Halloween

So, after a day of sickness (and two previous days when Rob was home from school!) we had it all.  Cough and runny nose...and yes, throwing up too!!  By 6pm we were all finally feeling well enough to move around.  The kids got dressed and went out for candy.  I took a photo before they left. 
Harry Potter and a scary ghost!!

When they got home they were tired and didn't even eat any candy!!  First time ever at our house. 

But, that also shows how everyone has felt!

Sick house

So, this week we have been fighting off cold/sickness that is going around classmates and friends but yesterday and today we lost the fight.  Rob stayed home from school yesterday with a cough and sniffles.  Today he was worse and so we were told to keep him home again.  The bad thing is by dinner time his condition worsened to the point where he was "praying to the porcelin god".  He also had a fever of 101!  Then, Megan came home with coughs and a sore throat.  Bummer too because tomorrow we have soccer and flag football, then Sunday is Megan's 10th birthday and she has two fastpitch games!  Hopefully the morning will bring newly charged batteries!!!

Seniors 2010: Tyler

Another KL senior!  Tyler is also doing running start at GR so we were able to meet this morning.  We had tried a few other times to meet but kept having to reschedule due to rain.  Last night at their house it SNOWED! (or at least hailed...the grass was white in places).

Congrats Tyler! 

Burrrrr

Ok, so the fall weather keeps chuging along!  Tonight I had photos at SHS for the girls soccer team.  It was senior night and the kids and parents all got photos taken before the game.  Then, I was taking action photos all while trying not to freeze my nose off!!! 
Boy do I love soccer.  Huge field, 11 players at a time, nighttime/darkenss!  WoW! 
But, I am finding that SHS is a great school with lots of great kids (and great adults!) and I am really enjoying the time I am spending there.  They seem to appreciate my help and effort (not to mention the photos/posters!) and that makes me feel much better about spending time away from my wife and kids! 
Good Luck girls, I hope you go all the way!!

Rain, Rain go away

So, this week has been a crazy week for weather!  A little sun, a little wind and a lot or RAIN!  Friday I was supposed to take senior portraits for two different seniors but we were washed out. 

Saturday was nice I must admit.  Megan and Robbie had games, but unfortunately I was stuck inside working.  The last of the fall CAP photos was right during the time they played.  :-(    And of course, the photos were indoors so I had no chance of seeing the games.    (16 teams of little soccer players...fun, but hard work!)

Saturday also allowed us time to go outside for some Portraits in the Park.  The park is looking nice, but all the leaves have fallen and some have been carried off by the wind.  What a difference a week makes! 

Our sessions on Saturday included some long time family friends from my wife's side, some good friends from when I was teaching at OLY and our own kids' annual portrait session.  What a good day!

Today, we have rain on the way. My three sessions scheduled have all already cancelled or been re-scheduled. Megan is supposed to play a double header today but we'll have to hold our breath....





RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY!!!!!!!

Fall rolls on...

So, Fall is one of our busiest seasons.  The new school year starts and the sports kick into gear, the senior portraits go stronger then even graduation time and our kids have school and sports to top it all off. 
The calendar on the wall is lit up with unreadable handwriting (mine!) and there are only about 6 days open or with no shooting days from the third week in August to the first week in November.  I know, I know, technically that is late summer AND fall, but you get the idea!
This year we continued our growth over last year, which is great, but it was also busier at home.  Robbie is in flag football which is very fun to watch!  Megan is in soccer AND fastpitch.  The only night of the week we do NOT have practice or a game is Tuesday night.  Then, my normally work-at-all-times schedule picks up because we not only have high school and middle school sports photos every day (new team and new school each day of the school week!!), I am also going to games at night to take action photos.  This week I am at a volleyball game every night!    I have to admit though, it really is an exciting way to work a few hours!  Last night one of my teams was playing the final home game of the year, against a good league opponent, with the league championship and undefeated season on the line....and they LOST!! 
This weekend I have the last of the WRCAP's fall sports photos.  It is alwasy good work but it unfortunately means that I have to miss Megan's soccer and Rob's football (two games this week!).  I am also in the early stages of Portraits in the Park.  Two families and two high school seniors this weekend. 
Now if the weather can just hold for those appointment, Megan is supposed to have a double header on Sunday!
Whew. 
It is good to be busy, but a day or two off once-in-a-while would be nice!!  Maybe to go back to Randy's to do more fishing!!!

