so excited I could pee my pants

I have a wedding to photograph tomorrow! Britni and Ryan are getting married at the Frazier building tomorrow night at 6:30 and I get to photograph it! And like the title says, I'm so excited! I just got home from the rehearsal and wanted to share the couple that has my lens wrapped around them all day tomorrow.

Check back late for the wedding sneak peek.

Getting a perm!

something else besides BB

Last night we celebrated Ida Lee's 93rd birthday at the 50 Yard Line in Lubbock. The family all gathered together, minus Davida (we missed you!) and had a wonderful time together.

Ida Lee's 92nd Birthday

I included that link so you could see how things have changed in a year. Mainly in the kids, because Ida Lee looks the same! Amazing! I think many refer to her as THE ROCK and I beginning to think that's totally what she's made of to have lasted this long on God's Earth.

We love you Ida Lee! I'll uploading pictures to my lab right now for you to have and take to quilting next week.

On a side note, the pictures here are not that "bueno", due to me thinking 4 bloody mary's might be good. LOL But I had to include these two precious images of Garett and Kate. I sat next to him at dinner and Kate crawled up on his lap and he started singing in her ear. It was so sweet. He had no idea I could hear him, let alone think I was taking pictures! I really would have loved to use my flash, but was afraid he would stop singing to her. Such a great moment.

On to the photos!

I don't know about your kids, blog readers, but mine are addicted to the Electronic Age we live in. How's this for available light. Kalyn in the back seat of my Yukon playing her Nintendo DS.






Choice of wine for the evening. I had a sip and yes it was very yummy.

The wonderful cake Aunt Barbara made. We gave up sweets for lent, my little family and we were so looking forward to eating cake today! We ALWAYS make an exception for Ida Lee's Birthday. LOL It didn't disappoint!


Ida Lee will HATE this pictures. But the "family paparazzi" were fighting for best angle and position.


The Annual Grandkids and Great-Grandma shot! So much fun!


Here we go! The candle lighting takes a bit and we needed all the helping hands we could get. LOL







Okay, I absolutely ADORE this shot! Check out Dalton going through the motions with his mouth too. So much fun!





Happy Birthday, Ida Lee!

cooper vs. canon

"We were in it at halftime and I was proud of the way we played defensively" Hilliard said. "I thought we needed to be more aggressive offensively and we weren't able to get untracked. They were able to shut down April in the third quarter and we knew that was coming ... and we didn't have anybody offensively step up." Coach Hillard, February 23, 2008.

My heart is hurting for the Cooper girls, and especially for April. She's a fierce competitor and a girl that can't stand to ride the bench. I get that. She makes things happen. She creates space where no space is and puts the ball in the net. I love watching her play!

Cooper lost last night to Canyon and I've tried to write this blog post all day, but it's hard, because the hurt is still there. You hurt for these girls that poured their heart and souls into this team, and for the parents that did, too. You so wish it could have ended differently.

I know many of you have emailed me, stopped me and given me hugs, pats on the back, etc. for giving of my time to this team in their last few weeks of their season, and in their trek to state. This team, and parent's are more than welcome. By giving to this team, I'm filled with so much gratitude to the fans, the families, but to MOST of all, these girls. They quickly stole my heart with their love of the sport and I'm so grateful I had this chance to document it for them.

Last post for the Lady Pirates.

Kalyn, Beka, and Boo ready to cheer for the Lady Pirates!

At the game!

cooper vs argyle

Kalyn, Stephanie, Boo and I, hit the courts last night to photograph Cooper take on Argyle. We arrived early to get our press credentials and settled in to watch Canyon beat Levelland. Tension quickly rose though! Good Golly I was so nervous! How am I ever going to do this for my own child? I'm thinking meditation and lots of drinking. (totally teasing Kalyn.)

Enjoy everyone! And we will see you tonight!

Oh, I uploaded some shots to facebook too, so go and tag yourself!

article on the game

CLICK HERE

Go COOPER!

Just walked in the door and wanted to let the world know that Cooper beat Argyle and will take on Canyon tomorrow night in the Regional Finals Game @ USA @ 6:30 PM.

Way to go Lady Pirates!

