Althea, Bryan, Andrew, and Sylvia
Our summer has been so much fun. When I sit down to recap the last few week, I just lean my head back, sigh softly, and smile. Being a full time mom, the weather has a major impact on our days. I’ve been soaking in the warm weather, the hours spent hanging out in the yard, and the ease and fun that playing in the yard brings.
Here are some thoughts about our last weeks:
Not my cats. Bowser and Spooky are here and happy, curled up in the sunshine. No, what’s lost is Andrew’s things.
Although Bryan might disagree, I take a certain measure of pride in keeping tabs on my kids stuff. If I feel like it’s important, I don’t tend to misplace it…at least not for long. But in the last month, Andrew lost both his summer shoes and his orange jacket. Gone. At parks. sniff.
My aunt Julie (my dad’s sister), her husband Kevin, and their little boy came to Wisconsin earlier this month for a long visit. I was happy to spend a couple days with them, and it was so much fun to meet their little man. He’s only a few months older than Sylvie, and he’s just completely adorable. On Friday night, I took them to Tenney Park for a photo session. It brings a smile to my face to think about how lovely they look together as a family.
I made a mix CD for them with some of my favorite kids music. Then I uploaded the mix to iTunes so I can share it here with you. The original mix had 20 songs, but apparently some of them weren’t iTunes approved. Enjoy my iMix!
Have I mentioned that the kids and I are leaving for Texas tomorrow? We are. I’ll be hanging out with them and with Bryan’s parents until Sunday, and then I fly home to Madison for a couple days before Bryan and I fly to (drum roll please) Sweden!
I can’t imagine what it is going to be like to be child-free for eleven days. Eleven. Eleven. Wow. That’s a long time. 
And while I have a twinge of nausea at the thought of being apart my my dear ones for that long, I mostly feel like dancing around. Weeeeee! What will we do with all our free time?
Bryan’s friend Kaleb gets married in western Sweden on July 22 (see a post here for background). We’ll be in Sweden for eight days. Ahh, eight days in Europe. I really can’t believe it.
So here’s what I need from you. Dear readers of my blog, please help me by sending me recommendations for books that I should read while on my trip. I’d like to read some good books.
With all my photo business activities, I’ve done almost no pleasure reading this summer. Jessica just gave me A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. And I’m loving it! My favorite book in ’08 was A Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver.
We’ll have two international flights and lots of mornings and evenings to read. Ahhh reading. How I love you. How I miss you!
I’m looking forward to hearing what you all recommend!
Some say heaven is a place. A place where, perhaps my mom and grandparents might reside. I say it is this:
Most of the blogs I read took a couple days to post about their 4th of July activities. I’m finding myself a little bashful that it’s taken me almost 10 days to link to the photos about our great time with our friends Grace, Tim, and John from DC.
You’ll have to check out the fun and silly photos I posted on our website.
Andrew and John are great buds and had a wonderful time playing together. We spent five days hanging around our home and town. Tim took the boys for a bike ride, we went to the farmer’s market, we explored the arboretum, we played in the sprinkler and in the slip ‘n slide, we had picnics and lit sparklers… The boys slept in Andrew’s room together and did a lovely job of being sweet, cute little four-year-olds. Sylvie was delighted to have additional friends in our home. Grace and Tim fit right in, and the days sped by.
Here are some of my favorite images from our week:
You know, generally, I would say “no way,” but this week I just might disagree with that general assessment.
I used my birthday “crazy money” to buy myself some new clothes from my favorite catalog: Title Nine. I haven’t gotten myself several new, full-price items in a loong time (actually, Bryan’s mom got me some great winter clothes last fall, so that’s not entirely true, but anyway…). So for the last few days, I’ve been rejoycing in wearing new shirts, a new skirt, a new dress, new pants…ahhh.
Also, and this is probably too much information for any male readers out there, but I got myself some new bras on my birthday. They are my first new ones since I bought nursing bras when I was pregnant with Andrew in 2004. They make me so happy! For all you mamas out there who haven’t gotten yourself new undergarments, I highly recommend it. Get professionally fitted. It makes a girl feel good.
Eventually I may not be dancing around in happiness every morning over my new clothes, but for the last week, my spirit feels light because I feel pretty. What a perfect kind of birthday present!
We had such fun with our friends and family who visited us these past weeks! Bryan’s mom was here from June 22-30, Melanie was here from June 24-29, and Mark was here from June 26-29. I took almost no photos during their entire visit, which I am sure I will regret when I want to make the 2010 Dotzour Family Calendar, but oh well!
Andrew and Melanie are best buddies, and Andrew and Sylvia in general were both so happy to have their adored Granny, Grandad, and Aunt Mel staying with us. I got to go out to breakfast with Melanie on my birthday, I took LuAnn and Melanie out to American Players Theater for a lovely evening seeing The Philanderer, and in general we all enjoyed being together. I so wish we lived close enough to hang out more often!
My little girl’s 17-month birthday is today! This morning, Andrew and Bryan went fishing at the lake (trying out their new Father’s Day fishing poles), and Sylvie and I played in the yard. She is getting good at kicking a ball. She runs up to it, gives it a kick while on the move, and keeps running after it. Run, run run! That little girl looks so cute as she dashes about after her brother!
We talk about my mom quite a bit in our home. Andrew brings her up now and then; I talk about her when we make meals she loved, or read books she used to read me when I was little, or when we see things I think would make her smile. It feels good to me to know that Andrew and Sylvia can grow up knowing her and loving her even though she isn’t here.
Now and then, it feels particularly sad to me that she never got to meet Sylvia, and I think how much she would have delighted in the little boy whom Andrew has become. I am so very glad that she got see so much of the little guy during his first two years. She adored being his grandma.