1. blur | 2. table | 3. dinner from a paris kitchen | 4. gulls at the game | 5. wetlands coming back | 6. violet wants a contract as a super model

Let me ask you this? Why do smoke alarm batteries always die in the middle of the night? Never at, say 10AM? So after ours started beeping in the deep dark last night, we discovered that our 9Volt batteries are defective. Said smoke alarm is sitting in Neel's sock drawer right now, still beeping.

Please forgive me for moving a little slow today.

Quiet weekend. Great day at the ball park for our team. Our boys beat a team that had previously crushed them 21-5. Nice, huh? Teams and sportsmanship can be so weird. The first time we played these guys, early on, our coach said, "Look, we're gonna lose. These guys stack their team. I don't know why they do it, but that's what they do." It makes little sense to me, and I go back to the question I keep trying to ask myself, "how does this help?" Not just how does it help opposing teams who end up losing by a lot, but how does it help that team, only winning because they're "stacked." Does it not inflate their sense of their own worth on the team? Does it not prevent them from striving to do better? But I guess we're in a place where winning is the only lesson.

Their parents and fans were raucous. Ahem. Proud of their boys, I guess, but loud. One of their kids hit an in-the-park homerun (a real feat) and we all clapped. One of ours hit one the next inning (a grand slam), and they didn't. Ultimately, the umpires called the game for time with one half inning left to be played. We won! As the kids lined up to shake hands, we all cheered and clapped our boys' big feat, and suddenly those loud moms turned on us! "That's uncalled for!" they screamed. (yeah, screamed) "That's not necessary." Well. The dad next to us said, "All righty then."

I love baseball, and I love watching Cal do well and our team win, but let's face it. This game, at this stage, is about way more than baseball skills. Seems a shame those kids aren't learning that.

As a side note, when we told Cal, he said, "You should have yelled back at them." (He is 14, after all!) Uh, no. Those moms were scary.

Row One {Reflection}: cleggosarus | atha_94 | maggiemuses ; Row 2 {Tiny}: delyndaw | mlkmoore (private) | nmsullivan0909 ; Row Three {Negative Space}: pkimball60s | jenni_429 | nobleandpond; Row Four {Found}: mjkeim | bodaciousbread | hildi74; Row F… — Row One *{Reflection*}: cleggosarus | atha_94 | maggiemuses ; Row 2 {*Tiny*}: delyndaw | mlkmoore (private) | nmsullivan0909 ; Row Three {*Negative Space*}: pkimball60s | jenni_429 | nobleandpond; Row Four {*Found*}: mjkeim | bodaciousbread | hildi74; Row Five {Architecture}: tempusfugitrapidus | beemer123 | tabender70; Row Six {*down low*}: bedsidedesign | myfourbabes (private) | mawlovesbsd; Row Seven {*Memory*}: tkreisky | shalaghhogan | we_are_blessed

And you guuuuuuys.... Holy perception_collection, batman! Never in our wildest dreams did Christine and I imagine that this little challenge would resonate with you so much. Can I say that we're thrilled? We're thrilled! Thrilled with the photos we've seen (How could I ever choose? I couldn't. It was like throwing darts at a board.) and thrilled with the support and love you all have given each other. We decided to break our features in half and do two weekly shout-outs, so check The Plumed Nest to see what caught Christine's eye, and check back here on Monday to see how the second half of the challenge shook out.

We're already working on Round 2 (every where I go I seem to get an idea for a prompt and jot it down so I don't forget), so sad as I am that we're winding up this week, I'm already looking forward to starting again! You guys rock!