Back on the soccer field again

In my head I'm hearing Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" as Henry hits the pitch for his first soccer practice in two (three?) years.  The evening's colors are quite nice even though it is a touch too warm for me.

I feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk

The axe photos are here! The axe photos are here!

And because I'd like to have them all in one place, here are the previous axe photos. 

Soccer: Spartans vs UGSC Black / Founders Cup, Match 1

Score: 0-0

Photography fun: 70-200mm/2.8 lens

I rented a lens for the cross country meet and soccer matches we have this week and weekend so I can (hopefully) get some closer shots of the kid and his teammates. The cross country meet was great, and I managed to get a very fun shot of Henry's hair doing its thing on the course, and last night I took it to Hen's soccer practice. It's a beast of a lens to lug around but I'm happy with the shots. The ability to zoom in to get closer to the athletes is really awesome when what you work with most days is a 50mm portrait lens.

Have a little hair with your run.

Our Goalie - Before

Our Goalie - After
I think the original shot is fine as is but I really like the edited version, too. Things done include increasing the contrast, changing the white balance, upping the highlights and clarity, and adding vignette. There could be more but that's all I can remember. Oh, wait, I think I also messed with the noise a bit.

Soccer: Spartans vs Westside Timbers

Hen's the kid with the hair getting ready to kick the ball.

Everett

Liam, Max, Sacha, Cole, Connor, and Henry

We invited the team over for a 'Movie After the Match'. Henry chose Tommy Boy. Treats included Starburst, KitKat candy bars, gummy bears, and Izze drinks along with four batches of popcorn (unbuttered because boys and greasy hands don't go well with furniture easily stained). 11 kids made it to the movie and when it was over, I had them all run up to the middle of the bridge near our house to take a team selfie. There was much running around the building and tabletop tennis and general merriment. They are a good albeit occasionally rambunctious group of tweens.

Concessions stand is OPEN!

Henry, Cole, Everett, Kelly, LD (a.k.a. second Liam), Sacha, Max, Connor, and Isaac. (Not pictured: Adam and Ace, who arrived late.) 

The destruction.

Bridge team photo attempt #1 (6 of 11 made it into the pic)

Soccer: Spartans vs. THUSC

Spartans 3, THUSC 0

An exciting match and our first win of the season!

Summer 2019, week seven - Camping plus more!

Snakes!

Kids in a hammock!

Mom's sanctuary

Breakfast sausages

Little Crater Lake, Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood Challenge - first tournament weekend

That does not look right

I do not understand what is happening to Henry's leg.

Timbers vs. Whitecaps

Near the end of October we traveled north to catch the last Timbers vs. Whitecaps match of the season at B.C. Place. Much fun was had and poutine was enjoyed.

I chose this photo because of the photobombing dude at the back left. He's awesome, eh?
(front, left to right: Robert, John, Jez, Hen, and Darren
back, left to right: Lynn, Owen, Kelsey, and Sara)

The Lumberjacks

Hen's soccer skills have been improving steadily but the young lad doesn't have a real passion for the game so this may be his last session.

Thorns vs. Reign / Semifinal match

Monsieur E was able to join us for the match.

Corner kick

You know what that red smoke means - G O A L !

Our friend Lynn and Darr #twinsies

Summer 2018, week eight - pictorial

Teen Titans Go! to the Movies! - Elliot ate almost an entire 1/2lb box of See's Chocolates (minus the two or three he shared with Hen and Alice)

Dillon and Hen at Sliders PDX - burgers, yo!

Dillon and Hen at the pool

Ran into Logan from The Annoying Squirrels at New Seasons - Hen's legs look crazy long

Eliav and Hen at soccer camp

Hen, Dillon, and Eliav

All day UK International Soccer Camp

Fall Soccer - New team, same old kit

We've really gotten our money's worth out of the SESC soccer kit because it'll likely be big enough for Hen to wear for another year (fall and spring) of soccer. Woohoo! We lost our first game 3-1 but it was fun and the boys held their own against a team that has been playing together for three years. The Firestorm also has several team members who participate in another year-long soccer league so they are practicing 3-4 times a week.

Sadly, The Annoying Squirrels disbanded when spring season ended. The good news is that three of those squirrels are now on the Lumberjacks team. Our assistant coach just sent out a bunch of videos for practicing footwork and ball control, which I intend to use to have Hen improve and build skills. Now that the smoke has cleared we'll be able to spend more time outside again. The fires raging in and around Oregon right now are really quite horrible. That's why many of us Portlanders were celebrating the smattering of rain that finally fell last night.

Anyway, I don't know all the kids' names yet but we got a good team and I look forward to another season of soccer.

Thorns Appreciation with Sinclair, Heath, and Klingenberg

Hen and I attended this year's Thorns Appreciation Day at Providence Park and we ended up staying for almost the whole thing and I left with signatures from Heath, Sinclair, and Klingenberg on my Women's World Cup ticket and Heath's on Sports Illustrated. Amazing!

Abby has left the pitch

Forever grateful I was in the stadium when she won the World Cup. Happy retirement, Abby.

MLS Cup Final - Columbus Crew SC vs. Portland Timbers

The morning of Darren's birthday I found this email...

The message read:

Congratulations! You have randomly selected as a winner for our 2015 MLS Cup Flyaway Sweepstakes courtesy of Alaska Airlines and the Portland Timbers. You and a guest have been selected to ride on the Timbers fan charter...

And then I lost my head, ran into the room to wake Darren up and have a small but dignified mini freak out because we had just WON TWO TICKETS ON THE MLS CUP CHARTER TO COLUMBUS!

So, that was awesome.

Long story short I got to drink out of the cup after we won it. Of course, there were pictures...

Many thanks to Portland Timbers and Alaska Airlines. This experience was amazing, one we will not soon forget.

See the rest of the photos by clicking here.

Soccer practice perfection

The park we meet at for soccer practice is absolutely gorgeous as the sun sets. The light filters in through the tall trees as if it is playing peek-a-boo with the kids. It is such a gorgeous backdrop.