T2i. I'm so glad I decided not to sell that camera! It's a great entry level DSLR for her.

Happy Easter

This morning we went to church and then visited with Tasha. She was in town for the day.

The kids dyed some Easter eggs before I made dinner.



Then Trey tried to get all sneaky, hiding the eggs in the Trey.

A few eggs didn't want to stay put.





Later, Amy and Carlos joined us for dinner. I made Enchiladas.

A Little Bit of Everything

Yesterday, Chey and I shared a chocolate banana smoothie.

Sometimes, my small business buys me stuff from guitar center. I bought something really random for my VIDEO business…it's a keyboard stand for my one man crew. Random, right?

Dakota's idea of Yoga.

Me: "Dakota take a picture with Cheyenne."
Dakota: "NOOOOOO!!!!!"

Dakota in a better mood.

Hiking with the Girls

Today, I took the girls hiking. We went to one of my favorite trail running spots.


We spent the majority of the time by the creek, throwing rocks.

Cowtown 50K Ultra Marathon Virtual Race

Saturday, I completed my 5th ultra. I was nervous. I wasn't sure I had it in me to run 31 miles solo. Imagine, no race support, water stations, aid stations, nothing for 31 miles…just a protein bar, a bag of granola and a water bottle. Trey wanted to meet me during my run, but since I planned to run on the Trinity Trail for the majority of the distance, he wasn't sure he'd be to meet me.

For breakfast I ate 3 eggs, a third of a sweet potato and a wheat roll.

Around 4:45 am, I started the clock and I let it roll until I was done running. I didn't stop my watch like I normally would during a training run. During training runs, I might run for 3 miles and then stop my watch for like 20 seconds to take a sip of water, not this time. If I took a walk or water break - I kept the time rolling. I didn't have to take a bathroom break, so that was nice!

Trey and the girls met me around mile 29. They were on their way to get breakfast. Trey parked about 50 yards in front of me. The girls ran to me. I paused for a moment to give them hugs and kisses. At that point I was out of water, I had been stopping off and on and refilling my hand-held bottle every time I'd see a water fountain. Well, the last water fountain I passed was not working. Luckily, Trey had some water waiting for me, when I met him. When I got home I sat on the front porch for 10 minutes, to cool down.

An hour later, I took an ice bath. It was terrible, but science says it's beneficial for recovery. I've only done 2 ice baths in my entire life. The rest of the day, I re-hydrated, refueled, stayed in bed and napped.

I Have Bangs, Again...

I was starting to get bored with my hair, so I decided to get bangs, again. I kind of like them.

The lady who cut my hair, forgot a few long strands! I didn't get too far, before I noticed. I went back immediately and asked her to fix it. It was fine. after she corrected it.

I Got All Crafty: Sock Hop

Tonight, I took the girls to a Sock Hop at Cheyenne's school.
None, of our friends had a poodle skirt she could borrow, so I decided to make her one.

This is probably a one-time wear skirt. It looks put together and cute, but it will most likely fall apart at the waist, if she sneezes. We managed to make it through the night, so perhaps -- it's a 2 day old skirt?

Cheyenne is so kind. She told me I have the best fashion skills and she said it like she meant it.
She also kept twirling around. I mean who would want to twirl in a poddle skirt?

P.S. Dakota kept using her Frozen superpowers to freeze me. Dakota had a ball dancing! After the sock hop, we went out with friends for dinner. I'm going to see if maybe my mom can make the girls real poodle skirts, that they can wear longer than 5 hours.

Craving Warm Weather and Family Time

I thought I'd share a little short film I made of our family at Six Flags. This is actually a new service I'm offering. I'd love for family films to become as mainstream as family portraits. Wishful thinking, but wouldn't that be wonderful? Can you imagine how wonderful it will be for the girls to have all these short films to look back on when they are adults? I'm not talking about static portraits, I'm talking about excitement you can see in motion! I showed the girls this film and I promise, Dakota watched it at least 10 times. Finally, I had to say, "Ok, that's enough."

