Blue Bonnets

A few years ago we drove to Ennis to see all the bluebonnets and take photos and I was hoping to go again this Spring, however, the bluebonnets didn't come out as well as they have in past years. Plus, we ended up waiting a little too long and missed the peak of the flowers, although they didn't peak as well as they usually do. I decided against driving to Ennis and took the girls today after school to the fields in Grapevine we've visited before and had good luck with bluebonnets. I'd driven by the fields a few times in the past few weeks and hadn't seen very many bluebonnets, but I figured it was better than nothing. We decided to take Buddy with us too and both girls brought their favorites - Green Beup Beup and a light saber for Sofia and Glamour, a stuffed animal for Olivia. The girls were mainly interested in running around and horsing around more than anything and the bluebonnets weren't very plentiful so I didn't capture very interesting photos, but it was better than nothing. Hopefully next year the bluebonnets will be more plentiful, although they are predicting that all the rain we've had recently will create similar conditions to this year. Hoping they are wrong and we have an opportunity to visit Ennis next year. I did end up getting a few cute photos of Buddy though!

Girls and the few bluebonnets

Olivia

Sofia

Sisters!!

Green Beep Beep got his photo taken in the bluebonnets too

Bluebonnets

Posing with Glamour

Sofia and her favorites

Running around acting silly

Buddy

Girls running around....

Purplicious Portraits

Several weeks ago I offered to take individual and team photos of the Purplicious girls and haven't had a good chance to do so due to weather or other factors. We had a make-up soccer game tonight and I figured it would be a perfect time to get the photos since there would be few other kids out on the fields and in the background and the lighting could be perfect if it stayed cloudy. Unfortunately, it did not stay cloudy and was too bright and glaring for decent photos. I did take a few of Olivia that worked out fine but photos of the other girls didn't work out at all since their eyes were too sensitive to the light. After I took photos of Olivia and a few of the girls, the game started and the girls had fun playing, as usual.

I finally took a team photo on Saturday, however, Coach Ryan wasn't there since he had a body building competition at the same time. The girls looked so cute and the photo turned out well. I also took one with silly faces, since everyone loves to make silly faces! After that game, we headed to Trio, which is both girls' favorite place to eat after soccer games. Olivia always gets a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fruit while Sofia either has that or the pizza. Of course, they also love a sugar cookie after their meal.

My little Purplicious soccer player!

I especially love this photo of Olivia!

I also love this one - So sweet!!

She's off with the soccer ball!

I love this picture of the thee Purplicious players heading down the field.

The girls of Purplicious! Missed Coach Ryan....

Silly faces!

Lunch at Trio after the game - our post-game ritual

She Shoots, She Scores!!

Olivia had a soccer game today and I captured her scoring a goal and love the look on her face at the end of her goal! So happy with her efforts. She tends to hold back and watch the ball and others kick it, although when she does get it she does a great job with it. Throughout the game, she always has a smile on her face and seems to really enjoy it and always says she had fun at the end of the game. She's also very fast and can catch up to a defender with the ball, although she usually doesn't know what to do with the ball once she reaches it. She'll learn to kick the ball out of bounds so the team doesn't get a chance to score. It is so fun to watch her and her teammates play!

Getting ready to start

She almost scored, but not quiet

Sofia and Papa hanging out while I take photos across the field

Coach Ryan giving some soccer advice...I ended up using this photo for the Thank You note for Coach Ryan.

Maddie, Olivia and Harper

Olivia with the ball (she's actually in front of the defender and can hardly be seen)

After her goal - she's so excited!

Pink Pirates Portraits

During yesterday's practice at McPherson Park, I pulled each of the Pink Pirates aside to do individual pictures and then took a team photo at the end of practice. I was so thankful that all the girls remembered to wear their uniforms. I was worried that one of them wouldn't be able to make practice or one of more of the girls would forget to wear their jerseys. A few weeks ago, all the CSA soccer teams were offered to take "professional" photos at the Crown of Life church which is right next to the fields. I had already offered to take the photos for the Pink Pirates, so we never stopped by but I hadn't offered yet for Olivia's Purplicious team. Olivia and I arrived at 7:40am to take our individual and team photos and I found out that it was all photo shopped and the girls would just be added together on a black background. Plus, one sheet of photos and a "Facebook profile photo" was offered at $25. It seemed outrageous and looked ridiculous, so I called Coach Ryan and offered to take the photos for all the Purplicious girls as well as a team photo.

The weather for the Pink Pirate girls was perfect and there was little wind to make their hair look crazy. McPherson Park is such a beautiful back-drop and I really was pleased by the images I captured. I actually pulled a few ideas from Pinterest on how to set up the girls in cute poses and really liked how they turned out. As I took photos of each of the girls, I was struck by how many new faces the team now has. I guess I knew it from going to the games and other practices, but nearly half of the girls are new since Sofia quit about a year ago. They are all very sweet and thoughtful girls and still make up such a great team. The girls have been practicing at McPherson Park from 5-6:30pm every week on Thursdays and then have a 20-30 minute warm-up before the game and the one hour game. It's pretty much the perfect amount of soccer and McPherson Park is a fantastic location since it isn't overrun with other kids and they have beautiful walking trails and a small playground, which the girls always want to visit after practice. Coach Jeff, Chloe's dad is an absolute fantastic coach and has been helped by his 7th grade daughter, Hannah, who is also a great soccer player who has been playing for years. Coach Jeff knows so much about soccer and always has the girls doing really interesting drills that encourage passing and setting up for goals. He's really turned the girls into a great team that are very good at working together during games. He's tough on them but also is the first to praise them and tell them when they have done a good job. He's also very focused on the ensuring each girl knows how to play every position and wants every one of the girls to score a goal during the season! As much as Sofia loves playing defense or goalie (and she's pretty good at these positions), he's been playing her on offense more often in the past few games to give her an opportunity to score. I love that he does this for the team and is so focused on teaching them soccer skills and how to succeed. I'm so glad Sofia joined back up on the team and that she's enjoying it!

Our soccer player!

Love this pose!

Another pose that turned out really cute for each of the girls!

Sofia and her team

Silly photo!

Practice on a beautiful day at McPherson Park

Abby and Sofia battling it out

Coach Jeff, assistant coach Hannah and Chloe.

Some photos taken by my photographic assistant, Olivia: