minnesota twins & starkey

what a day!
hot, sunny, energy filled and honoring!
i met john sather of "here's life
inner city" at 3pm at the pavilion
across from the twin's stadium to
map out the day. hooked up with
wendy kula and erik of "lift up america"
and got all of my credentials for the
game and the field and so forth.
1500 kids were honored with the
opportunity to feel like a pro
ball player with photos, entering the
stadium through the tunnel and a walk
around the field. check this out...
(and this was just a 1/3 of them)



bill & tani (pronounced "tanny") austin
were on hand to speak and honor some
hearing aid recipients...



justin osmond is the starkey hearing
foundation's PR guy and is a fabulous
human being! here he is with tani austin..



he and some of the hearing impaired signed
the star spangled banner before the start of
the game...that was cool!



these kids were loaded with energy!












i'll be heading to my sister's later today
to take some photos at my niece's birthday
pool party, she and a friend have june
birthdays so 40 of their closest friends
are converging in my sister's backyard.
it's a perfect day...sunny and 90!

bye.

twins...lift up america

hi there...
today i will, yet again, join with
john sather of "here's life inner city"
and "lift up america" down at the
metrodome for an event involving bill
austin and the starkey hearing foundation.
i will be photographing a group of under
privileged kids as they gather to take
in a twins game. they will be given
the opportunity to run the bases and
throw out the first pitch!
the event starts around 3 or 4 and the
game gets underway at 7.
i hope to post these images tomorrow.
i'm really looking forward to meeting
bill austin. i'm going to tell people,
if they ask, that i'm his niece (yes,
i'm kidding!)

my brother is celebrating a 32nd birthday
on friday. (tax day for some!)
anne, my sister, will be no doubt celebrating
her 3rd month of NO SMOKING! yay anne!!!!

i'll be shooting a women's group out at
the arboretum this friday afternoon.
i sure hope thing dry out and cool off
soon as our dew point/humidity levels are
reaching the 70s and it's really getting
juicy out. yuck!!!

i grabbed a couple of shots of owen
the other day....



"where's sue~sue?"



well, i'm off to the gym....

and i keep forgetting....congratulations
to kate & jeramie colt on their pregnancy!
(sue told me!) i shot their wedding in the
keys in january of 2006.

birthday pix...

sooooo sorry. this past weekend
was an absolute blur for me.
when i left you all last i was
about to do my niece's hair and
photograph her for her birthday.
which was a extremely fabulous time!
we added bangs (fringe for you folks
in england!) she LOVES her new hair!

friday evening ron & cindy popped over
for a bon fire (even scott joined us,
jacquie's husband). we hadn't seen
them in a couple of weeks so that
was fun.
saturday morning, early, gary left
for south dakota with mike & mike
for the wedding of the daughter of
the friend whose land they hunt pheasant
on in the fall...make sense?
well they got back yesterday at 1
so it makes no sense to me. to drive
11 hours to spend 12??? i don't get it.
whatever.

i headed to excelsior for "art on the lake"
an annual, 2-day event that's really
fun as long as the weather cooperates,
and it did. i brought along my camera
but haven't dumped those images in
that i'll i've had time to do is work
on g's photos....
well, i raced off to alex's graduation
open house at my sister's. rain nearly
spoiled the day but it all went south.
alex is anne's husband pete's neice.
follow that? she's off to drake in the fall.

raced home from that around 6 and met
jacquie back here to foil & cut her hair.
she stayed until 10:30 and we just hung
out and talked...it was really relaxing
and a great, fulfilling, connecting evening.
thanks jacquie!

sunday, headed back to excelsior to
finish the booths we passed up in order
to get to the open house then back home
to see gary and go to marissa's open
house (across the street)...hung out with
the neighbors and then BACK to excelsior
for cake with the family....wheeeew!
i'm telling you...gas? 3 bucks a gallon?
who cares?!!!!

okay...here are some of my favorite
shots from the birthday shoot...













we returned home and got a
father/daughter...



and a sista~sista shot!


hi june & garrick...thanks for blogging!
hope you enjoy the pix!

yum...

hey, my new friend, andy richter, was in
attendance last night at the starkey
photographers gathering and when his
dessert came i told him that i love to
shoot food and i wished that i had thought
to bring along my camera. so he got his
out (by the way, andy is a former nikon
shooter and is making the jump to canon.
FABULOUS!!!) and then sent this shot to
me last night.



clearly, he got the cheese cake. he kept
shooting and shooting and meanwhile my
pineapple cake was dwindling and i said...
"are you gonna eat that?!" (nice, right jacquie!!?)
long story longer...he didn't share the cheese
cake but he did share the image. i wrote back that
it made me want to pop back over to the
marriott and get dessert take out!
go to andy's site and go to galleries and look
for his recent project,new orleans....
they are really amazing! awesome work, andy!

heading out to photograph g today and it's
gorgeous here today! she'll come by around
10:30 for me to do her hair first then we'll
pick a cool spot to go. i'll post those
images tomorrow. :)

here's a couple from last year....





gotta go!

starkey gala...

i met cheryl maclennan last night
along with the other photographers for
this year's starkey hearing foundation
gala. there are 12 or 15 of us.

even though things can change between
now and the 21st of june, i am still
on for the vip welcome party at bill
austin's home in eden prairie and i'll
also be shooting at the pre~party on
friday evening. i've been added to go
along with jane seymore to an art
gallery in edina before the vip on
thursday and then hook up with the other
photographers back at bill & tani's home.
make sense? it's going to be crazy fun!

i feel the lull before the storm...
things are quiet this week (sort of)

i have a hilton family tomorrow,
check in around 5.
saturday is "art on the lake" in
excelsior...that's always fun!
a couple of graduation open houses
(one is being held at my sister's)
TCPPA class on monday, "lift up
america" twins game event on tuesday
where i will be photographing a group
of under privileged kids (i worked with
this group back in december at a food
drive/vision clinic event at the
eden prairie center). bill austin is
going to be there so i will finally
meet him. two of the photographers
that were at the meeting last night
will be there as well. these kids
are going to run the bases and one
of them will throw out the first pitch
so i'll be down on the field at this
event also.



i'll most likely miss my pug meeting
but i'll try to swing in on my way
home...game starts at 7 and i'm sure
i'll head out shortly after that.

that's it for today. make it a great one!

happy birthday G!

another birthday in the family today!
another hair/photo op.
those are piling up! i have yet to
do emily & owen...woops!
going to do g's hair and photos on
friday i guess...she's a busy girl!
we may even end up using them as
her school portraits...??????
i'll be posting them over the weekend.


okay, dinner in rosemount last night
for gary's mom's birthday. the name
of the place is "Rudy's Redeye Grill"
i guess there are a few around town
which means that linda and charlie young
are doing okay with all the axel's &
bonfires too. this one falls between the 2.
i stuck with the walleye cuz it never
disappoints! perfect green beans and
mashed, garlic potatoes! yum.
it's consistent from restaurant to
restaurant!
it's an awful long way to go for dinner
but with bonnie & steph coming from
northfield and glen & yasuko from
lakeville....how could we argue!?



here's the birthday girl...



ask for tanya (the manager) and tell her
that sue & gary austin sent you!



one problem, it was bonnie's "80th"
birthday!! no one ever said anything
to me! gary made mention of it when
we got to the restaurant and i went
a little burzerk! i said, "you don't take
your mother out for a pasta dish and give
her a garden soap gift pack for her
EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY~!!!!!!"
and gary's like, "why not?" ugh!! men!

besides, one of the cards i got for her
had a cat standing in a litter box and it
read, "hmmmm, a gift in a box? coming
right up!" yea, like that's appropriate
for an 80th birthday. i'm so glad i had
him stop at bachman's on the way to i
could get her a little something extra!
we had a nice time.

my brother and i hit the local bruegger's
bagel place...



not really a fan i have to
say. oh well, but the company was quite
great! we like to get together every now
and again and solve the world's problems
then attempt to tackle our own. :)
seems everyone else's issues are so
obvious, defined & fixable...why is that?!

i just received notification from pictage
that my new sample album that i designed
and the 4x4 replicas should be here today or
tomorrow! really excited to see them!

dinner tonight with cheryl from the starkey
hearing foundation. more on that tomorrow.

happy birthday bonnie!

today is gary's mom's birthday!
we are all going to head out to dinner
tonight at a new spot...
ruby's something or other...it's another
"axel's" off shoot restaurant.
yes, of course i'm going to bring my camera!
and i'll get the name straight tonight too.

it is gorgeous today...low 70's and sunny.
this is why we minnesotan's live here...for
the 6 really nice days a year that we get! :)
the rest of the year is simply designed to
keep the "riff~raff" out! but that doesn't
seem to be working so well lately.
before they die...here's some colorful stuff
from out front...(well, not the first one)







g's birthday is tomorrow...card's in the mail!

