Day 210

Day 209

I have always loved a good puzzle at the beach...

Day 208

This is for last night...We arrived at Emerald Isle late yesterday afternoon and actually had a little beach time before dinner.

I grew up coming here for family vacation, and I have so many fond memories of being on this little island.  It is beautiful!

Day 207

Day 206

Day 205

Circus Week continues...

Day 204

Day 203

Day 202

This post is for yesterday:

We finally had a sunny day!  My assignment for July is to use props, more than one subject and to shoot in the middle of the day in sunny conditions.

I set everything up yesterday morning, and Emma and Jackson were ready to go!

Day 201

I am posting for last night.

Yesterday JC got up at 5am to run The Scream Half Marathon.  Because of baseball we were in a hotel only about 20 miles away from the shuttle site.

I am so proud of JC.  He ran it in 1:31!  He came in 19th overall and 2nd place in his age group!

Day 200

Last night we played Myers Park from Charlotte.  The boys were down 11-2 in the first inning.  We rallied and slowly fought back.

In the top of the 4th inning, we were down 15-9.  Brendan comes up to bat with 2 outs and the bases loaded.  He gets two strikes on him, and then he sends the ball over the fence for a GRAND SLAM!!!

I WAS ONE PROUD MAMA!  That got us back in the game...score 15-13.

We get as close as 16-15 in the top of the 5th inning, but they came back to score 5 more runs in the bottom of the 5th.  We were not able to recover from that and lost 20-15.

What a ride!  These boys made so many memories!  

THIRD in the STATE is not too bad for a team that was predicted to lose early at the District Level!

Day 199

All I've taken photos of is baseball...

BUT, we survived again tonight.  One of just three teams left in the state tournament.  Tomorrow's game will be nearly impossible to win!  I'm so proud of these boys!  They keep fighting!

Day 198

Tonight JC, Brendan and I headed west for B'a game at 8pm. We stopped in Hickory and had dinner. It rained the entire time. When we got as far as Morganton, all the games were canceled because of the weather. We turned around and drove back home. Since we were going to be gone for a long time tonight, Emma stayed with JC's parents. And...her FIRST TOOTH FELL OUT !!! I knew we were going to miss it!!!

Day 197

The boys are alive for one more day...

Day 196

This post is for last night.  We got home from Brendan's game at 11:30 and fell in the bed.

We played Greenville last night.  One of their teammates used to be on our team.  He moved last year.

We got beat really bad...it was a combination of the other team being really good, but it was also our team making countless errors.  They were mentally defeated before the game ever started.  It was really hard to sit and watch.

This photo is of Brendan catching and his friend up to bat.  The fences are coated in black, and it makes it extra hard to focus through them.

We drive back tonight for another game.  Two hours one way in the car...it makes for a very long day!

Day 195

First day of State Tournament! We win 20-4. The team we play tomorrow just happens to have a player that used to be on our team for years. His family moved last summer after our all stars season. As fate would have it, his new team will meet his old team at the state tournament! Here are the two little brothers who have always been the best of friends! They met up yesterday and did not miss a beat!

Day 194

Day 1 of the State Tourney...

Brendan decided last night that he wanted me to paint the car for the trip down!

Day 193

This is for last night.  Brendan taking batting practice:

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Day 192

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Day 191

We win!!! District 2 Champions!!!

Day 190

Tonight we played in the first championship game for our district. We got down 8-0 in the first 3 innings. Our boys were mentally defeated! Even my B! He caught the whole game! I am so proud of him! It was 90 degrees and he suited up - ready to catch for 6 innings! He got so frustrated and down and out!!! This photo is from my phone - camera bag is still in the car! This was taken just before he was up to bat in the bottom of the third! He got 2 strikes on him and then he hit a 3 run home run to start our rally!!!! Our boys fought so hard in the last 3 innings and we were able to come back and win the game!!!! We play tomorrow night for the district win! Let's go boys! Give it your all!

Edited to add...

After Brendan's home run, the other team intentionally walked B:

Day 189

again from last night...

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Day 188

Still behind on posting...this is from Brendan's game yesterday!  They won so they get to play again Tuesday night!

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Day 187

I am posting for last night...

Our team lost to King last night.  It was such a disappointing game.  We play again today at 4pm.

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Day 186

more July 4th fun...

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Brendan's team practiced for 2.5 hours on Friday...B finally gets to take some bp after catching for all the other players.  His coach suits up to catch!

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Day 185

Happy 4th of July!!!

Thankful to be an American!

Day 184

Brendan being silly with the googly eye glasses I bought today...

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Day 183

July's assignment is to completely plan a photo shoot idea surrounding a prop.  I am going to do a Circus shoot, and  I am going to make a circus tent.

Emma and Jackson will be my models, and here is a collage of what they will be wearing...

The costume Emma will wear was my dance costume from 1982!!!

I cannot wait to pull together the rest of the props!

Day 182

I took this same photo on my real camera today. But...my computer is still in the car and I'm exhausted so ill share an iPhone photo...

Today I cleaned and rearranged the garage so that we can fit another Yukon XL in...finally after 10 years we are getting a new car!