The Photo That I DIDN'T Get

I LOVE taking pictures at Cross Country meets. I love the beautiful fall settings, the expressions on the runners' faces, the excitement and action of the race. And Tawasentha Park, where Scott and his team ran on Saturday, is one of my favorite courses. Much of the second half of the race is run in a hilly, wooded area and we don't see much of the runners until they come flying down 'suicide' hill (I can tell you THAT wasn't named by any runner's mother!) and out into the clearing where they race for the finish line.


The first runner flying out of the woods at the bottom of the hill on Saturday was Shen's very fast top man, but I could see an extra set of arms and legs behind him and a second later Scott's head was visible. I snapped a couple of quick photos while shouting and cheering (not an easy thing!), but was too far away for the photo I would have loved to take -- the one just before the finish line, when Scott managed to out-kick the Shen runner for the win. Congratulations to Scott and the other BH runners for a great race!

Back to BH!

Oh, yeah. I'm pretty sure that it's the high point of the school year. It's the first day of school, your back pack is loaded and ready to go, you're ready to jump on your bike and head to school, and Mom utters those now immortal words: Let's take pictures!

I have to say that Scott and Craig are pretty good sports about the picture whole thing. They even smiled nicely for me! And got the finger counting thing correct this year. Nice job boys.


(If you want to see how much these two have changed, check out last year's post here.)

The Faces of Fun

We'd have to give the Great Escape (Six Flags) two big thumbs up on this beautiful end-of-summer-vacation day. Jared, Lauren and Mike joined Scott and Craig on all the fun rides (defined as anything that went upside down, dropped you from heights, went faster the louder you screamed, or got you soaking wet) while I played with my camera. (Note to whoever developed the Nikon 70-300 VR lens: you rock!)

The kids sure are good sports about having their pictures taken - it was so fun to capture the looks on their faces!

A 'Rapid' Recovery from Youth Conference

You would think that after three days of Youth Conference (read: no sleep) during the only heat and humidity we've had all summer, Scott and Craig would be wiped out and ready to collapse.

Not so. As soon as they got home on Saturday afternoon, James offered to take them kayaking/tubing through the rapids of the Sacandaga River and they were up for the challenge. As you can see from these photos, all three had a great time!

Smokey, We're Not in Utah Anymore....

Eric and his fire company left Utah last week and headed to California to fight some wild fires there. Looks like it was quite the experience. How cool to have these photos.

He returned to Provo very late on Saturday night and, while it was great to put all his training to work fighting fires, I think he was happy to be home as well. Check out that beard-wanna-be! *Ü*

It's Not Summer Until...

Yep, it's Scout Camp time. In a quick call home, Craig reports that he's having a fun time there. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he's hanging out with some of his good friends for the second week in a row.

Apparently, a poor little scout at camp was complaining that everyone in our troop bugged him about looking like Craig. Fortunately, our friend Jeff was there to take the photographic evidence shown above. Check out Craig and mini-Craig. Wow... when did my son get SOOO tall?!

Equal Time

So, I've noticed lately that there are a serious lack of posts about my very favorite daughter, Melissa. It might have something to do with the fact that she's at college most of the year, slaving away in her nursing classes, and not here where I can take pictures of her. Or it might be because she is actually on the ball and has her own blog (see my favorite blogs on the right).

I think that she is going to send me some photos to post. Someday. But until she does, I stole these cute ones from her blog! *Ü*


Melissa's boyfriend Brian came to visit at the beginning of July. This picture of them was taken in the Sacred Grove. Very cool.

Wow, who is that cute nursing student in the middle? Melissa just finished her first nursing rotation in April.

Off to look for more pictures...

Checking Out Temple Square

Scott is in Utah this week to attend BYU Cross Country Camp (answering the question - what could be more fun than running all day long at low altitude?) He's had fun spending time with Eric both before and after the camp.

Eric was shocked to discover that Scott has no memories of ever being on Temple Square. Really, what kind of good LDS parents are we? Fortunately, Eric and his girlfriend April decided to give Scott a personal tour of the area. Sounds like the three of them had a great time together. Thanks for the pictures!

When Push Comes to Shove

What do you do when you have some down time during a vacation trip to your old hometown of Salem, Virginia? Why, you sumo wrestle your father in front of a stadium full of baseball fans, of course. Duh!?!

When Scott sent me a text saying that he and James had been chosen to dress up as over-sized toasted marshmallows and wrestle each other to the ground at the end of the 3rd inning of the Salem Red Sox game, how could I not grab a camera (thanks, Teena!) and get a ride to the game (thanks, Debbie!) to photograph this historic and rather comical event? Really. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Besides, I may have to blackmail one of them someday. ;-)

Taking Summer Employment Seriously

Lovin' this picture of Eric, aka Smokey, getting ready for the 4th of July parade. Really, what mother wouldn't be proud?!

Heading for States

The outdoor track season is coming to a close, but for Scott and his running buddies -- Otis, Kent and Chris -- there's still the New York State Meet this weekend. This great 4x800 team is heading there after winning an amazingly fast (and close!) race during State Qualifiers last weekend. Good luck, boys!

There Goes a Fire Truck

Eric has been fascinated by fire trucks since he was a very small child, and has loved the great outdoors almost as long. So it's no surprise to anyone who knows him that he is completely LOVING his dream summer job - fighting fires in the Uinta mountains of Utah. Not only does he get to experience life as a fire fighter, complete with a fire engine and all the gear (which he points out is not as light weight as you might think!), but he gets to spend time hiking through, and working in, the beautiful Uinta Mountains. And he gets PAID to do this fun stuff! Does life get any better than this?!

Picture Perfect

I feel sorry for anyone who wasn't in upstate New York yesterday for the most beautiful Memorial Day on record. Well, maybe not officially, but it WAS the perfect weather for a huge Stake Picnic complete with races and lots of food...

followed by the annual Family Canoe Trip down the Mohawk River.


Dinner at the every popular Jumpin' Jacks finished off the day.


Oh yeah... and here's why I love working with the Young Women at Church...! Are they sweet or what?!

Rite of Passage

It's that time of year again. Prom season. Teenagers who wouldn't be caught dead in anything but t-shirts and jeans/shorts head to the stores in droves to try on tuxes or shop for the perfect dressy dress. I'd say that they clean up quite nicely!

Scott headed to prom with his date, Meghan, and a gaggle of BHBL runners. Sounds like they had a wonderful time. I know that I had a great time taking photos of them.

The running buddies minus the t-shirts and shorts.

Scott, Marie and Jared - friends for 16 + years?! Wow!