hobie & katie's vet visit went really well.
dr. rodney toogood was just happy to see hobie
and not have to do the roto rooter thing to him
for once! dr. toogood is really great.
altho' dr. lorna reichle is studying animal
behavior for 2 more years at the u of m and
we miss her, dr. bey & dr. toogood are really
pretty wonderful.
hobie is just under 14 pounds and katie just
over 10...they really are mostly hair!
going to change that very soon however.

my brother, scott, is coming over this morning
for a haircut. he apparently started something
that he couldn't finish yesterday and has
called in the professional to fix it!
then we are going to head out for just a bit
to discuss what photos are needed on his
web site and also toss around some ideas that
he can consider to get his name out there!

scott is a mediator, life coach (& fitness buff)
extraordinaire ...AND a 1st degree black belt!

tomorrow evening, i'll be meeting with cheryl
maclennan of the starkey hearing foundation.
she's flying up from grapevine texas to meet
with the photographers for the gala to discuss
the game plan. can't wait to meet her!

one last thing..."hell's kitchen".
chef ramsey has another great group of
winers on his hands this season!
makes me appreciate a perfectly prepared
meal when we go out to a restaurant that's
for sure!

try to get outside today! :)

miracles of mitch foundation donates to camp courage

drove to annandale, minnesota yesterday
to tour the camp courage facility!
what an amazing place! it was built in 1965.

there was about 15 of us and we caravaned up
and brought picnic lunches.
dr. joanna perkins, one of the doctors at
children's in st. paul and a current board
member for the MOMF, was our tour guide.
she's gone up many times in the role of dr.
on staff. she guided us around the entire camp!
thanks so much joanna! you are tireless!
(she's the one in the orange shirt with the
gorgeous, long wavy brown hair!!!)

the week that the foundation is sponsoring
is the week of july 29th through the 3rd
of august. this will be all cancer patients.
my plan here is to be up there the day all the
campers arrive for sure and then perhaps
one other day.
it was quiet while we were there as it was
mostly staffers and jr. counselors preparing
for the MDA (muscular dystrophy) campers
who were arriving that afternoon.
so i think it will be really energizing to
be there when everyone is arriving and
getting settled into their cabins and bunks!
i can't wait to be there!!
here's a few shots from the day....

steve bringing up the rear with his
gay blackberry in his left hand!



it started out a little drizzly and
chilly but the sun eventually came out!
(like STEVE should! kidding!)



here (l to r) is steve (mitchie's dad),
shawn anderson (from the airport hilton)
and mitchie's grandfather, ron stanchfield.
(oh, and shawn mentioned that he wants the
hilton to get involved that week as well so
i'll keep you posted on their input too.)



the picnic was fun and the kids ran around
for an hour...at what point in our lives
do we lose that energy!??? love to get that back!



okay, here's something fun....
all around the camp are these little
elf homes. you open the door and there's
furniture and stuff inside...pretty fun
for the kids!



all in all, a great day!
we can now all visualize the time
that these kids are going to have there.
the MOMF is going to sponsor
kids with cancer from the ages of 7 through 17 and
i'm most certain that this will be an annual
donation for years to come!

happy foo'in feckant!

yesterday was june 2nd.
our family will forever refer to
it as "foo'in feckant".
years ago, when i was growing up,
there was a boy in our neighborhood
who's birthday falls on this date.
but whenever you asked him when his
birthday was, he would reply
"foo'in feckant"...we recognize it
every year! funny what you carry
with you your whole life!

i have a wren building a nest in my
little red bird house that i bought
about 3 years ago in excelsior.

apparently the male flies around
and sets up house at several different
places then invites the female to
inspect them all and select her
favorite and when she makes her selection
she tears everything out of the house
that the male prepared and re-does
the whole thing. don't ya just love
the wren!? :) don't even get me started
about their song....it's my favorite
(next to the cardinal).





yesterday emily had her "kid" party.
never a drop of rain on her luau themed
pool party! this was fun here's some
shots from the day...









she got a real, live, russian tortoise!
i believe i have mentioned that emily loves turtles.
her best friend gave this to her!





today, i am heading up to camp courage in annandale.
the miracles of mitch foundation is sponsoring a
week there this summer ($40K!) and so they are
getting a tour of the facility and i wanted to check
it out as well. i'm not so certain that i will be
able to go up there the week that they have
selected, but i'll make a valiant effort for sure!

oh, a little prison work yesterday as we tore
out all the mulch from the passed 4 years and
replaced it with all new...what a work out!

happy birthday hobie & katie!!

i must first wish my cats a
happy, happy birthday!!!!