Dakota wants to know when we will be going back. Now, I'm hungry for weekends and warmer weather. Dakota can ride a lot of the rides in the kid area, as long as I ride with her. Trey gets motion sickness on small rides, so I'm the parent who gets to have all the fun.


The Anderson's (Family Film) from Dominique Anderson on Vimeo.

Spring Break at Six Flags

Trey took the day off and we spent a few hours at Six Flags. We had lunch there and the girls rode about 6 rides. The rest of the time, the played on the jungle gym. It was sprinkling when we got there, but about 30 minutes later, it stopped. We have season passes and I'm looking forward to going more often, when Cheyenne is out of school. We also have season passes to Hurricane Harbor! Is summer here, yet?

Afterwards, we went out to dinner at Olive Garden. Now, we are relaxing at home. Have a great weekend!

Rainy Outside. Puzzle Inside.

You wouldn't be able to tell by the weather, but it is spring break. Last week, it was snowing and so far it's been rainy and gloomy. Cheyenne has the week off from school. I took yesterday off of work and I'll take another day off, later this week and spend time with the family. We don't have big plans, but we are thinking about going to Six Flags.

Yesterday, I got a new lens, it's a 40mm aka pancake lens. It's perfect for an everyday lens…something easy to throw in a purse and not have to carry around bulky equipment.

I took some pictures with it, yesterday while Trey and the girls were putting together a My Little Pony Puzzle. They are pretty obsessed with all things MLP.


I'm glad I have little subjects who don't mind the attention.

Afternoon in Dallas at Sixth Floor Museum

How was your weekend?
Saturday, Trey and I toured the Sixth Floor Museum. We took the self-guided audio tour. If you are in Dallas and looking for something to do, this is a wonderful tour.
Rich in history.



JFK Memorial.

After the tour we walked around and ate at Hard Rock Cafe. Later that night, we went shopping at North East Mall, went to the movies and watched Kingsman: The Secret Service and ended our night  eating dinner Carrabba's. That was the first time I had ever eaten at Carrabbas's. I got a pizza, it was alright.

Celebrating 11 years of Marriage and The Time I Fell on the Concrete (Chin First)

Today, Trey and I are celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary. The girls are spending the weekend with grandparents. Before they went to Abilene, I was walking around the house and didn't notice a patch of ice. I fell on the concrete chin first! It hurt so bad. My chin is banged up and my head felt rattled, but I'll be okay. I'm thankful I didn't break anything!

Tonight, Trey and I are going out and celebrating our anniversary. We are actually, looking forward to celebrating the entire weekend, kid free. We love our girls, but one on one time is so important.

11 years of marriage and this is what we have to show for it...two beautiful girls.

2015 Cowtown Half Marathon

Distance: Ultra Marathon 13.1 miles Half Marathon 

Duration: 2:00:26

Average Pace Per Mile: 9:12

Gender Place: 565 out of 3428

Overall Place: 1924 out of 6571 Half Marathon Runners

Friday morning, it started to snow and within hours the roads were icy. Saturday, the ice didn't melt…so, Cowtown 5 and 10K races were cancelled. All day Saturday, I was anxiously waiting to hear if the marathon races were going to be canceled like the 5K and 10K events. Well, around Saturday evening, they announced the cancellation of the marathon and ultra…BUT the half was still on! It was going to be delayed by an hour start time, but the half was going to happen. Anyone signed up for the marathon or ultra could run the half. As you know, I've been training for the ultra. This would've been my fifth ultra finish. 

Saturday evening, the city of Ft. Worth had sand trucks out pouring sand on the race course. Workers and volunteers worked through the night and through the morning - preparing the streets for the race. 

