The things I do to "get the shot" ...

I'll do a lot of crazy things to "get the shot", but with this one, I almost took a soccer ball, fast and hard, right to the face (and my camera).

When your teenage daughter (whose team took 2nd place in the state soccer championship) asks you to take a picture of her kicking a soccer ball at you, think carefully. 

Her exact words were, "Mom!  Take a picture of me kicking the soccer ball at you.  It will be a cool shot!  I'll kick it hard and it will come straight at you and curve up over your head at the last minute."  Hmmmmm.  "Tempting ... but No Thanks!" 

But she was right - it could be a cool shot.  So I asked Jay to stand behind me and protect my head, just in case her aim was off (or perhaps too good??) - and sure enough, he had to bat the ball away from my head as it came hurtling straight at my face.  That's my sweet girl!  She's got a poweful kick - and great aim!

My kids are used to me watching them through my camera lens.  With Emme, when she sees the camera, she usually gives me that universal sign of teenage affection ... the eye roll. 

If your not quite sure what this universal sign looks like - I captured that in the camera too and have an example shown below for your convenience. :)  I'm sure I'll get two eye-rolls for using this photo!

But seriously, when parenting a teen, you just have to know that they cannot help themselves.  The eye-roll is inevitable and you just need to keep the proper perspective.  If you equate each eye-roll to an "I love you" - that's a whole lot of love in a single day!