Seniors 2010: Alison

Sunday we lucked out and had nice enough weather to take photos!  Alison is the older sister of Megan (not my Megan, but the other Megan on the fastpitch team) and is a senior at THS. She rides dirt bikes and likes to watch "America's Next Top Model" ...oh, and she is a little goofy too. (see the slide)
So we tried to show a bit of that personality.

Congratulations on your accomplishment Alison!

Seniors 2010: Doug

Doug is a senior at KL this year.  I have taken his baseball photos for two years and have gotten to know his family very well!  Doug also works for me and because of it he is getting rich before going off to school at UW next year! 

Congrats on all you have accomplished Doug!!

AM V-ball

Last night I photographed a volleyball game.  WR vs. AM  It was for first place in the SPSL.  AM is a team that I take team photos for and they are VERY TOUGH!!  Ranked in the top 10 of the state, undefeated, etc..
They put a hurtin' on WR and are looking good for the end of the league tourney!

MVMS

Two days of photos for all sports at MV middle school this week were a little crazy. Baseball and fastpitch had no coaches when we started (so no supervisors) which made my teaching voice turn on. (Stop talking, Sit on that line, etc...) Then track. Both days were NOT raining, but both were so cold and windy that we were inside even though these are outdoor sports! I am NOT complaning though.

Fall sports continue

I am still taking Fall season sports daily! All week I had different schools and teams. Friday we managed to take Mt. Baker's football team photos (two teams) and the individual photos just before the sky opened up and DUMPED! Whew.
Today we had 8 teams of volleyball. Luckily that was indoors. Unfortunately, both kids had games today. Rob's flag football was at the same place the volleyball photos so I was able to watch the first half before starting. Megan's game on the other hand, was in Orting. Grandma Sue took her because Treena was working with me. But, Coach Mike said Megan worked real hard and scored three goals in the FIRST HALF!!

Sports roll on...

Halloween is near

Megan was invited to a Halloween party tonight. They dressed-up, played games and ate candy (of course!). I have never understood why people have parties and stuff. Who has time for that!!!
I have had two days off since August. However, I must say that if you know me you know that even if I DID have time to have a party, I am just not a party kind of guy.
I inherited that from my Grandpa Vandegrift. He was the best person in the world, but he did NOT like to socialize!!
So, much like Scrooge, I say "Bah Humbug!" to parties!!!!
:-(

Slurpee!!

So today we had a bunch of errands so we stopped off at 7-11.
I have not had a slurpee for a while so I got a terrible brain freeze!! But to show you how dumb I am, I just screened real loud, pounded my head a few times, then had some more! ;-)

PROM Circa 1989

So, I was going through some images on my hard drive to archive and I came across this image of Treena. It was a scan from an old photographic print (from a crappy instamatic camera) and I digitally removed all the distracting stuff...like the girl that was my best friend's date!
This was our first date and we are still together 20 years later.
Check her out!!

Comm. Act. programs : Flag football

Saturday I had football photos in our happy little town. There were 14 teams scheduled 15 minutes apart. Robbie's team was one of them. This is the second year I did these photos. Man, was it COLD that morning!!! Outside...thank god there was no rain!!!!!

I take what help I can get...

Seniors 2010: Holly

Holly is a senior at my alma-mater. She was also a student at the middle school where I used to teach. She didn't take my class as a 7th grader, but she DID play fastpitch on my team as an 8th grader.

You are a great kid Holly! Congrats on your accomplishment!

Seniors 2010: Katie

AR volleyball player and senior Katie.

A girl that was a bit shy/quiet...UNTIL THE FADORA (hat) came out!! Then the personality was TOTALLY different...









Congrats Katie!!

