RANDOM EASTER SHOTS

Hi everyone! I hope each of you had a fantabulous Easter holiday yesterday. Our kids seemed to enjoy the day yesterday. (even though it was only in the high thirties and spitting snow flurries here and there toward the end of the day. Needless to say, we had our Easter egg hunt at Grandma's inside.) We actually woke up to about an inch of snow covering the ground this morning and covering what was our tulips starting to sprout. All the more a reminder to how much we are all looking forward to Wednesday when we head to the beach for Spring Break this week. Two more days - just two more days. I can do this! Ha ha!

Either way, after church yesterday - which was the most awesome Easter service I've ever been to if I do say so myself (Go Pastor Scott!!!), we went to Brent's Mom and Step Dads for lunch and the kids egg hunt. All of their cousins were there for the big event. Then, we left there and went to my Dad and Cathy's for the afternoon. We relaxed and visited with my Grandma Dixie while over there. We also hid our eyes and prayed while we watched Tennessee beat the Butler Bulldogs in a very exciting overtime NCAA game yesterday. Yes, I'm from Indiana and should have been routing for the bulldogs yesterday. However, beings that we are partial to the Tennessee VOLS now after Brennen's football run last season on the Tennessee Vols team here, we ultimately wanted the ol' orange and white to win the NCAA game. Thankfully, they did! What a great game! It was a good day!
First, I must apologize for these pictures today. I'm sick over the fact that my brand new - only two months old - big body digital Nikon SLR decided to "go green" on my this weekend. Yeap, for some reason it will take pictures but they are all a night vision goggle green. They look that way in the LCD on the back of the camera as well as when I upload them onto my computer. I could have cried when I realized it wasn't a "fluke" thing. Reason being, because here we are heading out on vacation in two days, and I have no camera - no big nice rockin' camera for those beach pictures I wanted to capture this time anyhow. I was told I have to send the camera back to Nikon directly to have them fix it under their warranty. This process could take up to 3-6 weeks before I receive the camera back. (at least Cord cameras staff told me this) However, I plan to call the manager at the Ritz camera store down in Florida this morning and try ever so politely get him to exchange the camera due to the defect. Their store employee said that they typically don't do that after 30 days. However, they were all so nice to me when I purchased the camera while vacationing there back in January. We had an odd circumstance and I actually met their district manager when I purchased the camera. We explained that we were from Indiana and that we were wanting to get the camera from them before we went back home. However, they didn't have the one I wanted at their Bonita Beach store so they sent us to their manager at the Ft. Myers store. We made it there in a hurry and finalized the purchase by the skin of our teeth with like 10 minutes to spare before they closed for the night. They were even out of a promo that they were doing (which consisted of a free camera bag and photography DVD) so he signed the back of my receipt and told me to take it to my Ritz camera store here in Indy to get the promo once I got back. I never did - only because our Ritz is about 45 minutes away. However, his gesture in offering that was so nice. I'm praying he'll remember me and that night and how well they worked with us to get us what we needed. I hope to explain to him that we are heading back there to his area this week for Spring Break and can I please, please, please bring the camera body back with me and exchange it while there. I have no idea what he'll say but I'm praying he does it. Wish me luck. I'll keep you posted. I plan to call him in a few hours. In the meantime, I'm using this point and shoot canon powershot A650IS digital camera that is nothing in quality compared to my big camera. I am so spoiled by my big Nikon SLR now that I'm ever so picky about the way the photos look from other cameras. There is really a huge difference. (as you can see by these point and shoot photos below)


ABOVE: You knew I'd find some zebra/animal print Easter eggs somewhere, didn't ya?
All of the cousins at Grandma D's house! (and aunt Jill on the end too)

Anywho, I'm so sorry to ramble about my camera once again. However, you all know how "tight" my camera and I are. It's devastating that the little gal is so sick. Again, I'm praying for an exchange once arriving in Florida this week so that all is well again. I have beach pictures that MUST be captured - dang it! :) In the meantime, bare with me over the next couple of days. The kids are basically packed but I'm not. We leave Wednesday evening and I've got so much yet to do. I'm having lunch with some girlfriends of mine today while the kids are at school and I hope that will rejuvenate me a bit before coming home and everything getting chaotic again with all of the packing, cleaning, etc. that still needs done before we head out. So...I'll be posting blog posts but they might be late at night or real early in the morning, etc. For those of you who've emailed and asked if I'll be posting while on vacation, the answer is yes. Not everyday - but every few days. We'll have the laptop with us so I'll be able to keep in touch and update you on how the trip is going like I normally do when we are away.
Have a great week and be safe! Blessings, Angie