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Denver Blizzard 2012

admin — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:20:25 +0000

Well, as it turns out, it really does snow in Denver. We’ve had such a mild and warm winter that I was actually starting to think that Denver never gets snow. Until today. As promised it dumped about 10 inches last night and it is still snowing. I think we are supposed to get an additional 4 – 6 inches throughout the day and more overnight. It was quite the spectacle in Denver yesterday…government offices and local schools began closing before the snow even started…in fact, it was still sunny out! Everyone and their mom rushed to the grocery store to “stock up” for the weekend, knowing they might be house-bound. In fact, when I went to King Soopers at 5:15 PM last night, there were no carts and the line to check out wrapped around the last row of the grocery store, I had never seen anything like it. Frustrated, I walked out of the store and came back at 8:15 PM…MISTAKE. Look what was left:

I have to say, this is quite exciting! I am not a big fan of snow, but thankfully, there is sun in the forecast for next week. The mountains REALLY need the snow, so I am hoping they are getting dumped on, too! Here is a pic out my front door…doesn’t look like much (yet)…I will keep taking pics throughout the day so you can see the progress.

Happy Birthday Easton Shea!!!

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:05:04 +0000

My little boy is now 3 years old…today! I hurried back from Las Vegas this morning in order to get in a fun, family birthday party for the handsome boy. Easton is a pure joy! He is funny, smart, articulate, cuddly, entertaining, athletic and loving! This kid cracks me up everyday! He loves his big brother, Ryland and loves to sit and be momma’s “cuddle bug”.

These are some images we took a few weeks back, when the weather was nearly 70 degrees in Denver. Hope you enjoy seeing pics of this little firecracker!

Calling all golfers…Golf Fest 2012!

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:43:27 +0000

Calling all golfers! This summer Denver, CO will be hosting a FABULOUS golf tournament to benefit The Gleason Initiative Foundation! This isn’t your ordinary golf tournament…it will be FULL of contests, music, awesome food and some amazing silent auction items. Please visit the WEBSITE to find out how you can become involved in Golf Fest 2012.

Even if you don’t want to golf, feel free to come on out and enjoy a Cajun buffet from the chefs at Blackstone Country Club. To register for lunch, just visit the Sponsorship link on the website. Limited quantities available.

We need your help to spread the word. Here is all the social media links:

Facebook: Golf Fest 2012 on Facebook

Twitter: Golf Fest 2012 on Twitter

Website (REGISTER TO PLAY HERE): Golf Fest 2012

Thank you for making this event a success for The Gleason Initiative Foundation!!

On a personal note…the blog will be dark until next week, as I make my way to the city of Lost Wages for a little sister-vacation.

Nashville, TN Wandering Photographer

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:00:51 +0000

This post is loooooong overdue. It is actually PART 3 to my ESPN and Alabama posts, which can be found HERE and HERE. Back in November I traveled to Tuscaloosa to visit my friend, Brandi, and go to the big ‘Bama/LSU football game. Happy to say that the January rematch ended much better for the University of Alabama. Anyhow, back to the story…I quickly found out that Birmingham was SUPER expensive to fly out of during the “Super Bowl” of college football, so I started looking for another route home. A close 1.5 hour drive north of B-ham is the lovely city of Nashville, TN. The plane tickets were about $300.00 cheaper, so I decided to rent a car, drive up to Tennessee and explore Nashville for awhile. Turns out, I was there a few days before the CMA’s, so my goal was to find a country celebrity or two. Mission accomplished!

First stop was the Ryman Auditorium, home of the original Grand Ole Opry. It was quite empty when I arrived, which was probably due to the Tennessee Titan football game happening across the street. The short movie at the beginning of my tour was quite interesting and, as it turns out, this place has quite the history!

Next up was the Country Music Hall of Fame. On my way to the museum, there was a crowd gathered outside, right along the Country Music Walk of Fame. As it turns out, some famous country singers were receiving their star on the walk of fame. Do you recognize any of them? I actually didn’t have time to walk through the museum since I purchased a studio tour of historic Studio B. This was an AWESOME tour!! The image of me sitting at the piano, was the piano actually used by Elvis himself. Pretty cool that they let anyone come sit on it and take a pic!!

