I'm BACK!

Hello Maude, it's me again! I know I've been a terrible blogger recently, I just been so busy.....this is going to be a long post. I'll get pictures up soon of my progress and a recap of sports I've been shooting.

After Christmas it felt like I was at a basketball game 3-4 times a week, wait a minute I WAS at basketball games 3-4 times a week. I made custom storyboards in different sizes for each of the 8th grade boys that their parents presented them on the last home game. I also made an album for the coach that the boys presented to him that same night. Once junior high ball ended I was at the high school games and then volleyball began. Volleyball ended last night, track practice started yesterday with the first meet in 2 weeks - it never ends!

One weekend toward the end of basketball I had a 3 hour session with the junior high cheerleaders, it was a lot of fun. The junior high boys won regional and competed in state (didn't place but we're still proud of them) and the junior high cheerleaders also competed at their state (6th place but deserved 2nd at the very least in my opinion). I had a fun weekend in Springfield watching the cheerleaders, reliving high school memories.

I was hired by a couple other schools to shoot some of their sporting events - that's exciting! I didn't intend to become a sports photographer but always loved participating and attending sporting events of all types plus I understand the rules and flow of the events for the most part which I think is necessary to capture good sports pictures.

In addition I've done several newborns, toddlers and a few family sessions. I've also shot 2 birthday parties (80 & 90 year old folks) with extended family group pic's. So that's what I've been up to the last 2-3 months.......sports and pictures.

On the house renovation:

I'm having a love/hate relationship with red paint. I can't get it on without showing brush strokes and I've painted many a room, inexperience isn't the issue. I purchased an additive a few days ago on a friends recommendation that's suppose to reduce/eliminate brush strokes from showing. Repainting again this weekend and will let you know.

I'm 75% done with my kitchen/dining room ceiling! WooHoo!! I only restarted it 5 times, Sunday I tore half of what I had done down and kept going until I was done with that part of it (my neck and shoulders weren't happy with me Monday morning). Tonight I'm going to buy the cabinets & supplies necessary to build my kitchen island. Tomorrow Michael is coming over to move my light (it's about a foot off from being centered over the island which will bug the heck out of me if I don't get moved). Once he moves the light I can do the last step of the ceiling and it will be DONE.

I'm also purchasing the crown molding tonight. Hope to find time this weekend to at least get it painted and maybe hung next week if I get the red paint to cooperate.

Once the ceiling & walls are done and the island is semi built, I can finally lay my kitchen floor. Am I ever ready to have an actual floor and not a wood sub-floor. The only major thing remaining in the kitchen/dining room is the deck door (it's a window right now). I still have to find the one I want at a price I'm willing to pay. It'll be a May/June project.

I still need to remove the bottom cabinet doors (again), sand them this time and repaint them. I also need to paint the shadow box area by the ceiling - I'll have to show you a picture to explain it. I think I've narrowed down my fabric for curtains.

Hopefully by Easter I can start to decorate this area - hopefully.
I think that's enough of a 'catching-up' post for now.

Matt - Flag Football 1st Week

Matt's in kindergarten this year. Along with most of his classmates, he didn't quite get the concept of flag football. His father had set him straight on the non-tackle concept but Matt thought he was just suppose to "collect" flags each play. He did a good job getting flags, unfortunately they weren't attached to the player with the ball!

But seriously, who couldn't love a face like that.....

Here his flag fell off as he was running, so he turned around to pick it up and put it back on!

He's missing something on the instructions on how to "set", I'm pretty sure it didn't include flopping one arm backwards like that.

Katie - 1st Week Flag Football

Yes, that would be Katie doing her cheers on top of stacked up trash cans!

This cheer would be "I want a T-O-U-C-H down, down, down.

The little girls loved shimming down, down, down!!

Johnathon Flag Football - Week 1

Okay, I know I'm late getting these posted. These are Johnathon's first flag football game this season. He was injured in the last play of the game. There was contact between he and another kid and his glasses cut his upper eye lid. Hey, what's football without injuries! Luckily it wasn't anything serious, the glasses didn't even break.

The 3rd and 4th pics are of a touchdown catch!!

Go #61

This will be a rather long post as I've included a lot of pics from John's first football game on Saturday against the Carterville Lions @ home (go SVHS!). His cheering section which he's waving to in the pic below included his mother, Bryon, Arielle, Taylor, Aunt Mary Lou, Uncle Dean, Aunt Lisa, Amy, Johnathon, David, Tracy, Brittany, Kendra, & Isabel.

Huddle at beginning of game (John is on the right outside, 2 over from #73)
Looking to see who's at the game with a mouth full of water
Sesser was a little outsized against Carterville. John would be the one getting tackled.
Look at that fancy footwork!
Offensive line ready to go...
Bear Hug! Way to bring him down!
That would be Johns arm in the air as he's getting knocked out of the way.
Good try in getting to the football.
Imitating his father....hand on hip look-a-like.
Huddle up with coach.
Defensive linemen.....
Offensive runner in site...tackle him!
Assisting in the tackle....
This boy definitely had weight/size on his side...no more to say.
Yes that would be John that gets knocked on his butt.
Hike! Go defensive line...
This had to hurt, this boy just literally ran him over (John would be the only maroon person you see in this pic)

Sometimes it pays to not be the tallest one on the field, he was able to "duck" through the cluster of players.

Kick-off team

Unfortunately the game didn't end the way we'd hoped for the debut, but John made some good tackles. The Carterville boys were a lot bigger than our guys who by the way had to play the entire game due to our lack of size of the team.

Next game will be better, we're thinking positively!!

Katie - Softball

Katie's play-off game, unfortunatley they lost but I got some good pics of her. She played 1st base for the entire game. In the last couple of inning she was quite bored....and it showed!

getting to the base first

she and the first base runner doing a little synchronized dance

racing to 1st base with a ball she caught

hmmmm....I wonder what's on tv right now?

still bored with the game, filling up the checks with air....

.....and pushing all the air out!

Sesser is in the Redbirds Rookies program, so at the end of each game the coach reads a book to them. Katie's front and center for this book. If the team "reads" it's quota of books by the end of the season the entire team gets to go to a Cardinal game in St.Louis for FREE!