Saturday, the roads were slick and I didn't want to take my chances driving to the expo. I decided not to get my packet and I decided to wait until race morning. I arrived at the expo at 6 am. It was pretty empty! I had to remind myself that it was 2 hours before race start, but still! Were people going to show up????

Around 7:30 am I noticed a crowd. It wasn't nearly as packed as previous years, but there were runners there ready to make the most of race day.

Running conditions were wonderful (considering the circumstances), but I was cautious and I know I held back on speed because I was afraid of slipping. I know I could've ran faster and harder, but I didn't and that's ok. For me this race was "I've been at home for 2 days iced in…I need to run race." It was not a PR go all out and prove something race. Also, I had been training for a few months, I was ready to race, even if it wasn't the distance I had initially signed up for…I was ready.

2 hours of running went by so fast!

I took the above photo around 11 am, as I was walking back to my car. Spectating conditions were terrible. I don't blame anyone for not spectating this year and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to run.

I was hoping to run 31 miles on Sunday and instead I ran 13. Honestly, I'm grateful everything worked out, even though I couldn't run the 50K. It would've been easier for race officials to cancel all racing events this weekend, but they didn't. I'm thankful, I ran. I'm thankful, I did not get injured. I'm thankful I made it safety to and from the expo. I love my city, I love the Ft. Worth running community and I love Cowtown.

Snow Day Video and Girls Night Out/In

I promised the girls a girls night out...that was before I knew we were going to get hit with a snow storm. They still wanted to go out, so we did...to the closest food place around and then we went shopping for goodies - and spent the evening baking and playing at home.

We set up a hair salon and did each others hair.

It's still snowing outside. Yesterday, Cowtown announced the cancellation of the 5K and 10K races. Now,  there is a possibility that they will cancel the marathon races. Stay tune!

Snow Day in February

This morning, when I took cheyenne to school it was snowing. It was pretty steady. It continued until about 2 pm. Like many parents today, in the area...we decided to pull Cheyenne out of school early. This is what our afternoon looked like. This is our third snow day this week!

I'm hoping the weather drys up before Sunday's big Cowtown Ultra Marathon. A few hours ago, they announced Saturday races have been cancelled due to weather. Here's to hoping Sunday will be nice!

We Write on The Walls

It Felt Like Summer

Today, it feels more like winter...but Saturday it was so nice outside!
Weekends usually mean edit time. Saturday was no exception. I spent about 6 hours in front of a computer. I broke the time in two chunks…3 hours of edit time in the morning and then 3 hours after the girls were in bed. During my long afternoon break, the girls and I went to the track. I ran 2 miles and they played.

Dakota Day! We Toured the Fire Department.

While Cheyenne was at school, Dakota and I toured the Fire Department. There was a whole group of us from church.

The kids made Valentine Cards for the fire fighters.

Third Show This Season

This weekend, Texas Ballet Theater performed The Merry Widow at Bass Hall.

Cheyenne loves watching the ballet as much as I do. Originally, I had planned on inviting a girlfriend to this show because I didn't think Cheyenne would care to watch The Merry Widow. I was thinking it wouldn't be as interesting to her as the other shows she watched prior…Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. When she found out I was going to ask someone else to go, she was not happy….I'm glad she expressed she wanted to join me because she's the perfect date. 

Enjoying The Sunshine

Shoe Shopping and Running in the Store

It has been a while since I bought new running shoes. I have two pairs, that's I've been rotating. They've both maxed out. Between the two, I've ran one thousand miles. Since Cowtown is a few weeks away, I figured I better get a new pair! For the longest time I was running in Nike's, Lunar Glide's and then I switched to trail shoes by Reebok. I was hoping to get another pair of those, but they didn't have any in stock. I decided to go with the next trail shoes that fit my style and budget.

Cheyenne and I ran down the aisle, so I could get a better feel for the shoes. The workers were not impressed.

I'm going to take my first run in the new pair, today.