The last part of my trip was visiting Opryland. It was pretty amazing…HUGE hotel with a cool atrium in the center with lots of restaurants and shops. This is now where the Grand Ole Opry is located. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera into the hotel with me, so you’ll just have to look on their website for some pictures. :-) It was a great trip!! Both Nashville and Tuscaloosa are BEAUTIFUL cities!!

I have found the secret to success!!!

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:00:43 +0000

Yes, I have finally found it, the secret to success!!! It hit me like a ton of bricks last night and then I couldn’t sleep, I was tossing and turning all night in anticipation to run to the pet store. Yup, you got! The secret to being a successful photographer is…wait for it…a DOG! So, I bundled up the kids, dropped Ryland off at pre-school, and Easton and I headed to our local pet store and purchased the CUTEST little dog, EVER!!

Crud! I just had to run into the other room and rescue Ryland since he just got peed on. Ahhhhh!!

Sooooooo, here he is!! The kids named him last night…HOOTIE! Love it! He is only a few days old, so still have to get shots and all, but he should grow up to be about 35 pounds. Very exciting for the kiddos (and for my business!).

I will be updating the blog with how the kiddos are doing with Hootie and pictures of his growth from time to time.

Stiletto Women in Business Awards – Finalist

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:00 +0000

I am so excited to share this news!! I recently found out that I am a finalist in the Stiletto Woman in Business Awards. Out of nearly 300 submissions I am honored to be recognized in three categories…Artistic Entrepreneur of the Year, Blogger of the Year and Photography Business of the Year. Here is a link to all the finalists (congrats to all!): SWIBA Finalists. The winners in each category will be announced at the SWIBA conference on March 17th in Atlanta, GA. The conference is open for all to attend and it has some amazing guest speakers, so take a look.

To give you a brief background, Stiletto Woman Magazine was founded by Karlena Wallace in 2009 as a new media portal to empower everyday women. StilletoWoman.com launched a series of affiliate blogs designed to support our mission and the diverse lives of these women in business (Stiletto Business, Stiletto Money, Stiletto Health are just to name a few).

I am extremely honored to have been nominated and will keep you all posted with the outcome on March 17th!!!

iPhone + Christmas Cards

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:31:16 +0000

Ok, I cannot take credit for this creative idea, but it was so brilliant, I had to share. I saw this on Pinterest and actually forgot to pin it, so if someone knows the source of this idea, just leave me a comment.

Sooooo, what I normally do with all my Christmas Cards is put them in a rubber band and pack them away into our christmas boxes. When the next Christmas is upon us, I have a blast going through all the year-old cards and seeing how people have changed within the last year. Well, here is a BETTER idea! Why don’t you use all those beautiful cards and turn them into your iPhone (or smartphone) contact pictures!!

Tada!!! So, now everytime Tami gets ahold of me, her beautiful family will pop up on my phone!! :-) (Thanks Tami for letting me use your family for my post). :-)

First Christmas in Denver, CO!

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 17:11:13 +0000

This was our first Christmas in Denver, CO and our first solo Christmas in a few years. The last time we had Christmas without other family members was our first year living in Phoenix, AZ.

The Thursday before Christmas, Denver received about 15 inches of new snow, followed by days of warm, sunny weather (that is my kind of weather!). Should remain in the upper 40′s the rest of the week, fabulous! I have to say, the Rocky Mountains look BEAUTIFUL on a clear sunny day, the sky seems to be a bit bluer here in Colorado.

Back to Christmas…we started the season off by seeing The Muppet Movie, which Ryland and I had a happy-cry at the end of the movie, it was quite moving. We also were lucky enough to have breakfast with Santa last week. The boys were so excited to see the big man! This event is held at the Wildlife Experience, here in Parker, which is a short 2 miles from our house. They also put up a spectacular Winter Wonderland light display, which we have attended every year. This year they had a pit for roasting marshmellows, which, of course, we participated in! On Christmas Eve the boys got to go to Build-A-Bear to make their new stuffed animals…Ryland made a nice, fuzzy Denver Nuggets bear named Kayden and Easton made a Colorado Avalance Smurf named Smurfy.

The boys have been busy playing and ichatting with the cousins and we plan on topping today off with a visit to glow-in-the-dark monster mini-golf, which was one of the boys Christmas presents.

Hope you had had a fantastic Christmas!! Happy New Year to everyone!!

