To the Class of 2020 - Luke

I'm continuing my Class of 2020 recognition. This week is Luke, the son of a good running friend. Luke loves soccer and plans to attend Eastern Illinois University in the fall. Luke's family lives across the street from a beautiful forest preserve that I like to explore by running or hiking. Luke's mother, Michele introduced me to the trails out there and through our weekly summer runs, I no longer get lost in the woods. These photos were taken in the forest preserve.







These soccer photos were taken at the local pitch.




Congratulations to you, Luke!

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For the Love of Baseball

A couple of weeks ago, I rejoiced as I received my "third child" (aka my D600) back!

The Nikon Service guys replaced its shutter mechanism, updated the firmware, cleaned it up and even wrapped it quite nicely in plastic.


I unwrapped it, put a lens on it, adjusted the focus back to single point (I had to break out the manual to figure that out, sheesh) and then it sat in my purse, unused.

Actually, since I keep it in my purse, I lugged it around with me everywhere. But I was slow on the picture taking. I blame it on the late summer heat and humidity - it was so hot and humid, all I wanted to do was hide in my air conditioned house (until the air conditioning unit fan shot craps, but that is another story). I had no desire to go outside and take photos.

Slowly, it made appearances at my son's baseball games. One or two shots here and there. Then I got into a groove and remembered how much I enjoyed capturing these moments in life. And I remembered how awesome this camera is at capturing action shots.


Yup, he was out at second, but it was a good effort.


Strike! And a poof of dust at the Catcher's Mitt!


The Coach gives some constructive direction after a tough inning.



They are certainly having fun playing ball this year. Our team has a winning record and we're heading into the post season - wish us luck as we play in a semi final on Saturday! I'll be there to capture more action (and those in-the-dugout shenanigans).

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Kayaking

Or 'yak-ing' as my husband started to dub the activity we did the most during our stay on Mount Desert Island in Maine.

We were lucky to have four kayaks, a dock, life jackets and the ocean at our disposal at the rental property. I've been on a kayak twice - on a lake and a very calm river - the experience is a little different on the ocean, depending upon how choppy the water is, but even in windy conditions, maneuvering a these sleek vessels is pretty easy and safe. *Just make sure you have a flotation device on!*

Following the group hike around Long Pond, the boys asked Scott to help get the kayaks to the dock. Before we knew it, they were all on the water.



They all set off towards the small islands in this photo. The right side, closer island with the tall trees is John's Island. The bigger island off to the left is Folly Island.


Of course, the boys were racing each other. They reached John's Island quickly (yes, it looks really far away, but I think it's only a quarter mile to its edge) and then proceeded to Folly Island before turning back.

In front of Folly Island, Brian and Matty are paddling hard:


The two boys were tired, so Erica and I took over Brian and Matty's kayaks. Cousin Zach and Scott were still out in the ocean, taking the time to kayak around Folly Island.




We met Scott at John's Island.


Even my Dad decided to give it a whirl and he did great!


More kayaking adventures to come!

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Random Photos

Just some photos I have taken over the last month that I never featured on the blog.

Taking Flight

This was one of those point the camera at the flock of birds that just took flight and hope for the best. I was lucky that the auto-focus found a bird to grab on to. I was using a 105mm macro lens that doesn't always focus fast on moving objects.

It's still not perfect because as I cropped it tighter, I noticed the depth of field rendered the background windmill out of focus. My aperture was set to f3.5, and with a full frame camera, that was too low. Oh well - I'm still amazed how much detail I still got and I am always fascinated by how flocks of birds take to the sky together.


Now for some fun photos - from a Dodgeball outing my friend Jill arranged during Christmas break. Picture 15 or so kids, ages 5 to 16 playing dodgeball. Add in Jill's husband, Buck, who is really serious about his dodgeball. This is what you get (Buck is in the blue).

Jill has title the above "Proud Wife Moment".


And everyone playing had to sign a waiver before playing.... but really, no one was hurt....

Shared with Wordful Wednesday, as I guess I had a lot to say today....

Shared with Deb Duty and her last edition of This or That Thursday.

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What We're Up to Nowadays

I am officially the mom of two teenagers. Heaven help me and grant me patience!



The boy has finished baseball and cross country season.


Band and Jazz band are gearing up.


The girl won't let me take photos of her anymore, unless I'm in stealth mode.

Oh, here's one right after she cut off 9" of her hair to donate to Locks of Love.

That was back in July, but I have to give equal time to my kids. Otherwise they start to accuse you of favoritism....

Proof that she had all that hair cut off:


Note to self - take more photos of the girl!

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P365+1 - Week 2 in Instagram

Saturday morning, I stretched after a short run:

I have to admit, I almost never take time to stretch, unless I am in some sort of group fitness class where the instructor runs through a stretching routine. Well, this morning I was still sore from a soccer game from Wednesday, so I took that extra time to stretch.

Sunday morning - the first group run:

I've officially signed up to run my first marathon in April. Because it's my first, and because there is a great local training program, I signed up for it. Today was the first run with the training group, and while I don't like running on Sunday mornings (because I'm normally in church), I decided to go in order to meet the pace leaders. It just happens that I know the leader for my pace group (the guy in orange). We had a great 12 mile run.
The photo is fuzzy because when I run, I put my iPhone in a plastic baggie, and I took the picture without thinking how that would impact the camera lens. I really wasn't going for an arty look, LOL!

