Tuesday, May 29, 2012

championships & community

saturday was one of those days i'd love to bottle up
& reproduce over and over.
not only because our highschool won 
what i think
is it's 79th
state championship
but also because of the awesome feeling of community that day.

communities rally when crisis strikes
and we see everyday folks rise up to be heroes.
i've seen that here when our area flooded a few years ago 
& many lost their homes, including our trevor and his family.
( who incidentally just a couple weeks ago were able to move back in)
&
there's the flip side too.
when community pulls together and comes together to support teams
and the accomplishments of stellar athletes.
 that's exactly what saturday was here in my town.

our boys baseball was playing our nextdoor rivals
for the 5A state championship, best 2 out of 3.
games were starting at 4 but early in the morning 
folks headed over & claimed their seats.
emi was up with sun blowing up balloons.

my older girls have all embraced the love of our baseball team.
savannah was a fanatic last year when we won state.
she passed on the baton to emi who has fallen in love with the boys of summer.
madi is a diamond girl which means she works her tail off in the concession stand 
& passes out treats to the fans.

we live walking distance from the school
& can hear the ballgames from our house!
as i ran saturday morning & passed all the state championship signs along the road,
each holding balloon bouquets
i could feel the excitement begin to build in our little town.

football, baseball, swim, soccer, cheerleading,
wrestling, basketball, cross country,
home of the legend, jeff francoeur,
an amazing list of accomplishments at parkview.

one of my best girlfriends son is one of the team studs.
i've watched their family and friends pour their heart and souls
into the sports these young men play since they were in preschool.
it was a true to joy to be there & witness them 
take state championship...again!!
( many of the pics are of him)

Congratulations Chan Brown & 
the Parkview Panthers!!!!

bear with me
it was tough to limit pictures!

read more here

 

















i had my camera focused on rob when i knew we were about to win....
i love his expression...he has to have the biggest heart out there!!











24 comments:

Jennifer said...

felt like i was reading something out of a movie! awesome capture of sweet southern town baseball! and if those shots are with the new camera...WOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Jen Kershner said...

Paige, I love how you captured the excitement of that day! I can feel it through your pictures and words. From our house we can hear the little league games being played in the park and I love it!

Sheri said...

That's so awesome. Robert started playing baseball at the age of 3 and played through highschool - this post makes me happy and sad - and honestly gave me goose bumps - remembering the excitement - Congrats on your school's state win! Whoo Hooo :)

traci said...

i have goosebumps. not only is this such a wonderful experience, but the photos you captured are absolutely amazing. love that first shot!!!! so happy for your community.

giosmama26@yahoo.com said...

I'm going to come back to this post and it's pictures often. I loved it. I LOVED each picture. AMAZING town, AMAZING work, AMAZING feeling..
I just can't even explain it.

Jboo said...

Woohoo!! Way to go champs! Great photos -- you really captured the day!

Anonymous said...

Congrats to the TEAM..
Great photos..

Lolo @ The Adventures of Stig and Lolo said...

Girl you are awesome!! Being a former athelete I know the emotions involved in a big game like that, and you captured all of them!!! Amazing pics....and an amazing, supportive community XOX

ps - Love the pic of your 3rd baseman....love 3rd base. I married a #5 position (3rd baseman!) ;)

Lisa said...

Wow! Amazing pictures! My son plays varsity baseball and has for 3 years. He will be a senior next year and what I would give for him to have this experience! These pictures brought tears to my eyes! So happy for these boys who work so hard...memories for a lifetime!

Lisa said...

Wow! Amazing pictures! My son plays varsity baseball and has for 3 years. He will be a senior next year and what I would give for him to have this experience! These pictures brought tears to my eyes! So happy for these boys who work so hard...memories for a lifetime!

Jill said...

Paige, Thank you for capturing that day for us! It is all such a blur! It makes me so happy to live here and feel such a sense of community. Saturday was perfect!
I really appreciate the pics!

Elizabeth said...

How fun. Please please PLEASE tell Madison she needs to start a fashion blog. She always looks so darn cute!

Anonymous said...

Please share where your daughter got her orange purse....I love it! Your pictures are beautiful.....thanks,

Charity said...

I love all the beautiful pictures, you captured the moment so well. And I can say that those Parkview Pather studs are the BEST, you know since I snaged my very own.

Hope y'all are having a great start to summer.

Cha Cha

Charity said...

I love all the beautiful pictures, you captured the moment so well. And I can say that those Parkview Pather studs are the BEST, you know since I snaged my very own.

Hope y'all are having a great start to summer.

Cha Cha

Charity said...

I love all the beautiful pictures, you captured the moment so well. And I can say that those Parkview Pather studs are the BEST, you know since I snaged my very own.

Hope y'all are having a great start to summer.

Cha Cha

Charity said...

I love all the beautiful pictures, you captured the moment so well. And I can say that those Parkview Pather studs are the BEST, you know since I snaged my very own.

Hope y'all are having a great start to summer.

Cha Cha

Charity said...

I love all the beautiful pictures, you captured the moment so well. And I can say that those Parkview Pather studs are the BEST, you know since I snaged my very own.

Hope y'all are having a great start to summer.

Cha Cha

Jeannine said...

Awesome shots of Americana, Paige!

Anonymous said...

Please don't ever apologize for the amount of pictures -- they are one reason I come here!

And ... these are some of your best; Life unplanned - life unrehearsed - life so very beautiful!

Amazing! Destiny

Rene Schmidt said...

How fun!! Loved looking at all of the pictures.. as I always do! My son has played since he was 4 yrs old, and just finished his freshman yr of college playing D1 baseball. So, so many wonderful memories watching him play through the years! Thanks for sharing and Congratulations on the big win!!

Lemonade Makin' Mama said...

You know, you might be one of the best photographers out there. You are so totally rockin' that camera girly. Lovely!!

Dee Dee said...

Love this ! I grew up right down the road and went to Central Gwinnett. Actually every generation before me did too ! My first travel softball team was with the panthers and I played with Coach Buck's daughter. (loved them) My oldest brother was a couple of years behind Robert Hill, now a basketball coach at Parkview. (like I have to tell you that :) Parkview back in the day was a huge rival to us, poor Central has gone down hill, very sad. We moved to Cartersville 6 years ago and my brother is a baseball coach here, they have also won several state championships. It's amazing to watch a community come together like that. LOVE your blog ! Sorry I rambled & rambled :)Your blog gives me so much encouragement as I raise my 4 kiddos. Thank you

Alecia said...

Those pictures are sooo beautiful. I love the colors...so clean & crisp. Congratulations to them!!! It looks like such a fun community...I love it when sports brings a community together...Oklahoma City is going through that right now...it's sooo fun...We're a state usually divided between OU & OSU but we're all united now for the Oklahoma City Thunder...we are having a BLAST!!! Thunder Up Buttercup! ;-)