So, we are a little out-of-focus, but that is OK. :-)

Thanksgiving, Race Track and Gleason Gras!

admin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:38:15 +0000

This past weekend we spent with family in New Orleans. Steve and Michel recently had a new baby boy, Rivers, so we were all excited to see the new addition to the family. As soon as the plane landed in NOLA, Easton yelled “we get to go see Baby Rivers!!!”.

The boys had a fun time wearing Steve’s helmet cam. It was a little top-heavy, so Mark had to make sure the boys wouldn’t tip over. :-)

For Thanksgiving, we headed over to the Varisco house (Michel’s parents) to have an AMAZING Thanksgiving feast!! Ryland and Easton were pumped to be around more kids, so they played the entire time!

The next day, we jetted off to the race track! We arrived a little bit before the crew, but that didn’t stop us from betting right away. Jackson (aka, my mom), won $60 right off the bat! It was her lucky day! The kids had a fun time running around, playing football and enjoying the horse-racing!

On Saturday, we hit up the Audubon Zoo, which was BEAUTIFUL!! The boys favorite exhibit was the live-animal petting and the Dinosaurs!

After about an hour and a half at the zoo we got a text from my mom that said “want to go to the Saints practice?”. Hummmm, let me thing about it….YES! So, we ran for the exit and met Steve and Mike at the Saints practice facility. We met the owner, the GM, several coaches and players. Everyone was very nice!!! We even got to play a little catch with Drew Brees (see video and pics below).

Lastly, was the big event…GLEASON GRAS! If you don’t already know the story about my step-brother, this is a great article, written by Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune: http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2011/09/new_orleans_saints_cult_hero_s.html

It was an AMAZINGLY INSPIRING event…the support of New Orleans is overwhelming and truly a site to see, glad I was able to be a part of it!

To support Team Gleason, please “like” their FB page HERE! Or, follow them on Twitter: @team_gleason

To learn more about Steve and ALS, please visit the official website: http://team-gleason.com/

Thanks to the Gleason-Varisco family for a super-fun Thanksgiving weekend. It was great to see everyone and hope to be back in NOLA soon!!! Love y’all: Keri and the boys

University of Alabama (part two)

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:56:12 +0000

OK, PART TWO of our LSU-Alabama post from a couple days ago.

So, our day started at 7 AM, when we drove to Tuscaloosa from Birmingham, AL. That left us with nearly 12 hours on campus until the game started. We took a historical walking tour of UA and saw some beautiful architecture! Brandi used to give parent orientations at the school, so she knew the answer to all of my questions!!

Get this…greek life at Alabama is a little different than Wazzu. If you live in a sorority and want to go to the game, you need to be asked out on a date to attend. AND, here is the kicker, you have to DRESS up!! A dress, at a ballgame?? Yes, indeed. I saw masses of little sorority gals dancin’ around in their little dresses…just something I am not quite used to at a sporting event.

Lastly, tailgating. One word, FANTASTIC! They have it down! If you can image over 1500 tents sprawled out in the middle of campus all smellin’ like BBQ, then you can imagine Alabama tailgating. Loved it! These set-ups are no joke, either. I am talkin’ multiple flat-screen TV’s, chandeliers hanging from the rafters, lounge chairs, all the fixin’s and genuine southern hospitality! I can see why people don’t even need a ticket to the game.

Here is the view out of Brandi’s house, beautiful!! Thanks again, chica, I had a blast!!

Behind the Scenes with ESPN and Alabama football!

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:16:25 +0000

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Alabama-LSU game in Bryant Denny Stadium (thank you Brandi, Craig, Bonnie and Keri). This was the most watched sporting event on CBS in the past 22 years!! And it was a battle! However, prior to the game, Brandi and I woke up at 7 AM in order to be on set at ESPN College Gameday. Thanks to a few connections, we were able to get up close and personal with the crew and get some fantastic images!

The following image is of the beautiful crimson and gray flag waving in the background. The WSU flag has been waving in the background at College Gameday every Saturday for the past 5 or 6 years (I could be a little off on my stats). Anyhow, I went to Wazzu, so this was a big highlight for me to see my people (more images below). Here is a cute ESPN promo video of the flag: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvGUJRCuPg

Ryan Leaf (former NFL Quarterback and QB of the WSU Cougs) was in town to wave the infamous flag, but also to promote his new book 596 Switch, which is about the road to the ’98 Rose Bowl (and what a ride it was!). He even has a few good stories about Steve inside, so pick up your copy on Amazon.

