Sunday, June 27, 2010

Summer and Baseball ... What could be better?

It's that time of year again when I pull out my chair in a bag and camera and go watch my son play ball.  This year, it's only my youngest son.  The older son's baseball career has ended for now.  No, he wasn't playing ball for a living, just for sport.  This year, he is older than the age limit.  It's taken me a few weeks to actually get into watching baseball this year and I'm not sure why.  My younger son is a great player and loves the game.  I think it was because half of the team that I've known over the past couple of years were unable to play this year because they are too old.  However, I have finally gotten with the program and am loving it!
My son has done a great job already with a solid batting average and some great plays at 2nd base.  I took the girls (the two big dogs) to a game this past week.  Kobe, the black lab, doesn't like people touching her.  She's a shy dog and has anxiety when people try to approach her directly, which is why one of the coaches harassed her the entire time we were at the game.  I don't know what people's obsession is in trying to approach a dog who obviously doesn't want to be approached.  In the picture below, Coach T was harassing Kobe through the fence and cracking up at her.  Of course, it drove her a little nuts.  (Kobe is the one facing to the right.)  She looks absolutely crazed in this picture, but she calmed right down when I told her to back off and told Coach T to knock it off!
For the most part, the girls were calm and relaxed.  (Kobe is on the left, Jor-Jor is on the right.)
So we watched my son get his hit and make a great play at 2nd base.  After the game, Derek and I and the girls came home.  We stopped at Portillos on the way home to pick up dinner for the both of us and of course, the girls did not like the workers walking around the car.  With a little dog, you can talk over its yapping and tell it to chill and hold it on your lap.  With big dogs, they are as loud as a freight train when confined in a car with them and of course, there is no holding them on your lap.  My girls are between 65 and 70 pounds a piece, so that would be impossible.

I hate to see baseball come to an end this year.  It's the last year either of my sons will be in the Pony League or whatever it's called for the older boys.  Next summer when I don't have any baseball to go watch, I'll really miss it.  In the movie Something's Gotta Give, Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are walking down a beach in a scene, and Diane makes a comment about time going by fast.  And the truth is, it does.  Even though I'm in the moment right now, I can feel the future pressing down on me and in a year or two or five or ten, I'll be remembering this last summer.  The truth is, the time between the birth of my oldest son to the last season of baseball for my younger son has gone by in a blink of an eye.  I'm enjoying every second of this summer while I can. :)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Life is Good, but Better with Pictures

What's not to like? I have my health, my sons, and my girls. When one of them has a face like that, what's not to love? I got a new camera today and took some pictures of my girls out on the deck, in the yard, and in their pool. Actually, only Kobe likes the pool. Jordan doesn't know what she thinks of it yet.

I've started getting into taking pictures. I am starting to look at the picture subjects with an artist's flair insted of just hoping to get good pictures. Luckily for me, this is the digital age because there is a whole lotta deleting going on in my camera. HA! The camera I just bought isn't expensive, just a basic 10 megapixel camera with a 10x digital zoom. Ergo, the picture of Kobe above. I didn't use the zoom, obviously, as she was just below me, but I do think the camera took a better quality picture. I'm taking it with me to my niece's graduation this weekend to see if I can capture some candid and memorable pictures of the family to document our time together.

I joined Facebook in November 2009 and have "friended" many old high school classmates and family. It has inspired me to upload as many family pictures that I can in various photo albums to share with my friends and family. Although I think Facebook's privacy provisions and practices suck in general, the premise of the social network is a good one. I like trying out my new photos on my friends and family. I have gotten a few comments already on Kobe's pool picture. I liked the tulip picture below and I took that with my girlfriend's Blackberry. It turned out perfect.

So, stay tuned for new and exciting pictures. When I get something I really like, I'll be sharing it.