We had a great Jeepin' weekend with friends and we we worn out by the end of it as both days were pretty much all day events.  We started with National Topless Day on Saturday.  Rain threatened but after breakfast with friends, the radar started to look a lot better so we headed to the starting point in Overland Park, KS.  From there, we headed east on a planned 142 mile ride.  We were a bit behind schedule and I think we shortened it up just a bit but it was a fun day with us even getting a little sunburn by the end of it.  We finished in a field a half hour to the north of our house where we spelled the word "Jeep" with our rigs and then did a drone shot from above.  After the photo, we all went to a BBQ restaurant for dinner and then from there we went to the ice cream shop, getting home about 7pm.

The next morning, we were up at 5am so we could meet our friends at Quiktrip to Convoy over to Cabelas to meet up with a couple others for a convoy to Tuttle.  We had 5 rfigs going with a 6th meeting us there.  It's just under two and a half hours to Tuttle from our house but it is so worth it.  When we arrived, we aired down and headed out on the trails.  One of the couples that is going to Colorado with us has a Rubicon on 35's but had never been off road so this was their first time and they not only loved it but did great on the trails.  

We didn;t get much video because I forgot to charge my GoPro's the night before but we got a little.  The funniest thing that happened was when we came out of the hills and into the lake bed, we ran across a Jeep Cherokee stuck in the mud.  It was a soldier and his family from nearby Fort Riley who had just transferred from Georgia.  Apparently they were alone but a couple other vehicles had stopped, none equipped with a tow strap or winch.  The Cherokee didn't even have tow points so we wound up running tow straps through his wheels and used two rigs and winches to pull him straight out.  Then, the Durango driver who had stopped to offer moral support (that was all he could do) decided he would show the guy how it was done.  Yeah, that didn't work too well as he was now stuck too.  Now we have to rescue him too.  While doing so, one of my friends said that someone needed to show them how it was done.  Challenge accepted!

The child's voice at the end of the video saying "He made it!" was the 4 year old son of the soldier who was stuck.  Everyone thought that was funny.  

We wheeled for about 6 hours going up ledges, steep inclines, through the many creeks and we all avoided trail damage.  It was a blast.  I kept taking the more difficult routes instead of some of the bypasses which had Jodi a bit worried but we had no issues.  I did get hung up on one set of ledges and it took multiple attempts and some extra skinny pedal to clear it but I made it. I'll have to post the video later but this is where it took place.  

Glad to see the weekend arrive finally.  It's a weekend full of Jeepin' with friends.  But first, I have a model shoot this evening and then I have to get my Spiderwebshade put on, my Hi Lift jack mounted and check lugnuts and other things before heading out tomorrow.

It's never a good thing when you get a letter from the IRS.  Well, we got one yesterday, a bill for $4130.  I immediately took it to our tax preparer and found out that she didn't delete the estimated payments she thought we would make this year.  Yep, we owe it.  She is paying the interest and penalties but that's a lot of Jeep part money going to Uncle Sam.  We obviously owe it but thought we had already paid in what we needed to.  Oh well, it's only money.

Jodi is busy trying to sew a dress for us to use in a creative photo shoot with one of our models.  This is her first "real" sewing adventure but she usually can do whatever she sets her mind to.  She almost has all of the pieces cut out from the pattern she is using and then the sewing begins.  I bet she does great.  She just made a moss covered chair for us to use too.

Here is some recent work of ours.

Yesterday after work, I photographed a couple of our models before joining up with Jodi at our monthly group meetup.  We had a nice turnout and there were some new faces as well.  While we were there, they wanted to get a photo of some Jeeps stacked up in front of the restaurant for social media purposes so Jodi and I were enlisted as well as a couple others.  It was quite a spectacle as we had a pretty big crowd of not just our group but others in the plaza watching us stack our Jeeps up. 

This weekend, Saturday is national "Go Topless Day".  Our group has been selected as the official Missouri event and we have a big ride scheduled.  The route is 142 miles and will culminate in a field in the boonies where we will spell the word "JEEP" with our vehicles as a helicopter takes an aerial photo of us from above.  Rain will put the kibosh on the photo as we won;t want to tear up the field.  If all goes as planned, we will finish with a BBQ dinner at an area restaurant where one of our Jeeple works. 

On Sunday, I am leading a small group back to Tuttle for an off road adventure.  We will hit the road at 6am and arrive about 8:30am to air down and then hit the trails.   We have to be back by 6pm for a shoot with our 12 models. 

We don't do child photography but a magazine we've been featured in several times previously was seeking some children's images so we thought we would submit a few of Jayson.  As we were looking through images, we found a shoot we did with him where he wanted some pics with his Hulk hands on.  We submitted this one.  Click on it for a larger view.  

My photo shoots are done for the week and I can relax for the rest of the week and weekend.  Tonight we have our off road club meeting so we will get to hang out with friends this evening.  Our club now has 210 members and that is pretty incredible considering we have been in existence for 15 months.

I am leading a group to Tuttle ORV on the 20th.  We are taking a small group, mostly consisting of those going on our Colorado trip.  We have to be back by 6pm for a photo shoot with our model team but if we leave early enough in the morning, we should have a good full day of wheeling.

On June 3rd, Jodi and I are hosting a meeting at our house with those going on the Colorado trip.  We will be going over the plan for the week, reviewing the trails we intend to wheel, what to bring on the trip, etc...

We finally have warm weather here and the colors are starting to pop.  Got this shot of one of my models last week.

Lots of photo shoots with two more days of them before a little break.  It's been a lot of fun getting to do some creative stuff.  My friend came into town and we shot for a couple hours Thursday evening followed by dinner and talking business until midnight.  

On Saturday, Jodi and I went to a client graduation party before she departed for St. Louis.  I spent the balance of the day getting set up for a photo shoot on Sunday, photographed a model in her prom dress with her date and then spent the evening cruising in my Jeep, meeting up with friends for an ice cream and then went to the casino until 1am.  Good times.

Yesterday was spent preparing for the photo shoot.  It took me nearly 4 hours to set up three shooting stations for the two girls I would be photographing.  I was ready to go when they arrived and after we shot those setups, we went to Unity Village for some on location shots.  I got home at 9pm and Jodi had made it back from St. Louis and had brought dinner with her.  After eating, we watched a movie until midnight.  6am came early again.

I have a photographer friend from Nashville coming to town today to hang out and shoot.  The weather may not cooperate though as we had tornado warnings last night and may see the same again this afternoon.  If we can't shoot, we will just hang out and talk biz.

I have a busy weekend lined up with photo shoots each day while Jodi goes to St. Louis for a baby shower.  The weather looks like it will be nice for some Jeep time too.