Two of the beautiful gals who made this week happen…Keri and Brandi!! Thank you ladies! You rock…’til we meet again at the next mexican restaurant! :-)

So, every College Gameday, Lee Corso puts on a mascot head of who he think will will the game. I thought I would be cool and try and take a picture of the head before anyone else could see it. NOT A CHANCE! They have that thing on lock-down. I don’t even think the crew knows what it is going to be!

And, this just floored me…I came all the way to Tuscaloosa, AL to watch a football game and I got to see my people! Love it! GO COUGS!! (Megan and Snyder, the Griz flag pic is for you!)

My images don’t end there! I will put up another post soon with images from the University of Alabama, the game and my day-trip to Nashville after the game!

Going on a blogging hiatus

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:35:21 +0000

After nearly five years of blogging, I need a little break. Go figure, right? I am going to be spending the next few month with family and friends here in Denver and also doing a bit of traveling in between. We have some exciting trips coming in the near future (Tuscaloosa, New Orleans, Jamaica) and of course will be documenting them with images and posting about them from time to time on the blog, but I will not be posting on a daily basis.

You can still reach me via email at keridoolittlephotography@gmail.com if you have a wedding inquiry. I am only taking about four more weddings for the 2012 season.

Here are a few pictures from our family session with Tami Wilson Photography. Enjoy and chat with you in 2012!!

And, of course I love this one of Easton diggin’ for gold. I am sure this will be a fun one to pull out when he is 18. :-)

Continuation of Ryland’s Birthday Weekend!!

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:40:33 +0000

This is a continuation of Ryland’s bday weekend from a previous post. Anyhow…all the grandparents came to Denver (minus Papa Mike) for Ryland’s bday. Another big big draw was the WSU vs. COLORADO game. I went to Washington State, so I was SUPER excited that they were coming into town this year.

It was blazing hot up in Boulder, but the Cougs pulled off an amazing victory, so we were pretty happy! Mark ended up taking the boys home at half-time, so I got to enjoy the second-half kids free (which is a big treat for me).

The following day, Ryland got to celebrate his “fake” birthday at Brunswick Bowling Alley in Lone Tree. Him and a few friends enjoyed some cosmic bowling, which was a blast! We followed up with a round of Laser Tag, in which I completely lost at. Big thanks to Jene of Anything But Vanilla for the SUPER RAD Mario cake, AMAZING work my friend!! Here is her FB page, too: Anything But Vanilla FB.

So, we slightly got addicted to a new game on the iPad (WHERE’S MY WATER), so naturally, we brought it to the football game. Warning: Stay away from the app, it will consume your life. :-)

Mission Accomplished:

Lastly, Ryland got this gift from Gma Jackie and Papa Mike called a Swimmer Shark (basically a remote-controlled balloon that you can sail around your home). Well, we got a barrel of helium shipped to us and I was a little concerned. :-) Being that we are a mile-high, it doesn’t float as well as cities who are at sea-level. We filled that thing to the brim, tied extra balloons on the top until FINALLY he sailed! So, now we have a shark lurking around each corner of our house:

And, the fun doesn’t end there!! My mom took lots of pictures, too. Check out HER BLOG to see golfing, bubbles and bikerides!!

Photo Retreat – Breckenridge, CO 2011

admin — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 16:22:01 +0000

In September I hosted a photography retreat up in Breckenridge, CO. Fifteen female photographers from all over the country came to learn, relax, socialize and talk shop over an extended weekend up in the Rockies. We had some amazing vendors who supported and contributed to the retreat that I would like to recognize. Thanks to:

Also wanted to give a BIG thank you to Andrea and her family for letting us photograph her family during our family photo-session and thank you to Laura for driving up to Breck with a week-old newborn for us to photograph, AMAZING!! :-)

Here are some pictures from our fabulous weekend:

Here are some images of our beautiful models, including some off-camera lighting practice!!

And, here are some images of our house and the amazing scenery we were surrounded with:

I had a great time putting this on, let’s do this again, ladies!! :-)

2011 ALS Walk – Denver, CO

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:53:10 +0000

As some of you may have heard, my step-brother, Steve Gleason, was diagnosed with ALS in January. He is an amazing person with a strong heart and never gives up. He started the Team Gleason organization on Facebook and we would love for you to head over to their page and “like” it. Keep up the fight, Steve, you have a huge support system who loves you!