so, the scripps spelling bee....WOW!
i thought that all they did was
memorize words..turns out these kids
memorize roots and definition!
CRAZY how these students can pull
something out of thin air just by
knowing a word's root origin!
and then, not only that, but they actually
congratulating their opponents authentically
after they lose. i'm amazed! wow!
most of these kids are "home schooled"
and i think that if they had been
allowed to remain in "mainstream"
schools that they would have been
massively attacked personally and/or
crucified by your everyday student.
it's sad to say that students today
just simply are afraid of and are
threatened by those who have i.q.'s
greater than the average student.
the nerds of today are the billionaires
of tomorrow!

last night we bounced back and forth
from "so you think you can dance" to
"so you think you can spell"! big night
at the austin house!!

today...2 cancer families check
into the airport hilton in bloomington.
(don't forget about hobie & katie's
11th birthday today!!)

i aligned myself with a new organization
yesterday... it's the CFPA!
"children & family photographers of
america"...pretty cool group!
i'm excited to be apart of this great
team and share my knowledge!
check them out!
here are a few of the images that i
submitted to them...







i'll be adding their logo, the miracles of mitch
logo and the NILMDTS logo to my home page soon.
perhaps the starkey hearing foundation one as well.
all with hyper~links.

then next best thing...

perhaps my new guilty pleasure...
this is a show where they are looking
for the next best celebrity impersonators.
it's pretty darn funny.
the judges are really great.
i think they are on to atlanta next week.

another beauty..."shear genious".
they just wrapped up their season with
a finale last night and i must admit,
i have been told about this show for months
but have not seen one episode until last night.
not bad. i would have been able to call
this one from the start i'm afraid!!


moving on....

we finally got the rain that they have
been promising!
so much last night that a husband & wife
duck team moved in.....so cute!
i'm hoping they nest here....if they do
i will be sure to post updates and photos.

can you believe tomorrow is june 1st?!
busy month for me. weddings, portraits and
the starkey hearing foundation gala.
june's going to go fast!

getting together with one of my nieces soon
to do her birthday hair/photo shoot!
these are soo much fun. i'll be shooting
her senior session later this summer!

i still owe emily HER birthday hair/shoot!

hobie and katie's 11th birthday is tomorrow!
they got birthday cards yesterday from a
local pet store with a coupon for a free toy!~
how cute is that!

it's gorgeous here today....upper 70's and sunny!~
perfect summer day.

enjoy it.

"on the lot"...

okay, love the show...hate the host!
we are going to tivo and zip passed this
"nails on the chalkboard" woman. she's
just awful. and another thing...
could they BE anymore like american idol?
i love the concept of the show, i've
enjoyed the movies these folks have
put together yet they butcher it with
the female version of "dunkelman".
that's right, remember him? he was
ryan seacrest's side kick the first year
when kelly clarkson won. yep, she's that bad!

lots of hair today (including my own).
sheena is coming by later to swap
services. i'm thinkin' a little color!

i have a huge order coming from WHCC today.
can't wait. included in that oder is
"angel" from last friday morning. i'll be
sending those images and DVD on to that
family later today.

got an incredible sample package from
"graphistudios" in italy. beautiful sample
albums, replica albums and parents albums.
affordable, gorgeous wedding album design.
i've been waiting for this package since
OCTOBER!! i actually had forgotten that i
ordered it. it's just stunning work.
can't wait to produce my first album
with them.

have a great day.
thanks for the note lois. say hi to felice!
we really want you two to come up this summer!

short week...

what a weekend!
family, friends, smores, gardening,
food, wine...and that was just friday!!

last night anna and kyle came over to
ask if we would light some of our
fireworks before they had to turn in.
so we grabbed a few and lit them
in the street. even scott, jacquie & will
joined in...fun!

hit the baker pool yesterday...
(i talked to peer down at the ridges
and he said that they were pretty slammed
down there so yet again, we rescheduled!)

ben and his friends goofed around awhile...




scott put on pete's scuba gear and got a
quick lesson...he's going to go for his
certificatioin with the rest of us at
the baker pool next month!





owen ("ono" as he calls himself) was
"fashionably" late (due to a nap)...








oh, and here's spice. she's FINALLY getting
"hooked up"! she's been in heat so long that
it's driving everyone crazy! she's a full
bred birman and she's going to have kittens!
the kids are pretty excited. pete, on the other
hand is worried that she'll have 8 kittens and
anne won't want to part with any of them! :)




....mrow....

hobie and katie turn 11 on friday.
they are growing so fast.... :)
i'm thinking of inviting their cousins over
for a little tuna cake & milk...hats...horns..
cat nip...the works!!