Moving On Up

How many places have you lived in your life time?  Me?  Not that many, but if you count the amount of times I've lived in different places its pretty significant.

Bryony and I started out our marriage Living in Houston, TX.  I was working at a chemical plant at the time and the world seemed awfully small from where we were sitting.  So I found a really good and really expensive school in southern CA and we thought to ourselves, "why not?"

So then we moved to Ventura, CA for a couple of years.  Where I attended the Brooks Institute of Photography.  I got an amazing photographic education there, but more importantly it gave me and Bryony the opportunity to really grow as a couple.  It was one of the most trying times of our lives.  I was going to school more than full time and working about 35 hours a week on top of that.  It was a struggle to say the least, but we made it through.  If I could go back to Ventura and have a successful career, I would do it in a heart beat.  Beautiful weather, great beaches, great surf, relaxed atmosphere...I don't think you can ask for a whole lot more.

We still have a lot of friends there.  We went back to visit a couple years after we left and Scout couldn't help to get in the pacific...fully clothed of course.

We left Ventura and moved back to Houston.  Big city, tough photography market.  There is a lot of competition there so I took up a job with a real estate development company.  I moved up fast and took every opportunity I could at growth.  Promotion?  Growth?  Las Vegas?  Of course.

This is from our last day in Vegas.  Scout was mad we were leaving.

I had the opportunity to photograph the band, Theory of Flight at the Hard Rock Hotel.

And Sanctus Real.

 I've actually photographed Sanctus Real twice, the next time would be in Austin, TX.  I'll post about that on another day.  I also started a pretty successful aerial photo business there too.  That will also be another post for a later date.

So Vegas was cool, but unfortunately it didn't last very long.  About 6 months after we arrived the real estate market crashed.  Big time.  So we were off for another move.  We owned a home in Houston so there was only one place to go.  Back to the lone star state.

 We loved our little house.  Scout learned to paint here.

We had all kinds of fun.

We had Lincoln.

But it wasn't meant to last.

California here we come...again.

I'm so tired of moving and I vow that this will be one of my last.  Only one of the last because I really want to live in Ventura, not Stockton.  But its nice here for now.  We've already made a lot of good friends and found a great home church.  I believe this is where God wants us for a season.  To set some roots.  Life is funny, it throws you some curve balls.  I've always tried to make home runs out of those curve balls and enjoy the ride.  Maybe we've lived a few places but we've loved every minute of every one of them and made the best of our time there.

This is the first second Lincoln met Poppy.  Literally.  

Lincoln likes it here.  I guess we better stay.