ILLUSTRATIONS PHOTOGRAPHY HAS MOVED ITS BLOG!!

The Illustrations Photography Blog has a new and improved look (and location) but all the same great photos and information!  Please come check it out....

www.illustrationsphotos.com/blog

See ya there......

Project 365 - Day 192. Da Boys | Delafield Family Photography

Rob and I are both transplants to Wisconsin (courtesy of GE) but we've been here long enough for it to feel  a lot like home.  The biggest drawback to the area is the distance to our siblings and all of their kids (and grandkid).  We REALLY miss having that kind of family around and feel badly that our children aren't growing up with day to day interactions with their cousins.  

When our nephew Ryan decided to come to Marquette last year, we were thrilled!  Of course, he's a typical college student and busy with his studies, his footy (soccer) and his friends but we still love to know that he's nearby.  He came to spend 4th of July with us and this weekend had Corey over for a boys weekend.  They went to see Star Wars in concert, played tons of Wii, stayed up later than Corey's EVER stayed up and had a great 'ol time.  It was really special for Corey and for us.  We can't imagine a better role model for our kids and we're so blessed to have Ryan around.  Now if we could only get the rest of the family to join him.....

Project 365 - Day 191. Art in the Park | Delafield Event Photography

Today I photographed the Lake Country Art Festival.  It's a huge event with loads of arts, crafts, and family fun.  I took pictures of the workers (the Lake Country Women's Club members), the art, the parking...but my favorites, as always, were the pictures of the kids....  It was a hot, steamy day but a lot of fun!

Project 365 - Day 190. Bon Soir! | Wisconsin Event Photography

Rob and I went on a mini vacation tonight.   First we headed to Mexico (ok, so it was La Fuente) for a yummy meal outside and then we headed to Paris (ok, so it was the Bastille Days Festival).  Maybe not as glamorous as it could have been but hey....we did make it outside our area code so that must count as some kind of vacation, right???

In case you're wondering where that was taken...

See, I TOLD you we went to Paris!

Chalk artwork on the street:

This used to be one of Corey & Lilly's "Music Together" teachers, Mr. Will.  He also does folk performing with a guy on a washboard.  We've seen them before in Delafield but were surprised to spot them on the big stage in Paris....er, Bastille Days.

Project 365 - Day 189. Good Bye PB | Delafield Children's Photographer

This past week or so has been just a crazy, crazy time.  Between house renting, catching up on editing, kids schedules, etc...it's just felt a bit more stressful and heavy than usual.

One of my big underlying stressors is probably not a huge deal in the big scheme of things but seems big to me.    Peanut Butter.  Ya see...last Friday, Emma grabbed a piece of Lilly's sandwich off her plate and had a bite.  It was PB&J.  She immediately started acting funny...making gaggy type noises, grabbing at her tongue, refusing to drink, and getting red splotches all over her face.  Very weird.   After calls to my friend and the on-call nurse, we decided I was ok this time but it seems there's a strong likelihood that Emma is allergic to peanuts.  :-(

I now have an Epipen and an appointment with an allergist.  But the major change....no more peanut butter.    Seriously....my son regularly eats THREE peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and Clare and Lilly choose PB&J 6 out of 7 days a week for their lunch.  Not to mention the fact that I am not a dieter or a health food nut so I've never been a label reader and am totally clueless about how to protect my baby.  I'm trying not to think too much about it until the appointment (the 26th) but it's been hard.   Safety First is my mantra and the idea that she's living in an unsafe environment and will have all these extra dangers in the world really makes me sad.  And scared.

Project 365 - Day 188. House For Rent | Delafield Family Photographer

I had an agenda for the day.  It started great...kids to camp, Emma to bed, complete client gallery from last week, pick up Clare, feed kids, pick up Epipen (a story for another day), pick up Corey and Lilly, feed more kids, get kids down for rest, comple.....SCCCRRREEEAAACCCHHHH.

Then the phone rang.  And rang.  And rang.  Turns out Rob put a listing on Craigs List today for our old house which our renters are moving out of at the end of the month.  The rest of my day....all about Meadowside Ct.   I went over tonight and did two showings and got two applications!  Fingers crossed that one of them is a winner!

In the meantime...if you know anyone interested in renting a lovely house.....

Project 365 - Day 187. Will Power | Delafield Children's Photography

One of our regular family things to do in the summer is to take a walk around our neighborhood.  We live at the top of the hill and to do the circle loop is quite a challenge of ups and downs (particularly for the 7 and under crowd).  Tonight Lilly rode her scooter around for the first time.  Scared the crap out of me!  She's much braver than I am, that's for sure!  We brought the wagon for Clare and Emma but Clare was more interested in pulling than riding.  It was pretty impressive what she did manage to do and even more impressive how committed she was to pulling that big 'ol wagon up those hills!!