All the way to Austin!

The video below is NOT from the game Friday, it's from Tuesday against Seminole. I finally figured this booger out! Wicked! (as Ron Weasley would say.)

summer home sick

My baby, Summer Zoe, has been home sick all week with the flu. She was doing much better on Thursday, so I photographed her and the adorable kittens all together on the couch. I still don't think she's out of the "flu woods". We are just crossing our fingers that if anyone else gets this in our family? My vote is for the cats.

HA!

5 things I LOVE right now

The Cyber Sisters are back! I belong to a group of 10+ women that used to weekly blog on a topic chose by one, to keep us all rolling along on our blogs. It's a great way to get to know people and find out more about them.

The girls blogs can all be found on the side bar link to the right. (in just about 5 minutes after I post this blog post anyway...)

Our topic this week is "5 things we love right now". I think? We had a similar topic last year, but it was 5 things we love. I chose my things as something I loved that I've used in the past week. Something I absolutely love and has helped me through my week.

So, I held the sappy, "family and friends" category, because let's face it. Everyone loves their family and friends. And not to belittle those Cyber Sista's that have blogged that, you know I love you girls! But I wanted to share some things I love that would give you a bit of insight into me.

so, here they are in no particular order.


1. My new Bose Sound dock for my ipod. I LOVE this! David and Davida got this for me for Christmas and it really is the BEST. Good clear sound that fills the room and it has a nifty remote so I don't even have to get up and change the playlist. I have mine in my office on a hope chest, and when I'm cooking in the kitchen, it fills that room with tunes too.


2. JPG Magazine. I LOVE this concept and have really enjoyed subscribing to this. It an online magazine that is published every other month. The member decide what photos will be published. Very cool idea and concept and I'm constantly inspired by what's between the covers. Go and check it out see what you think.


3. My macbook. It's been a life saver for me since I've been pulling shifts at my store. I can check email, upload blog posts, read blogs. Surf the web, but mainly upload orders because my internet connection at the house SUCKS. LOL This little puppy is tiny, light weight, and wireless. Best thing about it? It's cool that it has everything my phone has and MORE so I can easily work from the store, and when I get home, there it is again.


4. My foof pad for my lap top is something I utterly ADORE. I hate carrying a big laptop bag and this little puppy will hold my macbook and look ultra cool to boot. You can order one yourself, right HERE.

5. I LOVE Friday Night Lights! A fellow DWFer turned me on to this when I was griping about missing my Grey's. You can download episodes or by the DVD, but I watch free online and let it run while I'm working on the main PC. Great show! Great cast and such a great game!


That does it for this week! I'll try and put all the Sista's on here tomorrow so you can see what 5 things they are in love with. They are a very cool bunch of girls.

ta ta

promised pictures

I didn't have time to post these before I left the house this morning. And my eyes are swimming and blurry from editing non-stop since 4 PM. I think it's time to rest them.

FYI Cooper plays Argyle on Friday night at the United Spirit Arena. And if you are keeping up with the Slaton Tigers, they play at Midland College Friday night as well. I"m surrounded by Champions!

I love this shot below. You can see the question in her eyes, as to wondering who is getting the foul. LOL


The fans came out if FULL Force! It was so cool to be on the court and see everyone screaming for the Lady Pirates!



The MOM Squad was out in full force too as well. LOL




Okay, I never show the cheerleaders. Well, not enough according to a few. So, next game, my goal is to get a shot of each one of them at least. Here's my start.




Hard to photograph cheerleaders when this is going on.





Check out the clean stuff! AWESOME!










This is Gordon, April Ehler's dad.



Can you see me in the trophy? huh?




Kalyn was an AWESOME shooter last night. I'm working on getting us press passes for Friday night's game, so we can be courtside.

Wish us luck!

As always, the full gallery can be found HERE. Gallery 1 is Kalyn's shots. I wanted to show her off a bit for all her hard work.

HEY, and just for all those bride's and groom's out there, I have a wedding next Saturday so back to your regularly scheduled programming on the 1st.

Lady Pirates in the Regional Tournament!

