Category: General News

Hi Computer!  It seems like a week since you and I sat together.  Instead, I’ve been playing with Bryan’s family or enjoying some time out of the house while Bryan’s mom watched my kids.  We celebrated Andew’s birthday last Monday, played for a week with Granny and Melanie, then welcomed Grandad and had Andrew’s birthday party at Tenney Park on Saturday.  It was all just a lot of fun!

Yesterday was my birthday, and I enjoyed a few delicious meals out (the breakfast sandwiches at Daisy Cafe and Cupcakery are delicious).  I got to spend the morning yesterday with my dear sister, Melanie, and then I spent the afternoon shopping solo. SO LO.  Loved it.

Continue reading “Lovely times off-line”

Bryan’s mom is here in town this week, and last night she watched Andrew and Sylvia while Bryan and I went on a date to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  It wasn’t just a dinner date…it was an all-night-away-from-home date!  We dined at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and oh, my, gosh, it was good.

Every part of the meal was good.  I could go on in detail about the scallops appetizer, my fillet with shrimp that was oh, so magnificent, the pecan crusted sweet potatoes and creamed spinach sides, mmmmm, and berries and cream (which was just like sweetened condensed milk) for dessert.  Oh my.  So good.  Bryan had the ribeye steak and the bread pudding dessert, and he was equally enthusiastic.

After a leisurely, three-hour meal (eating slowly was such a treat!), we headed to the Mansion Hill Inn, which is where we stayed the night of our wedding 10-years ago.  ahh memories.

What a lovely way to celebrate 10 years of marriage!  Through dinner, we reminised about our honeymoon in Switzerland, the last 10 years, our amazing children, and how much our relationship has grown and deepened because of pregnancy, birth, and child-rearing.

We also did some dreaming about what kinds of things we want to do in the next 10 years.  We’re hoping for some family driving vacations, so stay tuned in upcoming summers for new chapters of The Dotzour take the US.  Chapter one, the Badlands.

I recommend (if at all possible) taking an evening away from the kids and the house.  It felt good to spend some time with just my sweetheart.  It was a good reminder of how much we enjoy spending time together!

Last Friday, Bryan and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  That seems like a big number to me.  Mature adults…one might even say old adults…have been married for 10 years.  Old people with like two kids.  And a mortgage.  hmmm

Since we were driving to Carleton and staying in a dorm with our kids on our anniversary, we’re celebrating next week.  Bryan’s mom flies into town on Monday night, and on Tuesday evening, she’s taking the kids so we can get away.  Now I have to decide where we should eat out that night.  Anyone have recommendations?

I love being married to Bryan.  It’s one of the things in my life that makes me happy each day.  I sure am lucky to get to spend my days with such a great person and wonderful friend.  Happy Anniversary, honey!

We’re back home again after a fun trip to Northfield for my 10-year Carleton College reunion.  We stayed in Evans dorm, which was an experience in itself.  The kids did pretty well.  The weather was warm –> hot and quite humid.  I think Andrew’s favorite part of the weekend was rolling down the hill to Bell Field.  Over and over and over and over.

On the way home, we stopped to play at a park in LaCrosse, and both kids had a great time splashing in the Mississippi River.  Andrew sat down in it, and Sylvia was laughing hystarically as the boats zoomed past and made big splashing waves.

When we got home, the kids were wonderfully excited to play with their toys and their books.  It’s like they had to make up for lost time.  Hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since I graduated from Carleton.  I do love Northfield.  It was such a lovely place to live.

Mmmmmmm.  Did you know that jam can require four cups of sugar for every two cups of mashed strawberries?  I was a little shocked.  But the results…  Mmmmm the results.  Excuse me, I think some spilled on the kitchen counter and needs to be cleaned, er,  licked up.

Summer has officially started in my world.  Last night, Bryan and I went to a play at American Players Theater.  It felt so nice to be back in Spring Green, seeing the familiar picnic tables, having a lovely dinner outside, hiking up the hill to the theater.  I have plans to attend quite a few plays at APT this summer.  It’s always been one of the highlights of summer in Wisconsin.

We saw the opening night of Comedy of Errors, and it made us laugh and laugh.  I take Bryan’s mom and sister out to APT in a couple weeks, and the week after that, I’m taking Grace and Tim!  (Oh, by the way, Grace, I got us tickets to a play.)   Today was hot enough for Andrew to play on his Slip n’ Side.  Hello summer!

The maple tree in our front yard is bedecked with ropes. There’s Andrew’s rope swing, Andrew’s climbing rope, and now Sylvia’s baby swing. Makes me smile to look at all the white strings dangling down from the tree’s limbs.
I was wondering whether the tree might feel sloppy and encumbered or whether it’s the envy of the other neighborhood trees. I think it’s probably happy to be loved.
I, for one, am loving this weather that allows us to spend so many hours playing out in the yard!

Michael, Lisa, and Joe just departed our house after a fun and laughter-filled evening that we dubbed Beer Fest.  When Joe got home from Sri Lanka last week, he mentioned to Bryan that he’d like to try some beers.  Now that he’s 21, he wanted to see if he could find a beer he likes (since in general, he – like me – thinks that beer tastes disgusting).  Bryan got right to work, and this evening, we tried 12 kinds of beer.  Bryan even made up a rating sheet for each of us as well as a write-up describing each type of beer.

So what are our favorites, you ask?  Here they are:

• Continue reading “Beer Fest 2009”

I’ve decided to turn my passion for photography into a bit more than a hobby.  Starting in June, I’ll be launching Althea Dotzour Photography.  I’ll be specializing in natural light portrait photography of children and families.  I’ve gotten a lot of experience photographing kids, and I just love capturing their individual personalities in an image.

I feel excited and a little nervous to be starting this new endeavor.  In the next weeks, I’ll be developing a website, picking a printing lab, deciding on a pricing structure, and polishing my business plan.  That said, I will start scheduling photo shoots in June, so if you’re interested, let me know! (My business calendar is available online.)

For a sampling from my portfolio, click here!

I’ve uploaded some new pictures to the gallery.

You’ll find:

• Pictures from a zoo outing to celebrate young Wyatt’s 4th birthday
• Playing in the kiddie pool
• Swinging on our (moved) tree swing (the swing moved, not the tree)
• The Carpe Diem party
• Maretta and Kyle
• Pictures from our day of outdoorness today

Enjoy!