Catchin Some More Baseball...

Had a chance to finally make it to one of my brother Isaiah's games :o) And they won! Yay! :o)

Pitchin...




The light was pretty low, so pics aren't as sharp as I like, but doesn't keep my from tryin to get some good shots :o)








Getting away from some stray pitches can lead to some great pics :o)
Here's Isaiah practicing his levitation skills :o)......




....and even pullin in some Michael Jackson moves :o)......





Can't post without throwin in some textures too ;o)

Gotta Love Spring...

Ahhh, life is just generally better when you have posies popping up to let you know warmer weather is on the way... and it gives me an excuse to practice on my nature photography that I could use some improving on :o) But this first one just makes me happy anyway

Germany, forgot about that..... :o)

I just realized that I never posted any pics from our day in Germany on our way back from Israel.

There's not terribly much to show. The scenario unfolded as this......after enduring out exhausting last day in Ein Gedi and staying up the entire night, we flew outa Tel Aviv in the early am, landing in Munich mid morning. Rediculously tired, we managed to find the right train to get from the airport to the city thanks to wonderful Christian German lady I got to sit next to on our flight.

Exiting the train station, with patience and alertness levels at a dangerous low, we tried desperately try to find our hotel. As we walked and walked and walked, up and down the streets, over and over, frustration begins to rise to peak while the merciless cold, windy and spritzing weather compounded the situation. All while we are lugging our very heavy backpacks. Perfect.

Thankfully, eventually we found out hotel, and even though we love exploring new cities, we simply had nothing left in us. So we crashed. It was dark by the time we woke up, but with spirits much improved, we decided to start our exloration and get some food.





We found one little cozy restaurant, but after being seated and quickly abandoned by a non-English speaking host who gave us only German menus, we decided to abort, and try again. :o)

Wandering a little further we found the busier side of town, with beer halls and restaurants abounding. So we ducked into one, fairly timidly though as we were semi-scarred from our last attempt.



Our waiter this time was a very pleasant and helpful man wiht competent English who fit my mental picture of Germans: a stout shorter man perhaps in his fifties with gruff hair and accent, his Bavarian outfit reaking of beer. ;o)

Every table had appetizers of the famous Bavarian pretzels.




The restuarant was very cozy, all dark wood with amazing intricate detailing. The stag heads on the wall became usefull though when the waiter pointed at them to explain to Jacob what his choice for dinner was, venison stew. :o)




The supper was sooooo incredible. It still always kills me when asking for water in European countries - they ask if you want gas or no-gas. :o) What they mean is carbonated or not. Just cracks me up. :o)

The savory food, cozy atmosphere, and finally the chance to relax did us immense good. :o)







Liking the warmth of the indoors, Jacob announced "let's go a-coveting" and we ducked into a large department store. Yeah, I know it's lame to just wander through a store when you're visiting a new country, but we had fun anyhow :o)




The weather improved so went awandering some more.....




It's kind a funny, as the people, smells, food and atmosphere, felt a lot like back home in our Pennsylvania, probably thanks to all our "Dutchy" communities and heritage.




An amazing cathedral we just happened upon. It seems that very easy to do in Europe, just "happen upon" a colossel cathedral. :o)













They have meat markets in seems at every corner, and this scene just cracked me up as the lil puppy just stood there looking wistfully.




That night storms hit Germany, especially the north, with very destructive winds that did much damage. Even when we leavin the next morning, a snow storm kicked up out of nowhere that delayed out flight, beginning a very long day of travel for Jacob and I.

Batter Up :o)

Just a few photos from some of the first games of the season for some more of my siblings :o)

First off is little Josiah, the youngest of the family, whose playing his first year. It's a bit of an adjustment from watching highschool ball to watch seven and eight year olds playing, but still enjoyable :o) this first one is just too cute







He's always been an intense little athlete, having to keep up with all the older sibs! He's had a decent wind-up since the age of 4, which he is perfecting here :o) Don't under-estimate the power of the tongue. :o)







And then there's my one and only sis Abigail.....




She can tear up on the mound too :o)








More pics sure to come, including some of another brother, Isaiah. :o)

Italy Throw-Aways

As I was doing a second-pass rummaging through Italy pics for creating my hardbound book, I came across several photos that begged to have some attention. Originally throw-aways at first glance, here's a few pics that got saved from hard drive anonymity to become some of my absolute favs.










And I also decided to experiment a little with black and white, which is beginning to grow on me :o)