General News – Page 29 – Dotzour Family.com

November 14, 2009

Turkey plans

Lisa stopped over this morning, and the two of us made plans for Thanksgiving. It was fun to look through recipes, think through meal options, and draw up a game-plan.

Mmmmm. I think it’ll be a tasty day.

Lisa also brought over proofs from her wedding pictures. They are lovely! I love weddings!

Andrew is whistling while planning out what he’d like me to paint his face. He’s thinking maybe a lion or a tiger. Random Saturday face painting.

He just finished reading me the book The Enormous Turnip. Such an amzing boy. Sylvie is napping, and Bryan is at a friend’s house.

Enjoy your Saturday!

November 4, 2009November 3, 2009

Good advice

I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life. I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life.” I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

– Maya Angelou

November 3, 2009

A blue day

I’m feeling a little sad today. Is that the kind of thing I normally blog about? No. It’s also not the way I often feel.

We’ve heard sad news from several family members in the last week. None of it directly affects our little family of four, but my heart aches in several tender places. Also, Sylvia is having a day filled with meltdowns and obstinance. We went to toddler time this morning, and that was fine, but since then, oh boy… I don’t think I ever realized that a little person could feel so much fury for such lengths of time. I feel sad for her. Today, I feel a little sad for myself too.

She just went down for a nap, and I’m really hoping that when she wakes up that her clouds will have passed and the sun will shine for her again.

Ahh well, some days are like this. Thanks for listening 🙂

November 2, 2009October 31, 2009

Fun times with Aunt Mel

It was so great having sweet Melanie visiting us for the last four days. Here’s some pictures of our fun times together. More are available in the gallery.

November 1, 2009October 31, 2009

Trick-or-treating

I’m one of those moms who follows my trick-or-treating kids with a camera. It’s just who I am. I’ve come to accept it.

One of the perks, is that I get to share these pictures with you! There’s a whole album here.

Continue reading “Trick-or-treating”

October 31, 2009October 31, 2009

The ghosts of Halloween’s past

I’m uploading pictures from tonight’s trick-or-treating extravaganza. Well, maybe not truly an extravaganza, but I think it felt that way for the kids! After a nice costumed romp in our major leaf piles, we traversed the neighborhood with Alivia, Rayna, Kathy, and Brett. After eight houses, both Andrew and Alivia were suggesting that we stop. It’s so nice to live on a quiet dead-end street. Our kids are the big show in town:)

I just looked back at some of the pictures I’ve taken of Andrew and Alivia (and their baby sisters as they came around), and it’s so cute, I had to share. More Halloween pictures tomorrow!

2003

Back in Ann Arbor, April was a dragon…

2005

Andrew (four months) is a dragon!

Continue reading “The ghosts of Halloween’s past”

October 29, 2009October 28, 2009

Playing in the leaf-strewn yard

You may be tired of looking at pictures of my kids playing in the leaves, but I’m not! So here you go.

Sylvia pushes Poodle around in the stroller.

I cannot keep shoes on this girl! I am so glad that the weather warmed up. It is such a struggle to get her shoes on, and then even when it’s 50 degrees and raining, I turn around and she’s barefoot. She must be related to my mom.

Sylvie sure does like her bike. I love the color! I’m so glad I picked pink. I think of it as lilac:)

The squirrels haven’t eaten this pumpkin. Much. yet.

They have eaten this pumpkin. A lot. It’s gross.

Oh, how do I love our maple tree!? Let me count the ways. As many ways as there are leaves.

Andrew got a fun bubble kit from Bryan’s co-worker, Dawn. He anticipated playing with it for several cold and rainy days, and then he was joyous to finally get to try it out. He had a blast sticking bubbles to leaves.

And I’ll leave you with a pretty picture. Isn’t this a lovely plant?

Happy fall everyone!

October 28, 2009

Melanie is visiting!

I’m typing this up on Wednesday night at 10pm. Bryan is still at work at the office. He’s been working so very hard!!