If They Made Me a Calendar

Have you seen that story of how three brothers recreated childhood photos, then made a photo calendar and gave it to their mom?  What a sweet gift! I can't help, but think of my girls. I wonder what images they would recreate, if they ever decided to do that for me…

They only have a million photos to choose from, so it might be hard for them...

Did you watch the Super Bowl? We watched it at Chad and Katy's house. The kids played, the men watched the game in the den and the girls huddled around and talked. Everyone gathered during halftime to watch Katy Perry perform. After halftime, Chey and I left, so I could get her to bed (Dakota stayed with Trey and got to stay up past her bedtime) and then I spent the rest of the night editing a wedding.
About the Super Bowl…What did you think about the commericals? I didn't get a chance to see all of them, but I loved the #LikeaGirl commercial. It's a positive message! If you haven't seen the commercial look it up on YouTube.

Charleston: Beauty Around Every Corner

It's been a few days since I've been back from my business trip to Charleston. I attended a filmmakers conference called InFocus. Sunday, Monday and a little bit of Friday were my free days.
I ran 16 miles around town, spread out over the course of 5 days. Most of the pictures are from my runs.




My hotel was about 2 miles from the water front.


There was a class for drone users, I saw them while I was out on my morning run.


Monday, I had some free time, so my roommate and I toured a mansion. There is a scene in The Notebook that was filmed here.

Outside the mansion

The food was pretty good and cheap. I spent less than $200 bucks on eating out. Not bad considering I arrived on Sunday and left on Friday. It was a huge help, that the conference provided breakfast most mornings and one night they provided dinner. They also had two parties and paid for four cocktails.

It was an awesome trip. I met some amazing people in the industry. I might do another post about what I learned…not sure if anyone would be interested to hear about that, but it might be good for me to write my thoughts out.

Hiking with Friends

I'm back from Charleston! I'll share photos soon. Today, I woke up around 4:30 am. I was suppose to run 20 miles, I ended up running 19 miles.
20...19...it's all the same.
After church, we met some friends and went for a hike.

Miss You Already

I'm heading to Charleston for the InFocus (Video Event for wedding filmmakers). I already miss my girls.

They Want to Learn How to Play Guitar

Angelica and Cheyenne want to learn how to play the guitar. Cheyenne says she has to practice EVERYDAY.

As you can see, Dakota is really interested too. ;)

New(ish) Hair Color

Sometimes I wonder what my kids would look like with darker hair. I couldn't resist.
Speaking of hair color, I wouldn't mind a new shade of brown for myself. Hair color is not at the top of my priority list, but wouldn't it be nice.

Nice Ride

When someone gets what they've always wanted, you can't help but be happy for them.
Trey's business partner, got his dream car.

I Can Finally Check This Off My To-Do List

Wednesday, I had all four wisdom teeth extracted. It feels good to finally have that out of the way! The doctor said no running for a week, today is the first day I felt well enough to do light strength and cardio. Trey took a picture of me right after surgery, but it looks so rough. I'm not sure if anyone should ever see that pic. LOL. My face is still swollen.

Have I mentioned I'm training for Cowtown Ultra? I am. This year, the race will be March 1st.
I can't wait, This will be my 5th ultra!

I haven't posted about my 2015 goals, but I would love to run an ultra trail race this fall.

Our Christmas

This is what our Christmas looked like…



After we opened gifts, we drove to Abilene and celebrated with our family. The girls stayed a few days in Abilene and Trey and I headed back home Christmas night.

Trey did it again, he hit a home run getting me a great gift. He got me a Ninja blender. It's been at least 8 years since we've had a real blender.

My favorite smoothie is the one above. It has blueberries, almond milk and almond butter.
My favorite dip to make is mango salsa. Come on over and I'll make us some!

Cotton Bowl 2015

This year, Dakota and I joined Trey and Cheyenne at the Cotton Bowl game.



Cheyenne had a good time resting her head on my lap.

We took a few pics before leaving the house to go to the game...


Trey's uncle also went with us.