Jodi and I enjoyed our weekend in St. Louis as it was a nice getaway from the work we left behind at home.  My mind is constantly on our business, rarely shutting down, so going somewhere without the constant reminders surrounding me was a nice break.

We really enjoyed the hours of laughter we had at the family cookout.  The food was great and the screened room was the perfect spot to hang out and enjoy the eats and conversation, so much so that I'm entertaining an addition to our home as well.

The next day, we got up early and went to Jodi's mom's house for breakfast.  She made us eggs, bacon and biscuits and gravy.  Kyle joined us and it was a great start to the day.  Afterward, we went to Jodi's grandpa's house to see if there was anything from the estate that we could use.  Jodi brought home her grandmother's jewelry chest to use.  We also stopped and saw her aunt who lives across the highway.

Jodi wound up going to a cousin's grad party while I went back to her sisters house and flew my drone for the first time.  It flies rather easily in beginner mode, which limits how high and how far it can travel away from you.  I think I would have handled it just fine without that mode but preferred to start there.  I shot video and took pictures of the property and look forward to my next flight.

After driving home Sunday evening, I woke up early on Monday and was motivated to get some things done.  I ran down to Lowe's and purchased some flowers to put in our three planters out front.  Jodi and I worked on that and then I weeded the front flower beds.  I also got the waterfall working again and then we went to a nursery to get more flowers for the planters on the back patio.  While at the nursery, we bought some wind chimes that we both liked and I also got some mulch.  It didn't take a lot of time to get this all done but it made a nice difference in the appearance around the house.

We then spent a good amount of time working on our studio magazine that we intend to publish tonight or tomorrow.  It is over 70 pages of information about our studio and what we do and will be available to those who inquire about our services.  One of the last things we needed were headshots of Jodi and I so yesterday evening, we went down on the historic Square and took photos of each other.  I got to be in front of the camera for a change and Jodi learned a little about my camera.

Yesterday was a pretty good day as I booked two more summer sessions for the next class.  We also had a sales session that was an additional sale from a previous session.  This was for the other side of a split family so it was an added bonus for us.

My drone returns from the manufacturer tomorrow and I hope it is ready to fly.  Communication issues were an issue after updating the firmware.  I just hope I don't have any lingering issues with the app that it connects to so you can see video from the craft and control it from the iPad.

On Saturday, I photographed a kraft beer event that a guy that will be helping me with some video needed a second shooter for.  I'm not a journalistic or event photographer but I figured I'd help him out some.  He was flying a drone to shoot video from overhead and I captured the scenes, the people, etc... We were given VIP access with a media pass and could go wherever we wanted/needed to.  It's not something I'd want to do a lot but it was fun to try something different. 

We had a sales session Sunday morning for a client that I photographed on Friday.  We had to do a quick turnaround for them as they were in town from South Dakota and were heading back right after we showed them the images.  Afterward, Jodi, JD and I spent some time shopping on Sunday after a sales session with a client in the morning that I photographed on Friday.  We spent a few hours mostly looking.  Jodi got some clothes and JD got some hardware for his online streaming. 

This week we have two sales sessions on tap but our photo shoots are finished for the Class of 2016.  We start the Class of 2017 next month and the summer is already filling up with sessions.  My goal is to do less sessions this year with higher sales averages. 

We are looking forward to our family BBQ this weekend.  We will drive in on Saturday and leave Sunday evening.  Jodi also wants to attend a cousins grad party while we are there and that takes place on Sunday.

 

Technology can be both a wonderful and frustrating thing.  Yesterday I wasted a whole lot of time trying to get my drone updated and flying.  A new firmware was available so I went through that process and all seemed well, but then it lost the RC signal.  Well, that's kind of important.  I researched the problem, sued online forums for help, etc... to no avail.  Waste several hours on it which was quite frustrating.  It seems a lot of people are having this issue.  After talking to tech support this morning, they want me to do a hard reset of the RC so I guess I'll be trying that this evening; but we have a sales session with twins this evening so the night is now full.

JD goes back to the doctor today for a post op evaluation.  I haven;t heard him complain any and he went back to St. Louis this past weekend to hand with the baseball team and the guys he would have graduated with this year on their senior day weekend. 

We only have one more session to shoot this month and that wraps up the Class of 2016.  In June, we have a number of sessions already scheduled for the Class of 2017 and we are changing things up a bit in regard to what we offer, cost and how we approach each sale. 

Jodi and I had a "date night" last night and went to see Captain America - Civil War.  It was a pretty good movie.  I'd rather watch a movie like this than some of the other garbage being produced by the libs in Hollywood.  We saw it in the Prime theater so we had reclining leather seats that shook with the explosions and rumbling in the movie.  It was definitely a much different experience than a typical theater and I recommend it for action flicks.

JD started physical therapy on his shoulder and we found out yesterday that he has been accepted into a KCPD internship and has to complete 13 ride alongs which start next week.  They apparently don't mind he is in a sling.  He's about to get a pretty good idea as to what being in law enforcement is like. 

I have a photo shoot today and Jodi has a sales session as well as product delivery to handle.  We have one more shoot scheduled this month and the girl and her family are coming in from South Dakota to have us create her senior portraits for her. 

We had an enjoyable weekend that included a photo shoot, shopping, hanging out with Jayson and some relaxation to boot.  I took Jodi and Jayson to breakfast yesterday morning and then I took her shopping later in the day.  She picked out 4 new pair of shoes for her Mother's Day gifts.  I got 4 new pair of jeans and JD got 4 new pair of shorts.  Not sure why we all got 4 of something but that's the way it worked out. 

We've got a couple photo shoots scheduled this week so we just need some cooperation from the weather.  We've also been working on some marketing materials for the new class of seniors and we've been planning some creative shoots to take place this summer.  I've been making some changes to our website too and it's looking better than ever.  Still have work to do but I'm liking the new look to it.

We are looking forward to a family BBQ at the end of the month. We will stay an extra day so Jodi can attend a family members grad party. 

We were told JD's surgery went very well.  The labrum was OK so the rotator cuff needed some repair and they "loosened up" a muscle on the back of his shoulder that was limiting his range of motion.  They had to do some "re-anchoring" of the rotator cuff and he returns in a week for a follow up visit.  The doctor thinks he will be throwing again in about 8 months. 

We are still staying busy, at least for the next couple weeks, then it will slow a bit as we head into the summer.  June is usually a pretty slow month for us and we won't mind a less hectic schedule for a bit.  We may even take a little vacation if JD is up to it. 

Today is JD's should surgery and we are praying all goes well and that they can repair the damage well.  They won't know exactly the extent and what is affected until they get in there but JD had a lot of confidence in this new doctor that he chose.  Surgery is at 12:30pm.