It has been kind of a crazy string of days, since I last posted anything on JNB. First of all: credit where credit is due. Reagan snapped the above photo of me bowling. It is quite possibly one of my favorite photos that has ever been taken of me.

Now, rewind to Wednesday night.  Reagan and I ordered sushi from the same place that we always do (2-3 nights per week). It took a lot longer to arrive than normal, and it was all disheveled.  The rolls were falling apart in the chopsticks, etc.. I don’t know if that even had anything to do with anything. But Thursday morning, I felt like I was dying a slow death. And I’m guessing that it was something from the sushi that was doing the killing. Reagan had a bit of an upset stomach, too. But hers appeared to be a bit more manageable.

I wasted most of the day in bed trying to recover. We were planning on leaving that night to visit my sister  and her family in VA. Because of various items that came up and committed me to being in NYC on Friday morning, we ended up not leaving until around Noon on Friday. I was loading the car right as a blizzard was reaching it’s crux over the island of Manhattan. Luckily, once we were over the GW, the accumulation was minimal.

We arrived at the home of my B-I-L’s father early Friday evening, and spent the rest of the weekend having one blast after another. I wanted to get some fun portraits of my sister’s family. Unfortunately, in my haste to get out the door, I left two of  my favorite lenses at home. Also, let’s be real, I’m not much of a portrait photographer. We still shot a ton of photos, though.

Here is a shot of my little nieces having a jumping contest:

Then of course, Reagan played salon with the girls.

My nieces took turns playing assistant and client.

Let’s not forget the shoot that we did in the library, where Reagan directed (inspired by several 80′s era wedding announcements, and other awesome stuff). All of the images looked totally natural, and not contrived, at all. An example:

We rounded off the visit with a trip to Broadview Lanes. It was the first time that both of my little nieces had ever bowled. They clearly take after their second-cousin Ted Swenson, in the sense that they were total naturals.

To finish off this never-ending post: a shot of Reagan, lining up a strike.

(Above:  Reagan Bowling in Cedar)

In observation of National Poetry Week, I would like to share a poem about bowling. About a year ago, Reagan and I attended a service auction at our church. One of the items that I won, was a personalized poem, about any subject. I, of course, chose bowling for the topic of the poem. About a month ago, after much anticipation, I finally received the final draft of the poem. It is pretty amazing. Check it out:

Bowling Ball

for Jake Breinholt

It wobbles from the chute

to an expectant still,

blank-faced and mute

like Nature Channel chimps before they kill.

Plunged to the knuckle in each bore,

your ostrich claw

wrests it to a pose. The roar

of a near gutter steels your jaw.

The pause before the drop:

The gathering eyes

withhold reward, your forearm’s slope

the truer chart of your trajectories,

but tonight this will suffice.

A thud, a whir, the crack

of half-success. The ice

in your glass has flavor enough to soothe the lack.

- J. Scott Reynolds

Thanks again, Scott.

It has been a pretty amazing seven days. We have had a blast hanging out with our families. Monday night we took a trip to the Cedar City bowling alley. Reagan’s parents took us bowling with her brother and sister-in-law. The shot above was Reagan’s idea, since one of the best parts about bowling is the awesome rental shoes.

Before the bowling session, we were able to wander around town with some of Reagan’s friends and hit some thrift shops, etc.. We also dropped by Reagan’s old hair school, to say what’s up. It was beautiful weather, all day. The temperature was in the 50′s and the sky was as blue as can be.

Here are a couple other of my favorite shots around town:

This is the part of vacation that is kind of a bummer. It is that part where, although you are still on vacation, it is hard to enjoy yourself, because you know it is almost over. And, the stress of the logistics of traveling back coupled with the stress of having to catch up on real life again start to weigh you down. Maybe I’m wound a little too tightly. Hehe.