Monday, November 30, 2009

Holiday Traditions

The word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on".
In our family, there are a lot of traditions that we observe during the holidays that come from either Allan's Danish roots or my French Canadian roots. But there are also traditions that we started ourselves and that we hope our children will continue to observe with their children.
Our Cookie Decorating Party is an example of this. Every year for the past 5 years, we have hosted a "get together" with our closest friends: the Moultons and the Scagliones. It always happens on the weekend after Thanksgiving and it involves baking and decorating cookies. Everyone love it and we all look forward to it every year.
This year was no exception: last Saturday, we had the whole gang over once again to roll the dough, cut it out with fun holiday themed cookie cutters, bake the cookies and finally decorate them. Of course, there was also a lot of tasting and eating involved in the process.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day:



















It was a fun filled day and everyone left with a basket full of there own creations, and with more fun memories of a new family tradition!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Canyon Country Crew to participate in AYSO National Games

The Canyon Country Crew has been asked to represent Area 10S (Santa Clarita Valley) at the AYSO National Games in Florida next July. The boys are excited and have already begun to prepare for this wonderful opportunity. They have added a few extra players from last year's team as they are now playing 9 vs 9 on the field. They also got new uniforms and a few weeks ago we had a photo shoot. Action shots, head shots and team photos were done and here is an action shot of each boy.

#2 Dylon is new to this team. He will be playing on defense and at midfield.

#6 Dharan, is also new this year. He will be playing at forward and midfield.

#1 Gianny is a returning player who will have keeper duties as well as forward and midfielder.

#34 Logan is also returning from last year. He will be resuming his post at defense.

#14 Dylan will also be resuming his role as defender on the team with occasional appearances at forward.

#17 Tyler is new to the team and will take on the role of keeper as well as forward and midfielder.

#9 Stephen is returning from last year and will be playing mostly at midfield and forward.

#97 Anthony will continue on in his midfield and forward position.

#4 Dominic is new and will be assuming the roles of defender and midfielder.

#8 Noah will attempt to become the new top scorer of the team as a forward with occasional appearances at defense.

#18 Brian is also returning from last year. This season, he will be playing at defense, midfield and forward.

And finally, #11 Eric, will be returning to his post as keeper with some playing time at midfield and forward.

Well this is it! This is a great group of boys who have shown that they are willing to work hard and are determined to make this experience a good one.
To see more photos of the Canyon Country Crew, visit my website at : http://www.nathalieseguinphotography.com/soccer

Monday, November 16, 2009

iheartface contest entry - "Autumn Beauty"

This week's theme at iheartfaces is "autumn beauty". Here is my entry, taken a few years back. Kaylee is was about 15 y.o. at that time and was very happy to help me build up my photography portfolio by posing for me! This is one of my favorite photos to this date! Let me know what you think...


To see more examples of "autumn beauty", head on over to iheartfaces.com

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Michelle - November 2009


Meet Michelle! Michelle is Mariah's little sister from Christina's soccer team. Last week, her mom asked me if I could take a few pictures of her while the older girls were warming up for their soccer game. Of course, I couldn't resist photographing such an adorable little one! So I took Michelle around and played with her; we played "Peek-a-boo", we sang songs, etc... All while I was clicking away! After a while she got tired and I returned her to her mom. So here are some of my favorite shots from this little impromptu photo shoot:






To see more of my work, visit my website at : http://www.nathalieseguinphotography.com

Friday, November 6, 2009

VUSC struggling part 2


Nicholas' soccer team continues to struggle. Last week's game against Sherman Oaks Extreme looked promising with a 0-0 score until the last minute of the game when Sherman Oaks finally scored, making this the 6th loss in a row for Valley United Black. On a positive note, Austin, one of our top defenders who had been on the injured list for the whole month of October was finally able to get back on the field. Here are some more photos from the last few games:

Bryant, continues to be strong in the center midfield.


Junior has been playing many positions this past month; from defense to midfielder, he always gives his best.

We are glad to see Austin back out on the field! His speed is definitely needed at this level of play!

Giovanni is our newest player; although he hasn't played many minutes, he has given his all every time.

Thank God for Michael! He has been incredible in goal during this difficult period!

Eli is also one of the most consistent player on the field. He is also the most poised player, especially when taking a PK!

Alec has had some tough battles as the forward of the team.

Michael volunteered as a defender when Austin got injured and he has proven to be a great defender!

There are only a few more games left until the end of the season. Let's hope that Valley United Black can win a few of them and regain their confidence!
To see more photos of the Valley United Black, please visit my website at: http://www.nathalieseguinphotography.com/soccer

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Halloween 2009


Halloween is one of my favorite holiday; I love all the beautiful Fall colors, the pumpkin patch, carving and decorating pumpkins and I love to see all the wonderful and creative costumes! This year might have been Nicholas' last year... he will be a Freshman in High School next year and who knows what he'll do? So this was a particularly important Halloween for me! I wanted everything to be perfect so I could capture all those memories! Unfortunately, because of lack of time and lack of enthusiasm on the part of the kids, we didn't go to Lombardi Ranch, our local pumpkin patch. Instead, we picked up some pumpkins at one of the vendors on the side of the road (which charged us an arm and a leg for each pumpkin I might add!). Anyways, we did carve the pumpkins and all three kids created their own Jack-O-Lanterns. And Saturday, all of them graciously dress up early so I could take some photos of their costumes.














It was a fun Halloween and the kids came back from trick-o-treating with enough candies to last us until next year... but most of all, I was to get my pictures and save those memories for years to come!