Monday afternoon - at the orthodontist:

This should be my daughter's second to last orthodontist appointment. In two weeks she's scheduled to get her braces off (FINALLY).

Tuesday morning - my daughter's breakfast:
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I'm a pushover and make her breakfast and lunch every morning. As for the "coffee", I take my coffee, pour her about two ounces, then add 8 ounces of hot water. Then she adds the flavored creamer - a lot of it. Oh, and my coffee is 1/3 regular, 2/3 decaf. I think she just likes the creamer....

Wednesday night - indoor soccer:

The reason why I can't walk up the stairs on Thursday.... Somehow I signed up to play on a women's soccer league. I can run long distances, but I will tell you that sprinting and kicking require a different set of muscles because I am so sore! I know my legs will adjust in a couple of weeks, but for now they are in pain. Oh, we lost tonight's game, but we're getting better.

Thursday - Winter's back:

Our first Winter Weather Advisory which resulted in several inches of snow, which then blew around due to the 30 mph winds. Welcome to winter on the prairie. The 60 degF temperatures we enjoyed on Tuesday are but a faint memory now.

Friday - Lunch break:

I passed up a lunch invite to a local Mexican restaurant. I ate there yesterday and I needed to eat my healthier salad.

Are you doing a P365+1 this year? Using the iPhone and Instagram has made it so easy. I hope your week has been a great one and enjoy the upcoming weekend!

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Camera Phone Friday - Under the Lights

I normally don't attend local sporting events, but somehow I found myself at two events this week.

First, a football game Saturday afternoon - and it was a perfect fall afternoon for football.


The temperatures cooled off as twilight descended upon the field and the lights came on.

The fans were feeling the cold reality that the home team wasn't going to win.

But the stadium looks pretty with all the lights on.


And leaving the game, we were entertained by this quartet of very talented drummers.


The second event - a basketball game on a cold, brisk night. But we were inside so it was OK.

I thought the arena was cool looking - all illuminated like a spaceship.

And this time, the home team won.


All photos taken on my iPhone4s, Square photos adjusted using Instagram.

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Mosaic Monday - Football Under the Lights

I love September.

The cooler temperatures, the start of school, the angle of light in the morning and evening.

The football games.

Nothing beats a night game under the lights with on a perfect fall evening.

Our team was the underdog - and clinched the game, late in the 4th quarter.



Can you feel the excitement in the air? There's many more weeks of that to come.

Linked to Mosaic Monday.

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Playing Catch

I got back from the east coast in time for two back to back baseball games. With vacations and injuries, our team barely has enough players to field a full team. So we had to bring in some reinforcements, at least for one night.

Olivia is filling in tonight and played the catcher position for one inning - with her twin brother, Nolan pitching to her.



It's just a simple game of throw and catch - just like at home.


It's a good thing the twins get along (at least that's what their mom tells me). Things can get heated around the plate.


Yeah, just kidding.

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Final Soccer Games

Two soccer games this week - Tuesday night, in the blistering heat and today, in the cold and misty drizzle. [As a runner, I prefer the cooler temperatures. Add in some cooling drizzle and it's ideal for a great run. Erica agreed that she enjoyed playing today's game more than Tuesday night's.]

The green team won both games, ending a no-goal drought that plagued them the previous two weeks.

Even though in this shot, Erica wasn't able to capitalize on the goal opportunity.


That was Tuesday's game - no scores for Erica. However, she did score today [insert proud mom smile].

Today's game marked the official end of the season. There will be a couple scrimmages and an end of the season celebration, but this may have been the last time for this group of girls to play as a team. Next year, the 8th graders separate to different high schools and may face each other as the opposition. I hope they take with them the spirit of sportsmanship that their coach has modeled throughout their tenure with Team Arsenal.

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Baseball Jamboree

Another April, another start of the baseball season.

For the second year in a row, Brian's team will be sporting forest green shirts. Nice color, but kind of a pain to photograph (so dark).

I'm so glad the season kick off Jamboree was held Sunday instead of Saturday. As you may recall, Saturday's weather was less than pleasant, with the wind, rain and cold. Bearable for a one hour soccer game, not so much for a three hours of baseball.

Instead, the boys were blessed with comfortable temperature and sunshine.


There was the usual waiting around in packs.


And some actual baseball.


The official games start this week. Our crazy schedule just got a little crazier...

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The Loss

“That's what learning is, after all; not whether we lose the game, but how we lose and how we've changed because of it and what we take away from it that we never had before, to apply to other games. Losing, in a curious way, is winning.”
-- Richard Bach

My daughter started playing soccer in the Fall of 2009, on a 6th-8th grade team. In the league, they maintain the teams with the coaches, so she's basically had the same teammates and coach for the past two years. And in the 20 or so games played, her team has never lost a game. Until today.

It was the first game of the spring season, and maybe the girls were just a little rusty. They looked a little lethargic during the first 5 minutes of the game, and suffered a penalty that resulted in the other team scoring early.

I know they will recover and go on to win future games. After all, winning isn't everything, and what you take away from the loss is what's important.

Some of my favorite shots from the game:


In the picture below, #12 had just scored the team's only goal, right before end of the first half.


For my daughter, it's all about the socks! She collects them (or rather, she picks them out and I pay for them).


One of Erica's attempts on goal:


Next week's game starts really early and I hope the girls rest up for a return to the winner's circle.

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