julialainephotography

State Championships

Thank goodness that's over!  These tournaments give me more gray hairs than the rest of the season combined.  I won't go into the gory details - the details that include the girls not having a coach (their coach was at the boys high school state championships 45 minutes north of us, which they won), I won't go into the fact that they had a substitute coach during their most crucial game of the weekend who played them all out of position and had them totally confused.  I won't mention the tears that each girl shed after they lost that game by 1 point.  I won't go into the details about the two teams that DID make it to the finals that our girls have beaten numerous times all year long. 

But what I will mention is the way our girls played - with all their heart and soul and speed and agility and incredible talent that this team possesses.  I really am in awe when I watch them play, when they are on, they are ON and they were cranked up this weekend.  You just wouldn't think that 10 and 11 year old girls can play like that, but they do, and it's so much fun to watch.  I wouldn't trade anything in the world to keep from being a spectator at one of their games.  They blow me away...

possibly one of my favorite photos of all time... (click it)

The difference between 1st and 2nd grade

OK, so check out the sweet innocence of the 1st grader, can you tell which one she is?

Then find the two 2nd graders who are going to be the B.M.O.C. next year as big 3rd graders (Elementary school ends at 3rd grade around these parts) - can you say attitude with a capital
A T T I T U D E ?!  LOL

This was not taken by me, it was by one of the dads on our team, and you may recognize these three amigo's as the musketeers who made up part of the little people team this spring.  Getting to play together on the same team brought these three really close, plus they see each other a few times a week at practices and games of their big sisters.  Anyway, I just got this photo in my email box today and the expressions completely cracked me up because you can so completely see each girls personality come shining through.

On another note entirely, this photo started out like this, but yesterday I finally bought the Totally Rad Actions with a $20 off coupon I got and man are they worth every penny (and they're not expensive to begin with).  I used the "prettyiser", "oh snap", and "ez burn".  I can't wait to play with the rest - their are 46 actions in all!  If you go to the site, they've got sample shots up and you can see what each action will do.

As always, these are clickable for a larger view.

First Communion

M looked so beautiful today.  I bought her dress on whim last fall on the clearance rack at Strasburg hoping it would fit 6 months later and it was perfect.  Add in some gloves and a bow with pretty streamers on a child that is so full of enthusiasm and life and you get a beautiful, perfect little 7 year old.  Of course add in 118 other children and you also get one really long First Communion service!  :-)

On another brief note - just have to give some props to my eldest who opted to miss her sisters big day (she was completely torn about what to do honestly) and go with her team to compete against a rival that is currently ranked #1 in the state... and you know what - they shut them out!!!  HA!  2 - 0.  They're back baby! 

Okay, speaking of back - check out the little beauty...

Little People Soccer

She has a good time too - sometimes I feel I need to be a videographer rather than a photographer, you can't see the skipping and hopping and constant smiles she awards the spectators while she's out there.  They're priceless... so is she!  (Even if I did find out she wrote in blue ink on my leather car seats today - any hints to get that out are appreciated...)

WAKE UP!

This was the most frustrating game I've watched EVER!

After last weeks big win, the girls just never came out of the gate today, they were moving in slow motion, not talking to each other, passes were way off, kicks were pansy kicks, this did not look like a championship team.  Sorry... but they didn't.  They tied 2-2 to a team that they should have won easily.  Another game is tomorrow, it will be interesting to see if our team decides to show up or not.  :-(

Well... she did run as fast as always, but her passes and footwork were not as crisp as they normally are.

See?  Asleep!

What are they even doing down that close to your goal!

Well you know what - they had a good time anyway, and regardless of whether you're on a competition team or not, when you're still just 10/11 years old, they really are supposed to have FUN - and you know what - they DO!  :-)

And they did...

Wish you were here....

Don't let these fool you, the water was COLD!  The girls would play in the surf, and eventually make a bee-line to the hot tub, which was the hot spot of the day.
 

Our digs... our room is up there somewhere...

A self portrait, I got a pedicure yesterday.    :-)

And lots and lots and lots of pretty smiles. 

The whole team is here, half came in last night like us, and the rest showed up at various times during the day.  We're headed out to find a restaurant that will accommodate us - wish us luck!
 

She makes me grin

M had her soccer game (finally) Saturday morning.  The last two games had been rained out and she was so bummed, because she really does love to play - about as much as big sis - yes... THAT much! 

