Ivy Family

What do you call a morning with the Ivy family?  TOO MUCH FUN!! This morning I had the honor of capturing some images of Mike & Shana Ivy and their tremendous foursome of kiddos.  They were lively, amazingly interactive and downright beautiful to boot!

Introducing the Ivy family

I think these guys are rather well-practiced at having fun!

Cute feet--I just couldn't resist

A calmer moment in the morning

Zerbert!!!!! I just doesn't get any better than that!

These are some tough, beautiful young ladies --- Maleah, Kaelin, & Kerington  

"Look out, world, here we come!!"

The young Mr. Silas in a fleeting moment of contemplation

Maleah makes me want to sing a little Stevie Wonder:  "Isn't she lovely;  isn't she wonderful!"

and she has a great sense of humor to match all that beauty and brains -- I asked her to jump from the chair but the chair didn't cooperate.  Thankfully, she came up laughing.

Ms. Kerington (aka:  Little Miss Giggles) -- you just can't help but join her in the laughter

I caught Silas quiet twice -- hmmmm, how did I manage to get that lucky

I get dibs on Miss Kaelin's modeling contracts, ok?!!

Some sweet snuggles for Mom

It was such an incredible pleasure to be around Mike & Shana -- four kids and all the trials and tribulations that come with that road and they are obviously still very much in love -- and brimming over with laughter!

OK, while we were making our way over to the playground and nasty storm made record time moving in  -- we are talking some serious speed playing and shooting to get a few captures in prior to making a hasty exit.  

The darkening skies did not dampen this family's spirits -- must be the joy of the Lord just bubbling through!

Yeah!!!!

Pitching Lessons!

Here's a little shameless advertising for my budding entrepreneur daughter Morgan:

Consona Baseball

On a summer evening there are few places I would rather be than at a ballfield (okay, the beach would supercede 'ballfield' on a top ten list, but I live in Indiana...alas). And what's even better than watching a game -- photographing one! And last night that was just what I did -- thanks to a very gracious invitation by the Battle Ground 'Consona' Bronco baseball team.

These guys got plays -- and some serious heart! Rumor has it their season didn't start out so well, but they bonded together as a team, learned to depend on one another, offered instruction and encouragement both among themselves and from a gaggle of outstanding men in coaching positions!! And, WAHLAH! They were on a winning streak! As of the beginning of last night's game, they were one of only six teams left in tournament play (it began with thirty+).

The boys are in the dugout listening to pre-game instructions from the coaches -- and the ball is ready to go!

What a good looking group!

"Hey, look what's in there!"

Kendall Kyrurz slides in safely at second -- Yeah!!

Bringin' the heat!!

A little regrouping.

Gotta love a solid hit!!

Flyin' down the first base line.

Whoa! That's intense!

Isn't it amazing how catcher can fly all over the place to get their job done?! (It takes me five minutes just to stand up from a squatting position.)

I feel a hit coming!

Gotta love the focus! (I wonder if he pays attention like that in math class?!)

The after-game wrap up. Kudos to all!

Unfortunately for these guys, they fought hard but wound up on the short end of a 7-6 final score. Nothing to hang their heads over, though. They hung in there and played well. More importantly, I want to report that rarely have I heard a group of men, young and old, who handled themselves with such dignity and depth of character on the field. I have no doubt these boys are headed for success in the future, both on and off the field.

Congratulations, dudes! Thanks for inviting me out for a bit of the ride.

Logan -- Senior '09

Meet Logan -- a Harrison High School senior (alright, now alumni). Logan's year was so packed that he didn't get around to getting senior pics done until after all his senior activities came to a close. That's alright, because we had a fabulous time together and here is a few of the images from our afternoon.

Logan was the captain of the award-winning Harrison Robotics team. There is an unbelievable amount of time, energy and ingenuity put into these robots -- absolutley amazing! And the work of Logan and his teammates paid off as they participated in the National Championships in Atlanta, GA (the same weekend as Prom -- crazy!!)

This is a guy whose got both brains and brawn -- beyond his work in robotics, Logan played for the Harrison Raider football team. There are a couple opposing team players who are probably still smartin' from the sacks he put on them!!

Outside the school walls, Logan faithfully serves his parish -- St. Mary's Catholic Church obviously holds a special place in his heart, so we had to grab a few shots there.

What's with the bare feet, you ask? It could be a symbol of the dedicated sense of service that Logan feels towards his fellow man--symbolism taken from the recounting of Jesus' washing of the feet of His disciples. That would be really deep, wouldn't it?! Very cool. And yet, although I by no means doubt Logan's commitment to serve the Church and his fellow man, the reality is: this boy simply forgot his shoes!! Too funny -- we just decided to roll with it!

Congratulations, Logan on both your successes in robotics & athletics and your graduation. Onward and upward, man!

Busy spring

Whew! What a crazy--and completely fabulous--spring and early summer we have had here at THG! I got to meet we so many terrific seniors as they wrapped up their final year of high school, but honestly what dominated the calendar were the softball season of the Harrison High School Raiders and graduation. These were not only professional, but very personal for us here as our daughter Morgan was both a graduating senior and a pitcher/first baseman for the Raiders.

This was a seriously fun team to follow with a camera.

Let the play begin...

Our other pitcher, junior Brooke Jordan, bringing it from the circle

Softball begins in the cold weather (note the pants and long sleeves) -- but here is a hot play by Haley Baker as she slides in safely under the tag

and by the end of the regular season everyone is sweating. Haley, again, putting down the bunt.

The ladies celebrated the end of the regular season with a fun photo shoot at the local Harley-Davidson dealer. A huge thanks out to Joe Bidle and all the staff at Eagle Harley-Davidson/Bellue -- their willingness to allow the Lady Raiders to invade their beautiful establishment truly made a memorable afternoon for us all!

Then it was time to march the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance at the Harrison High School commencement.

Morgan (curly hair--looks like she's half asleep) among her classmates during the ceremonies.

Yeah!!! All finished!

Then, back to softball as the post-season State tournament began. Little did we Raider fans know what a fabulous ride was in-store!

First, a nail-biter game against rival McCutcheon Mavericks that resulted in a 1-0 Raider victory and a Sectional Championship.

Then, it was on to Regionals where the Raiders would face very strong teams in Floyd Central and the unbeaten Homestead ladies -- but the victories continued and here they are with the Regional Champions plaque.

Time for a bit more fun as the Raiders pumped up for the Semi-State game with a fullout pep rally on the home diamond. Here's Coach Abby Willis heading onto the field.

Semi-State Champions! -- courtesy of a mighty team effort defensively against an outstanding and a Grand Slam in the sixth by Raider shortstop Megan Mitchell!

The storybook ending fell just a couple runs short as the Raiders lost 2-0 to the Center Grove Trojans in the Indiana State Finals -- but second in the state, that was certainly something to smile about!! Congratulations, Lady Raiders!