The Denver Doolittle’s wanted to contribute to helping the ALS Organization by participating in the Denver ALS Walk, which was held down at City Park this morning. A BIG thank-you to everyone who contributed to the fundraiser, both monetarily and through prayer!!!

So, they say that Denver gets over 300 days of sunshine, well, that leaves 65 days of no-sunshine. We woke up to SNOW and 35 degrees!! However, that didn’t stop us, or lots of others who came out to support the cause. Although, they did call the walk a bit early, it was still neat to see everyone who came out!

Wanted to also give a shout-out to Dirty Coast for sending us the shirts in time for the walk, thanks guys!! You can also see some cute pics of Steve and Michel on their website HERE!!

Enjoy the photos and would love for you to leave a little blog love.

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY TO RYLAND!!!

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:40:57 +0000

A BIG Happy Birthday to my five year old, Ryland!!! I don’t remember much of what happened five years ago (due to heavy sedation at the hospital), but I heard great stories! :-)

You are the BEST 5 year old a mom and dad can have, an AWESOME big brother, a talented athlete and a loving grandson! You have the sweetest heart of anyone I know…love ya little man!!

We had a FANTASTIC bday weekend for Ryland, which included a WSU victory up in Boulder, CO vs. CU and a birthday party at Brunswick XL (more of those pictures to come at a later date).

Here are a few snaps of our big 5-yr old:

Breckenridge ’11 – Photography Retreat

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:21:15 +0000

I just returned from a fabulous weekend in Breckenridge, CO where 15 fabulous ladies met for a photography retreat. Lots of laughs, lots of learning and lots of pictures! I will post more once I get back into the swing of daily life! :-)

Shoot Out Hate Fundraiser

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:59:38 +0000

I belong to an awesome organization called A Vote A Vow, which is helping same-sex couples feel safe and welcome when planning their wedding. They have a FANTASTIC fundraiser coming up on October 2nd, which will benefit a horrific hate crime that happened in Salt Lake City a couple weeks ago. To read about the cause, please visit THIS LINK.

If you are looking for professional headshots, maybe a new Facebook profile pic or even some portraits of your dog, swing by on October 2nd at the X Bar. If you are a photographer, looking to donate your time, please check the A Vote A Vow website and email either of the ladies to inquire about more information.

Keep up the fantastic work ladies, you are doing a fabulous thing!

Patriot Day 2011

admin — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 06:25:50 +0000

It has been 10 years since the tragic collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City. I am sure everyone can account the exact place they were when they heard and watched the news when the planes imploded into the buildings. I am amazed how fast time has passed by, but I am sure, for others who lost dear ones, it seems to be difficult each year. Just know that you are loved.

I wanted to take the boys out and do my best to capture an “all-american” shoot with baseballs, flags, hats and just pure fun. The boys enjoyed trying to hit my camera with baseballs, thankfully, they both missed. :-) My kiddos are obsessed with any flag (especially the USA and Colorado flags), so when they got to waive it in the air, they were so excited!!

God Bless the USA!

Doolittle Family Vacation – Michigan

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:21:37 +0000

A couple weeks ago, we took a little vacation to the upper, northeast corner of Michigan. We stayed in a cabin in the Northport area. We met Mark’s family up there, including most of the cousins, which the kiddos were SUPER excited to see! Here are some snapshots I took of our trip:

Our first excursion was to see the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. I can successfully report that we all made it to the top!!

CALM…

NOT CALM…

Next on the list was a little place they called “Fish Town”. We looked in a few shops, had some ice cream and got THE BEST GIFT EVER…a caterpillar baseball bat for Easton. He slept with it.

Here are a few shots from the deck at the cabin…

Our last excursion was one of my favorite little towns called Glen Arbor. It had great artists, lots of tree, awesome cherry stores, rafting, mini-golf and much more! While the kiddos took a canoe trip, Jennifer and I did a little shopping and relaxing around Glen Arbor. Very neat little town!!

These are their HOLE-IN-ONE balls…

I took the kiddos on a Photo Safari, so everyone grabbed their parents phone and we set off on a mystical hike. I wanted a group shot of my future photographers and here is how they posed:

Made it back to the Detroit Airport. This is what my kids do. The Southwest poles are a great obstacle course, just made for running. Perfect for tiring them out (yeah right!).