A female Hunter...

It's a good thing that Mama Jill led with, "I need senior pictures for my DAUGHTER," or I, like most, would have probably assumed we were gonna be photographing a boy.

That being said, I'm sure I wasn't the first that ever game Jill the, "Hunter... for a girl... that's unique!"

And so, while she admits she gets that a lot, we got the awkward cliches out of the way and our task was at hand...

Come up with some fab in the drab.

I'll often warn seniors that, for whatever reason, end up being photographed in the "off season" that there's a reason that most get their sessions done from June 'til the end of October. And that reason?

It's much prettier outside.

Undaunted, we found a few spots in the mud and muck of late winter in Central Iowa. All it took was a little toughness. (it was COLD and WINDY)

But when a girl's uniform says "WARRIOR" on the front of it, you know she's gotta be willing to suck it up a bit and deal with the elements.

So off we went to get her a taste of the outdoors (despite mom's insistence that 'all indoor would be perfectly okay.') :)

And while we had to be careful to "time the wind" just right , it was worth it, because we got some cool stuff.

In addition, I learned a little more about something that had been a bit of a mystery to me up until this time... The Meskwaki Settlement High School.

Sure I'd driven past there several times... and had saw articles in the paper about their athletic teams... but having a current 3-sport athlete and a school employee shed further light on the topic. Never one to not ask 1,000,000 questions, I got a better feel for the ins-and-outs of the school system.

Little did I know that my education would be more of a first hand experience just a couple of days later, however! I was surprised to find out that my daughter, on the Saturday that followed Hunter's session, would be competing in district speech contest at.... you guessed it.... Meskwaki Settlement School.

Folks, if you haven't seen this facility... be prepared to be impressed.

First of all... that building that you can see directly adjacent to Highway 30 is NOT the school building... Who knew? I sure didn't.

So when we drove back in there aways on the frontage road, this gem that has been built finally came into view.

Upon walking into a gorgeous commons area I saw both Jill and Hunter working along with many other Meskwaki students and staff to put on a first class event. I was aware that their gymnasium must have been impressive as well from before because a Class 1A school wouldn't be hosting Class 2A Regional Finals unless it was a big enough venue. And folks from West Marshall and Grundy Center among others will attest to what a fine building to have postseason events in the past couple of seasons.

All that being said, I finally got to see it myself, and I wasn't disappointed. Like everything else in the facility... it was big... and first rate. With many of their classes hovering in the low teens to single digits, this had to be built with an eye on the future, but regardless, I give a big 'hats off' to the entire Meskwaki community.

Full disclosure, Hunter probably waited much longer for her book and blog than most would during what is traditionally my slow season. She just so happen to coordinate her session with my time to overhaul my computer with a new hard drive and overall tuneup.

I would assumed that many of you have been through this type of activity... and let's just say that after a myriad of installs, un-installs, re-installs and reboots... I think all my software if finally back up to snuff and all the printer drivers are back where they need to be.

Whew!

Thanks for your patience!