Scary Day

Last weekend our home was the scene of the "Umteenth annual Zelazoski Children's Halloween Party".  It was once again a success.  I don't know why, but each year we worry that the kids have outgrown it, and that the turnout will be low, and that the weather won't cooperate, and every year we are wrong.   If anything, we get the same number of kids or more, AND their parents stick around more to enjoy the festivities.  We had the normal number of witches, and superheroes, zombies, and ninjas.  We even had a hot dog and Chicago Bear(Unfortunately, the Chicago Bear is blood related).  Here is a group pic of the scary bunch:

Gametime

These fall Saturday mornings have been filled with volleyball games and soccer games. Unfortunately, its much harder to get good shots indoors and with more space constraints, but volleyball pics will follow in the coming weeks.  Tonight, though, will be some game action shots of Derek "Pele" Zelazoski.

 

I get a "Kick" out of you

Now, with summer over, we need to find ways to keep my son from immersing himself in his schoolwork( Heavy, heavy sarcasm in that last statement. You could say, it is the definition of sarcasm). Actually, it is all too easy for a 9 year old to immerse himself in TV and/or video games.  In the past, we've done a park district karate class or soccer clinic.  This year, instead of just instructional time, he's playing in a soccer league.  And a well run league it is.  3 practices a week with a game every Saturday. It has been a new experience for mom and dad trying to juggle extracurricular activities like cub scouts, soccer practice/games, and volleyball games and dance classes for my daughter.  Needless to say, while we have always been a pretty structured household as far as dinner times and sitting down together at the dinner table each night, that structure has kind of flown out the window for now.  You have dad with one kid going in one direction and mom with another in a different direction.  New experience.  But, its all good.  The kids like being involved and its good for them.  And, when I feel a little worn out from the running around, I remember the same mantra I would quote at various times since we had kids, like while changing diapers, when the kids would crawl in bed with us and steal pillows/covers, or the 3 am ear infections, "Someday, you're gonna miss this." A few shots of the soccer star.

Another year...

I'm very late in getting these posted, but, in following tradition, the kids once again stood in front of the neighbors tree to get their "first day of school" pictures taken.  I'll let you guess which one wasn't happy at the moment.  But, it is what it is.  Unfortunately, this might be the last year of pics in front of the neighbors tree since the tree shows little signs of life.  Zero signs of life to be exact.  I'm hoping to convince him to just cut it down from 8 feet up, at least until the kids are in college.  I'll let you know how that goes.

And now, the end is near.......

The end of summer that is.  While not a blazing hot summer, it was still a good one.  The kids, I believe, had a great summer.  4 trips to waterparks.  Several trips camping up north.  And many sleepovers and days of just hanging out with friends.  A few disappointments but nothing major.  No boating this year due to icky spring/early summer weather and then all of a sudden its July and you haven't even gotten the boat prepped yet.  So, we decided to keep it parked.  Not as much grabbing the camera and going for a drive as in the past.  And, of course, the natural evolution of children, where they don't seem as hip to do the things we did in the past, especially with their parents.  But, I guess I need to get used to that.  Maybe its time to have another one...........................Sorry, I was laughing too hard to type there for a minute. So, tonight's shots are of the final summer sunset and my boy getting the last swim of the year in at the beach.  Hopefully, winter will hold off a bit and I'll get some wonderful autumn shooting in.

Here's to many sunshiny days ahead.....

My kids and I spent several days camping up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin last week and while there we attended the wedding of my cousin.  The event was wonderful as it was a very comfy, downhome type of outdoor wedding.  It was outdoors, as I mentioned, with gorgeous sunshine and low humidities and a slight breeze.  The setting was a small pond with all the plants and nature in full color.  After the ceremony, the guests all headed over to a building on the property for a spectacular pig roast and night of Americana/bluegrass music performed by The Evergreen Grass band out of Eau Claire, Wis.   
I've always said, "The last thing I would ever want to do is photograph a wedding."  Mainly because it's a really tough job.  And, you only get one chance to get it right.  I still believe that, but this was one that peaked my interest.  It was outdoors which is easier to get right than in a church or building.  The nature of the bride and groom made them easy to work with.  And, the local and scene of the event was different than many others I've attended.  That being said, I still will not be a photographer for hire for weddings any time soon. But, I had fun shooting at this one.

And here's a short video showing the bride's special talent.  I had seen her perform once before while not realizing it.  Several years ago I was at Summerfest with my daughter.  We, by chance, happened to see my cousin playing with his band there.  Cecelia was out in the audience performing while he was on stage. Her dancing added a special dynamic to the band's performance.  Now, my daughter informs me that I am a little slow to put 2 and 2 together, but it was only when I saw her doing her dance at the wedding that I realized she was the same girl at the concert we saw at Summerfest. The groom did some "hooping" earlier in the evening, but this, of course, was nicer.

Good Morning, Sunshine

A good way to start your day.