Music - Robert Cray

While I work on photos (ALL DAY LONG!), I play music. Right now the CD getting the most play on my computer is the new Robert Cray CD "This time".
Robert Cray has long been my favorite artist/band and is the most influential member of the soundtrack to my life!

Friday Night Under the Lights

On Friday my daughter's fastpitch team had a double header in Seattle. It was a nightmare getting to the fields in Seattle at 5 on a Friday, but we made it. And, it was difficult to take photos when I was supposed to be pitching batting practice!!

Seniors 2010: Kara

Kara is a kid that played fastpitch when I was coaching the 8th grade/varsity at Oly(back when I was still teaching). She is an excellent basketball player too (as evident from the not one, but TWO state champion rings she wears!)
Congrats, Kara!!

Football Saturday

Football Saturday!
Robbie has a game and we are taking photos for the whole league!
Oh, did I mention that it is freezing cold?!
A ten person team, of elementary athletes is fun, but very challenging:-)
photos to follow...

Annual "Portraits in the Park" is starting

This weekend starts the annual "Portraits in the Park" event for us! Every year the event grows bigger with more families so if you would like to get an appointment, let me know soon. The leaves only last so long...

Here is this year's flier:

Seniors 2010: Stanzie

Today's senior post is a senior from B-Prep. She is a beautiful girl with a great sense of style! Her dad is the athletic director at a school where I take sports photo. I had a goofy photo of him from this day, but figured I had better not add it.
Gotta love the shoes!










Stanzie: Congrats on your accomplishment!!

Reema's 1st birthday

In September I attended the birthday party of Reema. She turned 1 and just LOVED the balloons!! What a great idea to have someone else document the party! That way, as a parent, you don't have to worry about getting photos of the day.

This is the first video/slide show I have posted.

Football, Soccer, Fishing, oh my!

So, after a week of not posting, I had better get the routine down!

Saturday we had Flag Football...





And soccer....






Then we went fishing in eastern WA. Megan caught this nice hatchery steelhead all by herself!!




And, we had to miss school, fastpitch, etc.. The only time I have had with the family since August so I guess that makes it OK.
:-)

Now back to work.

Day three: personal

Day three of the blogging thing takes me to the personal side of life. I have not had a day off in over a month, so it is needed!!
Robbie had a flag football game early and Megan had soccer. They both played hard! Robbie was on the d-line and even quarterback! Megan scored 6 goals in the first half so they moved her to the goal keeper job for the rest of the game. I took photos at both games and will post soon.... Maybe.

Day 2

So, now that I am in day two of my blog, I am finding it difficult to make time to post. I am constantly behind in my work so taking time to talk about my self or my work is a bit frustrating. I'll just have to keep plowing through.

Today I went to my grandma's house for a brief visit. She is going to watch our dogs for a few days while we go to Eastern WA for some steelhead fishing. I can't wait!! I have never gone steelhead fishing before. I'll post on that later.

Also my daughter's 4th grade class was on a field trip tonight to Ft. Nisqually for a old-time reenactment of a british/early american settlement from over 200 years ago. It is a cool idea!!

Tomorrow we have flag football and soccer then off to fish!

Seniors 2010: Jesse

Jesse from KL had a great session! Congratulations on all of your accomplishments Jesse!

NTMS fastpitch

So, the NTMS girls fastpitch team was out of their minds...see the team photos...

Class of 2010: Spencer

Senior photos roll on as yearbook deadlines approach. Last weekend alone I had 5 senior portrait sessions.
This is Spencer and he goes to B-prep. What a great job his parents did picking out locations in T-town!! (Thanks Dave) and Mom was a great clothing and hair helper too!
Congratulations on your accomplishments Spencer!!

Today's photos

North Tapps middle school fastpitch photos...Hope the weather holds!
Photo post to follow...

Seniors 2010: Lacey

I am going to start posting photos of Seniors on this blog....here goes nothing...


Lacey is a Senior at FHS. I have known her mom for about 20 years (yikes!) and we had fun going to a few different places in T-town. Congrats on your accomplishment Lacey!