Two teams, two championship games

I once again volunteered to coach Biddy Basketball for Eastern. I coached a 1st-2nd grade team with my friend Eric Thompson, and assisted my brother-in-law Jeremy with his 3rd-4th grade team.


Here I am with my assistant, Eric. I'm probably yelling one of three things: "Arms out," "Slide your feet," or "Get between your man and the basket!"



It was a great season for both teams. We both managed to get to the championship games. Unfortunately we lost two very close ones. My team played hard, but just couldn't get the ball to go in the hoop and we lost by just a few points. Jeremy's team gave it their all and wound up going to OT with a nice lay-up with just a few seconds left in regulation. The other team proved to be just a little too much for us in OT and we lost a close one.

It was a fun year, none-the-less. The kids improved throughout the year. I hope that's because they learned something from me. I still haven't had any calls for filling a coaching position in the Big 10...

Happy New Year! We're having a baby!

Yes, you read that correctly. We're going to have another baby! Jessica is now at 12 weeks and doing very well. Aaron is super excited to finally be able to tell somebody that he's going to be a big brother. He's known for several weeks now, and did a great job keeping it a secret (near as we can tell).

We had hoped to have our children closer in age, but God's timing is not our timing. We struggled for several years, but God has blessed our patience with our second child. Praise His name!

Oh yeah, Aaron wants it to be a boy!

Jessica at 12 weeks:

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for allowing us to be your photographer and graphic designer in 2011. We look forward to serving you in 2012!

Coaching Football

I had a great time coaching this year in the Eastern Thunder Youth Football League. Last year, I assisted on one of the an 8 and Under teams. I was excited to be asked to lead a team this year. The number of kids that came out for football was outstanding, and the League had need for a 3rd 8 and Under team.

I had a challenge in front of me, because my team was going to be a team comprised of first-year players. We would be competing against teams that played last year. One year makes a huge difference with these young kids.

I was able to select some talented players that I thought would give us a chance of winning a few games.

It was slow-going at the start of the season, teaching the kids the fundamentals and the basic objectives of the game. My brother-in-law was coaching the Red 8U team and asked if we could "scrimmage" each other before the season started.



What an eye-opener. We were so raw. They were like a well oiled machine. We fell for simple ball fakes, and had difficulty staying in position to make tackles. I knew the start of the season would be rough, but not this rough. We got in a few more practices and we were slowly getting the hang of it. My assistants, and a few dads did a great job of helping us all get through practices.

We started off the season with a Jamboree at the EGHS varsity football field. We played the 8U Black team (who won the championship last year). We gave up 4 touchdowns, and we scored once to get on the board. I was encouraged at how far we came from the scrimmage we had just a couple of days earlier.

We opened the regular season with a victory. We lost the next two by a combined 3 points. What a great teaching moment it was to show the kids that each play counts. We fell short on just a few plays because of lack of execution, and that was the difference in those games. We were pumped to play harder in our remaining games. We won the next 3.



My team had a few players that were play makers and really helped make a difference in the games, but as a whole we were playing much better as a TEAM. We were blocking better and we were tackling better as a team. Unfortunately we came up short against our bigger and stronger 8U Black team in the playoffs.

We finished 4-3 for the year. Not bad for a group of players that didn't know much about football just 3 months prior.

Thanks to my friend Eric Thompson for taking pictures of the team during the season! And thanks to my Assistants, Dann and Kris. It was a blast this year. I hope to do it again next year.



Until then, I will be spending the off season coaching Biddy Basketball and T-ball.

2011 Eastern Greene Girls Biddy Ball Pictures

My wife and I got the opportunity to photograph the 2011 Eastern Greene Girls Biddy Basketball team pictures! We had a great time photographing and interacting with the girls. We got some great feedback on the photos. Here are some examples:

Eastern Youth Football and Cheer Pictures

We were thrilled to be selected as the photographer for 2011 ETYF season! We had a great time photographing the players and cheer squads. I'm grateful to the League for selecting us, and we are happy to announce that we once again donated 10% of sales to the League!

Here are a few examples:

England & Young Family Photos

We spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Indiana University photographing family portraits for repeat clients that we like to call friends. You may recognize everyone from previous wedding and family photos we've taken. How wonderful to see the little ones growing, plus get to meet a new face with Logan.

Here are several shots from our afternoon.

Sunny Florida!

I have been to Florida only once in my life. It was nearly 10 years ago in December of 2001 on my honeymoon. As you can imagine, Florida in December is nice (we wore our coats on the beach), but it's not as nice as in the summer!

My family and I packed up and hit the road for Bradenton, Florida where my older brother Andy and his bride to be were to get married on July, 25 (Congrats!). We made a long vacation out of the trip. It was nice to unwind on the beach and just have a great time with my wife and son along with my parents and my siblings and their families.

I was honored to be a groomsman. We all enjoyed a beautiful wedding ceremony and reception at the The Powel Crosley Estate in Sarasota.


My brother Andy and his wife Sarah, and my family.



The whole crew!


This was the condo we stayed in on Holmes Beach. My parents and my family shared a two bedroom condo.


The view from the roof was awesome.



Here are some pictures of the beauty that is Florida.






Of course, we spent a lot of time on the beach. We enjoyed the sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. I'd never seen the sun set over water before. Truly a beautiful picture painted by God.








Beautiful ain't it?





My parents taking a leisurely stroll down the beach.


My wife's uncle Roy lives near Ruskin, Florida and we met up with him for lunch at Rotten Ralph's. If you ever go, their cheeseburgers are really, really good. We walked around the nearby piers afterward and enjoyed looking (but not touching) all of the expensive yachts. Roy also took us to the Sky Bridge. It was truly an uncomfortable experience being that high off of the water on a narrow two-lane highway. There was some road construction on the upward climb that caused the roadway to become even more narrow. My door seemed to be nearly scraping the concrete barrier that kept us from plunging into the gulf.







We took a tour of the gulf outside of Sarasota. They threw nets overboard and we got to look firsthand at some really neat aquatic life. Aaron and my nephew Julian really enjoyed the experience.



One afternoon we were in the gulf swimming, I happened to look up and see about 5 or 6 dolphins come out of the water and go back in. I turned and yelled out "dolphins!" No one around me saw them. They jokingly told me I was lying about it. But on our tour, I caught some dolphins surfacing. Who's laughing now?