We are headed to the regional tournament! YEP! Cooper beat Seminole last night to earn their spot in the Regional Tournament being played this weekend at the USA in Lubbock. (United Spirit Arena).

The picture above is taken by Kalyn Marie Bednarz! She did awesome at the game last night and I'll blog more of her shots later. I'm so proud!!!

Meanwhile, enjoy these shots from Parent's Night. The team got together and enjoyed some good food, good talk, and somewhat good (ha) karaoke. LOL

the Daniel Clan

The lovely couple above had a mess of kids who also had a mess of kids and I got to photograph them all today. It was great fun! And I said I've have a sneak peek up, so here it is! I grabbed random shots from all the different groupings and wanted to share them here.

Way to go Daniel Clan!

shout out to Taylor

A shout out to Taylor Hurst who debuted her Varsity Lady Pirate career in Fort Stockton last night! SO PROUD OF YOU!

fabens

We made the long drive to Fort Stockton last night to watch the Lady Pirates take on Fabens. It was worth it! They played AWESOME and moved one step closer to that State Tournament! Boo and I were on the court last night and managed to get some decent stuff without our trusty side kick, Stephanie.

This shot of Summer below is EXACTLY how I was feeling after driving all this way here. Glad the girls were on FIRE! Poor Fabens. They played some speed ball, but their shots just weren't going in.

Way to go LADY PIRATES! We are so proud of you!!!!

PLEASE VOTE!

CLICK HERE

Stephanie, my very dear friend, entered a photography contest over on Me Ra Koh's blog. You know how I'm always talking about the "moment" or the emotional side of photography? Well, if you click her blog link, GET READY. This woman is all about the emotional side of it and is a great blogger to boot.

But I'm blogging about blogging, because everyone should go vote for their favorite, because the voters get a chance to win a prize too. And if you know Stephaine, like I know Stephanie. She is all about the prizes.

I''ll see if I can get the image she entered to post. It is such a precious photo!

just for fun

I have so much to share here, and no time to do so. Check back later on tonight for some family shots from the AWESOME Daniel Clan and of course, from last night's game against Fabiens. We drove all the way to Fort Stockton for it.

I've been busy at our video store, Take One in Slaton, and never had the chance to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. Here's who I spent a good part of it with. His name is Louie and he's quickly becoming a part of our family after my youngest rescued him from a barn. He (and his sister who is much less willing to be photographed) were almost lunch meet for a local dog.

On a side note, literally, check over to the right of this post for a link to TWITTER. It's a great way to keep in contact with where I'm at and what I'm up to. It works online or for texting. Last night, Kalyn twittered the Cooper vs. Fabiens game and you can read her play by play by clicking on the "follow me" link.

See you later!

cooper vs. levelland @ LCU

After working all week at Take One Video, I can think of no better way to spend a Friday night then watching some "girly basketball". It's my favorite kind, after all.

Cooper beat Levelland last night to take a "bye" next week. Many folks were saying how that might not be a good thing, to take a break like that. That the girls need to "keep the ball rolling". But I think they are taking a practice a game next Tuesday before the enter the playoffs the Friday following. Are best hopes are with them, as it gives me a chance to photograph. And you know I love that!

Here's the best from last night's game. And as always, the complete gallery is HERE.

last night on home court

Tuesday, the Senior Girls of Cooper Varsity played their last home game as a Lady Pirate. Sure, they are headed to the play-off, (more on that later), but Tuesday was it for regular season, playing at home. It was an intense feeling for many, me included, on the court, in the stands, on the bench.

Here, let the pictures talk. They do it better anyway.











I tried to do something different this night. Stephanie, Boo and me have literally hundreds of awesome action shots under that goal. I think we've mastered the art of that. But I wanted to approach this from a different view point. Find new angles, get more faces, more emotion. I LOVE that part of anything in life, and it's there on the court. I really just wanted to shoot less armpits. LOL I don't think I achieved that goal, but hey.... it was great even trying.

















I don't know all the girls by name, but I LOVE photographing anyone who enjoys the game like this player. Just look at her face! Pure JOY! LOVE this!





Lots of thoughts going through this pretty face. You played AWESOME April!

Happy Birthday, Stephanie!

wanna play?