I just processed hundreds of pictures from Andrew’s preschool Halloween party. Those little kids in costumes are just the cutest. And it’s pretty clear that I’m going to need a new computer soon. I love my laptop, but it’s just not robust enough to handle the photo editing that I’m trying to make it do. I usually have a book next to me to read between clicks…as my computer goes, “Kerchunk, kerchunk…you want me to do what???”

Melanie is flying up from Texas tomorrow, and we’re all so excited for her visit. She’ll be staying with us through the weekend, and then Andrew is going to hop on the plane with her, and together they will fly back to Texas. Then Andrew will be visiting her and then Granny and Grandad until November 10. He talks about his upcoming trip very regularly, and he’s had his backpack packed for weeks. It’s safe to say that he loves his family, and he loves Texas. It’s warm there, you know!

We’ve had a stretch of amazing weather. The weekend was stunning. Gorgeous color, lots of sunshine. Ahhh, beautiful autumn warms the soul. Bryan had a two-day chess tournament over the weekend. Since it was held in downtown Madison, the kids and I spent both days down at Terry’s condo, and we got to see Bryan between matches. Bryan had an intense day on Saturday, losing two of three games, and then on Sunday, he ended up winning both games, and rarely have I seen my boy so fired up about a challenge. From my perspective, chess is a lot like rock climbing. You’re trying to find a path to your goal…you’re trying to think out risks…you’re calculating dozens or hundreds of possibilities in hopes of finding the optimal trail. It can be exhilarating and demanding and exhausting. That might be where the similarities end 🙂 Since he pulled out three wins, Bryan won his class for the tournament. And he brought home Michael’s sundays to celebrate!

Andrew spent the weekend expanding his horizons too. On Saturday, Terry took him to a silent movie at Overture Center. When I was little, Terry took me and the kids (that’s Michael, Maretta, and Joe) to many, many silent movies through Duck Soup Cinema. Andrew really enjoyed seeing Buster Keaton play Sherlock Jr. He brought home a balloon hippo that we’ve been playing with for the past several days.

Andrew and I went to a theater last year to see The Tail of Despereaux, but this is his second movie in a theater. I like knowing that he has had such limited exposure to popular culture!! I’m sure Sherlock Jr. was very popular back in 1924.

Then on Sunday, Andrew went to his second play (his first being A Christmas Carol). Terry took him to see the musical Little Women. Terry reported that Andrew did very, very well. The play ended up being 2 hours and 40 minutes, which is a bit too long for a four-year-old. Andrew got kind of wiggly after about two hours. Terry said that they quietly flamed the actors by breathing Godzilla fire to pass the time. But when they came home, Andrew talked animatedly about how much he enjoyed it! He said that the story reminded him a little of Cinderella.

I did a photo session this evening with a little girl who is so cute it’s nearly unreasonable. Instead of cleaning up the house (sorry Mel!), I think I’ll look at those pictures now.

Toodles!

October 27, 2009October 22, 2009

Fun with friends

We’ve gotten to see quite a bit of Eli and Celia these past weeks. And it’s been lovely. They’re such wonderful kids, and I love to watch them all play together.

For your viewing pleasure, here’s a few pictures of some kiddos enjoying the world and each other…

And on another morning…

Beware the jaguars!

October 26, 2009October 22, 2009

Leaf-filled yard

Our beautiful maple tree in our front yard is at its peak of amazing yellow. I wish I could bottle the color of yellow as the sun shines through the many layers of yellow leaves. It’s just magic. I capture it in my mind and hold it close to help add brightness to some of the grayer months to come.

I thought you might enjoy some pictures of our yard (on a less sunny day) as Sylvia was having a blast running through the leaves.

You may notice that she has her pacifier in all these pictures. I wish she didn’t. I tried to convince her that she didn’t need it. But she won. That girl has a will of steel. Especially when I don’t really care.

Anyway, enjoy…