Month: May 2009

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Eli’s birthday

My boy’s friends are turning four!  Wyatt’s birthday was May 12, and we had a fun day at the zoo celebrating (photos in the gallery).  On Monday this week, Eli turned four, and we had a fun time playing at a park in Monona.  There were four boys in capes zipping around, climbing, throwing things in the lake, eating ice cream, jumping, and generally having a great time.  Photos are in the gallery.

Look at that boy! It’s amazing to look at the big, beautiful, amazing boys that they are and to remember how sweet and little and babyish they used to be.  See here or here for examples!

Continue reading “Eli’s birthday”

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Althea Dotzour Photography

On the hunt for photos 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!

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1st Anniversary

Happy first wedding anniversary to my dear, sweet, beautiful sister and her wonderful husband!

May 24 - First wedding pics from the photographer

Hard to believe that your wedding was a year ago.  What a wonderful day!

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So glad we got to spend May 24th together again this year.  We love you guys!

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Gather ye rosebuds while ye may

Today’s Carpe Diem party was a lot of fun!  Photos are in the photo gallery.  The weather cooperated nicely, and it was great to see some friends and family we don’t get to see enough.  If you couldn’t make it this year, don’t fret!  We intend to make this an annual Saturday of Memorial Day weekend event.  So pencil it in for May 29, 2010.  Michael and Lisa will bring wedding pictures 🙂

I was thinking about our title for the party…Carpe Diem.  Seize the day.  My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer four years ago on Memorial Day weekend.  One year later, we celebrated with our first Carpe Diem party.  Mom had beaten many, many odds and had had a successful surgery at Mayo Clinic.  She was feeling well, and that party offered a great opportunity to celebrate and to thank some of the many people who had come to our family’s aid after her diagnosis.  I liked the name Carpe Diem.  It’s a bit of a family motto.

Continue reading “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may”

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Being home

It’s been nice to be home again this week.  I do love our home!  And May, sweet beautiful May.  How do I love thee?  There are singing birds, flowers, warm weather, cool evenings, some soft rains, lots of gardening and basking in the sun.  It’s got to be my favorite month.  But don’t tell October.

We’ve kept busy since getting home on Tuesday.

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You’re invited!

May 23 8:45 am update: It’s raining, so you may be wondering about the status of today’s party at Token Creek Park.  I’ve checked the weather, and it looks like there is a 40% chance of showers throughout the day.  We’ve reserved a shelter, so I’m giving the party a thumbs-up for going despite the less than picnic-y weather.  Hope to see you there!  11am-3pm.

I probably should have re-posted this earlier in the week, but for those of you who check my blog on Friday night or Saturday morning, this is an open invitation for you to join us at Token Creek Park Shelter #5 on Saturday, May 23 for a Carpe Diem party.  Bring the kids, bring some food, hang out on the playground or play frisbee.  We’ll be at the park from 11-3.

Seems like we missed some important people in our email invite, so if you’re reading this, please consider coming!!

Here’s directions and  a link to my earlier post.  Hoping for good weather and hoping to see you there!

Lovely flower!

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New favorite song

Every morning for the last week, I’ve been putting on a new CD as we eat breakfast and get ready in the morning.  It’s called Bottle of Sunshine by Milkshake.  My favorite song goes like this (listen to it on CDBaby):

I can’t wait for the day to begin (come on birdies start singing early)

I get dressed up and call my friends (worms wiggling, everybody’s giggling)

it’s time to get out and play…where do we go today?

I got a big bottle of sunshine

mixed it up with a bowl of daydreams

poured it into a suitcase full of laughter that I found

you won’t find me sitting around…

I especially like it when Andrew sings our songs.  It’s so cute to hear his little voice humming or singing a tune to himself!

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Sylvie’s 15-month check-up

What a stunning May day!  I am a bit sheepish to admit that we (Andrew, Terry, and I) are spending some of it indoors watching … you guessed it…Godzilla.  Mothra vs. Godzilla actually. Meanwhile Sylvie is crying in her crib instead of napping.  She’s had some troubles with her naps again, poor girl.

I love this little face

This morning Sylvie had her 15-month doctor’s appointment.  In addition to a couple vaccinations (chicken pox this time), I got an update on her vitals.  So here they are…drumroll please!

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Maryland vacation

What a lovely time we had visiting our friends in the DC area!  Pictures are in the gallery.  Last week, Heather and I were chatting about how much we missed getting to know each other’s girls as they’ve grown from babies to toddlers this past year.

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Heather mentioned that there were really cheap (read $100) plane tickets from Milwaukee to Baltimore, but the sale ended that night.  So Bryan and I had some quick conversations, and I found myself on a flight one week later! Continue reading “Maryland vacation”