Lauren's 17th

Lauren turned 17, and after a makeup and hair session, she and her friends were surprised with a photo shoot at the Turtle Park.  Needless to say, we had a great time!  The girls were "working it", and Mom and Ryan (the driver) helped hold the light.  Six of the girls play on the softball team, and the 7th plays tennis.  I barely recognized them when they got out of the car. . . but that's one of the great things about girl's sports. . . they can be tough and rugged when they need to, and then when they want to be beautiful, they can do that too. . .

Big props to Lauren's younger sister, Sarah, who suffered a gruesome leg injury several weeks ago in softball and has been in a wheelchair since.  She sucked it up and hobbled and crutched around the park, up the hills, on the turtles, and down the gravel paths,  and never complained.  She's WAY tougher than I'll ever be. . .

On a side note, Lauren is in my 1st hour class, and I told them about 3 weeks ago that "I've given up on the Cardinals.  I'm done with them.  I won't watch them any more!". . . So now, I figure, I shouldn't watch them in the playoffs and just be a fair-weather fan.  So I get down to the park a little early, and I figure, "It won't really be cheating if I just listen to the game on the radio for a little."  Well, I turn it on to find out the Birds are up 3-1, but only minutes later, Ryan Howard pounds a 3-run homer and I turn off the radio.  That's what I get, I suppose.

Then, when we've finished the shoot, I return to the car and get ready to leave, only to find that the car won't start because I left the lights on and drained the battery.  I had to call my buddy, Steve Jonak, to come bail me out.  Thanks, Steve!

I wonder if I should watch the game today. . .