We'll get to pics in a second, but first a story.  This child makes me laugh, she always has.  Last night I was so tired, it was a full weekend, and about 7pm, I left the dishes in the sink, the kids with instructions to take showers, and I went to lay down in my bed and have some good quality time with me and HGTV.  L takes her shower first, then leaves the water on for M.  I can tell right away when there's been a changing of the guards in their bathroom (which is right across the hall from my bedroom door), because all of a sudden I hear the most wonderful off-tune singing.  She's belting out a Hannah Mont*ana song at the top of her lungs.  L came in my room and said "are you hearing this???"  and we just got the giggles so bad, we laughed the entire time she was in the shower.  She is such a hoot and has such a zest for life!

OK, now on to a few photos from Saturdays game... (these are all clickable for a larger view)

This one was blurry, but since it was a picture of her making her first goal, I decided to play with it till I liked it.  Just added some noise and graininess...

And after the goal...

All the girls have to take turns playing goalie.  Doesn't the goal look HUGE behind her! This is her "I'm nervous, but will try to act brave" face.

That's a pretty good goalie kick!

Turns out she's as fast as her big sister.  Who knew!

And did I mention she loves the game?

Little People Soccer

M's team is comprised of 9 little girls, all in 1st and 2nd grades.  But three of them have known each other at least 1/4 of their young lives.  These three are in the "Little Sisters Club", which is comprised of the younger sisters (and brothers) of the girls that play on L's competitive soccer team.   All of the little's play some kind of sport, most of them soccer, and since they've been hanging out at soccer fields most of their lives, they're really quite good too.  Their coach is A's (the tall one) dad, and he made sure they all ended up together this season, which I think was very sweet.  They really have a good time playing together.  I think each of them have played for two years already, this is M's third season, and you can easily see how much fun she has!

{click for much better large versions)

Yes... the one that's talking is mine.

Game Three, otherwise known as...

...who are you, and what have you done with our team???

They lost 1 -0.  Which is not bad considering they didn't actually show up to PLAY!!!  No, I'm not frustrated.  In fact I have half the photos I normally take because I decided I'd start taking pictures when there was something worthy of taking pictures of!  But no, really, I'm not frustrated.

Actually I should have taken a photo of the sad, pitiful looks they were all wearing when they came off the field.  However, I've got to say it's not all their fault.  This is one of the primary reasons you do NOT want to change coaches every season.  He's trying to figure out where everyone plays best, and started mixing it up a bit too much - he had defenders playing midfield and forward, and vice versa.  They were so confused by the second half they didn't know which way to point the ball.

Well, so it will be very interesting to see what he coaches them on during the next two weeks they have off before their first regular season game.  Stay tuned.

Pre-game team.

L is faster than most other players on her team or any other.  Sometimes the only way they can hold her back is to literally - hold. her. back.  Exhibit A:

L?  Why has he got you playing defense?  Although... nice shot.

Game Two, otherwise known as...

...don't get excited too early!

The girls came out, fresh from their overwhelming victory early Saturday morning, and scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the game.... then never scored again.  Thus allowing the other team to score two (one on a REALLY REALLY REALLY bad referee call), and tied the game.

It shouldn't have been a tie, it should have been a shut out, and they knew it.  A tie is good, but a bit frustrating when you know you're the better team.  Anyway, meet some of the players:

This is C, fresh off a bout of strep throat and played remarkably well for being sick most of last week.

Goal #2, nuthin' but net

This is M, she is one of our two forwards, she scored twice in game one.

B had a GREAT couple of games.  Pretty good for a girl that didn't start playing soccer till relatively "late" in life at the ripe old age of 9.  She's one of my daughters best friends on the team.

And speaking of my daughter, this was a PERFECT line drive centering the ball beautifully for one of the forwards to knock it in.  Unfortunately they didn't get that memo.  Notice that her shoe is untied.  Her shoe is ALWAYS untied.  I don't get it.

This is P.  She's one of our primary defenders, but also plays goalie on occassion.  I'm 5'11" and she's about 4" shorter than I.  Her dad is 6'5", I think she's going to take after him.  P is one of our "big foot" drivers and has actually scored a goal from the goalies position before.

And this is B.  In eight games last season, we scored 19 goals as a team - B scored 12 of that 19, and is the starting forward - duh.  B has an incredibly light touch on the ball, she is in control if it the whole time.

Game One, otherwise known as...

...an unexpected day.

For the second time in the past 7 years - it SNOWED! 

Three days ago it was 70 degrees and the girls were begging to wear shorts to school.  Today it never got above 45, and that wasn't until it was well into the afternoon.  This would be fine, swell, fun, and an interesting start to the weekend, with the one little exception being that the soccer tournament started with a 9:30am game at fields about 30 minutes north of us.  And did I mention the wind chill?  The temp was a mild and balmy 32, but with the wind chill, it was a decidedly colder 20-something.

