Day 85

I know you’re probably getting tired of seeing sports photos, but volleyball and basketball have become a big part of our lives lately.  GothGirl’s team played first this morning at the crack of dawn (OK, so it was 8:00 am, but we had to be there early so the parents could take team photos).  I did get a decent photo of GothGirl getting ready to serve.

They won the first game, but lost the next two.  The score in the 2nd game was only a couple of points different, so that was encouraging.  After the game, we took the kids to the local farm store to see some baby chicks.  Looks like our visit might have been a little late as there were only 4 chicks left.  The rest had all been sold.  I snapped this photo with my iPhone. 

We ran a few errands then went home to chill for a bit and have lunch before LilCrockett’s game, which was at 1:00 pm.  I was a little nervous about how he would play because he was very moody, tired, & cranky up until game time.  He sat out the first session of play (only 4 from a team are allowed on the court at a time).  Perhaps that game him some time to think because when it was his turn to play, he turned up the heat and played the best game of the season.  He scored 4 baskets and got a ton of rebounds.  It was great to see him playing so well.  Because of his efforts, he received a gray star for Best Offense.  He was VERY excited to say the least.

Here’s a shot of him getting ready to shoot a basket and then another shot where I captured him in the air during a jump (I think he was trying to catch a rebound). 

 

Just one more week of games left and then basketball and volleyball are over.  Don’t worry though, there will be plenty of sports photos still as LilCrockett starts T-ball this week. 

Day 84

I likely wouldn’t have taken any photos today, but I came across this post by The Pioneer Woman, where she told me (and all her other readers) that I have to download the Instagram app for the iphone.  So of course I had to download it and try it out.  LilCrockett was the only one around and the light outside was fading fast, so I made him pose by the window.  The photo itself wasn’t anything stellar, especially considering that it was taken with my phone and part of his face was in shadow; but the app was pretty awesome.  It allows you to select from various filters to give your photo different looks.  This happens to be the Lomo-fi filter.  I like how it actually made my photo better by giving it an edgy look.  Too cool!  Note: LilCrockett has a big wad of Big League Chew bubble gum in his mouth, which is why his lips look so funny.

Day 83

Today was all about the girls.  First, I coached Girls on the Run after school got out.  Here’s a shot of Coach Kelly giving the girls their lap instructions.   

After we got home, it was time for Girl Scouts.  Though I am a co-leader, I was in charge of the meeting tonight, so I didn’t get much chance to take photos.  Here’s a shot of the girls at the end of the night listening to my co-leader wrap up.  I didn’t have the right lens on, so there was barely enough room for me to back-up enough to get most of the girls in the shot.  Though I wasn’t sure how the pictures would look, there were a few good ones.  I like this one because GothGirls’ head is in focus and the rest of the girls are visible, but blurry due to Depth-of-Field.  It’s a little more art-y looking that I expected and that’s why I like it.  

By the end of the night, I was quite giggled out.  10 year old girls are so silly!

Day 82

I lucked out and got some more shots of GothGirl today.  It wasn’t intentional, but necessary.  She had an appointment at the eye doctor.  I wanted him to see her because she has been hard blinking since December.  I figured it was likely just a harmless habit; but since it hadn’t gone away, I wanted to make sure there wasn’t a physical reason for her doing it.  My mom actually helped encourage the visit.  On Tuesday night, I told GothGirl that she had an appointment for the next day and she surprised me by saying that she has been having a little trouble seeing her teachers’ writing on the blackboard (GothGirl sits in the back of the class) whenever her teacher writes small and/or in cursive.  This was news to me.

So we get to the appointment and they do the regular eye exam tests.  Like me, she was not fond of the pressure test where they blow air into your eyeball.  (I don’t know about you, but I’d rather get a 1,000 papercuts on my fingers than do that test!)  Then they had her read the eye chart.  Not good.  One eye was particularly bad.  The assistant kept having to dial up the numbers bigger and bigger so she could read it.  I was sitting by GothGirl and couldn’t believe that she was having that much difficulty.  At this point, I knew glasses were going to be a reality.  So, I figured I had better document the rest of the visit with some photos for a future scrapbook page.  Luckily, I had my iphone with me. 

It turns out that GothGirl is nearsighted (like me).  The doctor told her that she needs to wear her glasses at school and when she’s out and about, but gave her the option of not wearing them when she’s at home reading or on the computer, etc. 

After the exam….waiting to get her eyes mapped with the OptiMap machine.

Looking at the selections.

Her new specs!  Well, she doesn’t have them yet as they are on order.  I’ll post pictures once we get them in hand.  (Note: the black spec by her left eye is the brand sticker for the glasses). 

I was worried that she would be upset at having to wear glasses, but she’s actually very excited.  I think she likes the new-ness of it and the attention.  Hopefully she won’t hate them in a few weeks!

Day 81

I’m well aware that GothGirl has been absent from my last few posts.  I set about correcting that tonight by informing her that we were going to have a photo shoot.  Luckily I caught her at a good moment.  No, she wasn’t thrilled to be posing, but she had just put her hair up into a side ponytail and it looked really cute.  The middle photo was taken after I tried getting her to laugh.  She was trying not to, but couldn’t resist a little smirk as she pretended to be mad at me. 

Day 80

Spring is in the air, as was evident by Mother Nature outside my office today.  Our resident turtles made their debut on the little island in the middle of the pond today and a mama Canada goose was nesting in the grass (area circled in white). 

While we’re used to seeing these animals on a regular basis, there was another visitor to our campus today that we don’t see often.  A turkey.   

Photos were taken with my iphone.  The bottom photo was particularly grainy, so I can’t blow it up very big. 

Day 79

I’m behind and trying to catch up on posts, so this will be short & sweet.  On Sunday, LilCrockett decided it was time to build a fort in the living room….again!

After I got done taking a serious photo, he wanted me to take a silly one.  What a goof!