All that aside though, it didn't stop some GREAT soccer from happening - once the girls got thawed out.  Normally they're not allowed to play in anything but their standard uniforms, but lots of exceptions were made, and they donned anything they could to try and stay warm.  It was sometimes hard for the parents to tell who was who.  I did manage to get a few pictures of that first game, but very very few of my daughter since I didn't pull out the camera till the second half, and she played on the opposite side of the field the whole time.  Oh well - at least I SAW her play, and can confirm to all that she had a wonderful game - they all did - they played smart, they played as a team, and to win against a Louisiana team 6 - 0 for the first game of the season is a great way to start!

Here are just a few favorites from Game One {these are all clickable and much better large size}:

Blue eyes - J is one of the smallest and also one of the most aggressive on the team, no one ever told her to only pick on people her own size... so she doesn't.  She is also probably the only person on the team that can out-run my daughter, hence her nickname "Speedy".

C is one of the few defenders who also regularly scores a goal, she's tall, skinny, and has a really big foot!

One of the few photos I have of L from game one, she came sooo close to scoring the first goal of that game, with a beautiful kick but it just skirted the side of the goal.  That's OK, in the second half she had the assist on a goal.

One of the parents was calling B the missing dwarf (of Snow White fame) due to her coif, so I had to take a picture.

And yet another parent referred to the girls team as the bad news bears.  If you think this looks bad - you should see their bedrooms!!

And MY game favorite...  L plays our primary goalie, but occassionally she gets out and plays defense.  In December they had tryouts for the Olympic Development Team, and she and her older sister - also a goalie - both made it.  That's one talented family!

Talent x 13,452

The Vulcan Cup starts this weekend, and it's so big, they have to break up the boys and girls.  Boys games are this weekend, girls (including my daughters team) is next weekend.  There has been a ton of news coverage on this, and my favorite quote is the writer who said "13, 452 of the nations most talented feet will converge on Birmingham".  We also just received an email from the director of the competitive program who said this tourney is ranked in the top 10 in the United States; 330 teams from 14 states are enrolled, which includes 35 state championship teams, 32 state finalist teams, and 45 state semi-finalist teams.  In L's age group alone, there are 32 teams registered!  It is going to be quite a show!

We get pretty excited about soccer season around here.  Can you tell?

Prayers and Players

First - and most importantly - a very good friend of mine had surgery  yesterday and she's still in the hospital (hopefully coming home TODAY).  She was SO nervous about it and if you would just take a moment to send prayers or good wishes her way, I know she would feel better!  We love ya Debbie!!!

Second - it's baaaaack...

Yes, this:

New Season, New Coach, Same Team - me thinks it's going to be a really really good year.  They finished 3rd in the state last year with a record of 8 wins, 2 losses.  They had the lowest number of scores against them of any other team - only 5 goals scored against them in 10 games.  And they had the second highest number of goals of any other team - 19!  This chick scored 4 of those and was the 3rd highest scorer on the team, pretty good considering she's not a forward and plays midfield.

So- first practice back was last Thursday night, and they looked soooo good!  They all did a variety of things to keep in shape between seasons, some continued playing soccer, while others played on basketball teams, but they just didn't look like they missed a beat.  Then we found out that their coach from last fall is getting married and moving away.  Well, we were a little anxious about who the girls new coach would be, but it turns out we had NOTHING to worry about!  Most of these girls are zoned for the same high school.  Well, that high school has the top ranked boys soccer team in the state in 6A play, and so far has demolished every team they've played against.  Guess who the girls coach is...  :-)  Yes, it's going to be a very very good year.  Games start in March.  Stay tuned.

7 weeks away?

And the jolly big man in red comes again... I can't believe the Christmas season has come around so quickly this year!  I'm getting each of my girls the croc mammoth's.  Do you know how much I had to look online to find these things in their sizes!  I want to be the inventor of something like crocs one day - someone decided that rubber shoes with holes in them would be a great idea and now they're millionaires.  Yeah... one day.

Okay, back to work - I'm getting emails about Christmas photo shoots and it's a little close to the wire, but we can still fit them in.  November unfortunately (or is it fortunately) is booked, but Sunday, December 2nd in the afternoon is still doable and I can have photos to you within a week, so if that works for anyone, let me know!

And - can't post a note without a photo... or at least I'll try not to.  This is just a candid shot taken last weekend of one of my daughters friends but I loved the bokeh on it.