Had To Get Some Sun!!!

We just got home from a family vacation to sunny Florida!! Wanted to post a fun photo for you all to see!!!

Titled: Tanning your Hide

A DAY IN KNOXVILLE...

I hope you are having one of THESE days!

This photo was taken during the rehearsal dinner of a wedding I shot in Tennessee last fall. You know you're going to have a special wedding when you have a rainbow appear the day before. ENJOY!

DAY TO DAY

As our Saturday morning begins around the Dodds household this weekend, I continue to see a streak of flesh racing across the living room. To my amazement, what resembled a shooting star in the Colorado landscape actually is my 3 year son running from room to room in his underwear. Shaef is SO proud to have escaped the life of diapers that he has found new meaning to FREEDOM. It is possible that in the near future that Shaef will be giving the State of the Union from behind his desk in the oval office. ONLY to be found in his underwear. If the American people are lucky, he will flex his muscles as he signs off the air.





Lots to look forward to in the coming years folks! Have a great weekend....Oh and please tell your friends not to go to the shopping malls today so my wife and I can get our Christmas shopping done in record time.

Peace,
Ben

Independence Indeed!!! Happy 4th of July...

Sutton asking the men in uniform to pose for a photo...





Sutton asking me to politely put away the camera...he learned this from his mom, ha ha!!


The boys standing to honor and wave to our WWII Vets in the parade


This morning started off with a leftover breakfast consisting of pancakes, strawberries and bacon (the bacon was fresh Granny so don't be calling me). After we wiped our faces clean, freeing us from the stickiness that Aunt Jemima tends to leave after a morning of hot cakes we rushed out the door on our way to the 13th Annual Edina 4th of July parade. This parade is a 2 hour production and has to be the BEST parade in the Twin Cities Metro. The boys love the fire trucks, policeman, horses, clowns and of course the barrage of candy being tossed from the vehicles. Here a few photos I grabbed from our time in Edina this morning. Thank you to our troops that that lay down their lives everyday for our freedom. May we NEVER forget the men and women that have been laid to rest so that you and I can live the lives we choose for our families. Thank you!!! Enjoy your 4th and please be safe.

Peace,
Ben

UPDATE: Boys 2009

I love the sequence of this photo....budding, budded and "de"budded...





Friday's are awesome in SO many ways. For most of us the weekend has arrived. For me, it means I get to have lunch with my boys and spend the afternoon with them after their naps. LOVE IT!!! Today, we had a little picnic in the front yard and then I took some photos post lunch. Sutton and Shaeffer still for some reason feel the need to say, "cheese" everytime I pull out my camera. I'm really trying to break that habit because I seem to always catch them with some goffy expression.

Have a wonderful LONG weekend with your friends and family! Happy Memorial Day early!

Peace,
BD

TWEET TWEET

I'm truly beginning to wonder if I'm jumping on another bandwagon? First it was the MN Twins, then it was the "Juicy Lucy," next came Mountain Smith backpacks, then I moved to Chaco's and then for some crazy reason I now have 4 pairs of Croc's, a Facebook account and now this.....TWITTER!!!

I've always been a very vocal person and one to wear my emotions on my sleeves. But this....do you really need to know when I brushed my teeth in preparation for Shannon to read me a bedtime story? I don't believe that it is necessary nor a desire for you to follow my every move however, I do believe that "tweeting" can draw us all together. That through using these social networking sites that we can be encouraged to help each other as needs arise, that we may support each other as one stumbles and that we can rejoice with each other when praises need to be sung!

So, with that said....I'll be tweeting on a regular basis. Look me up on Twitter.

I'm on to go meet with my friend Steve this morning.....hoping the winds won't blow us away today (upto 40 mph i heard).

Peace,
BD

Welcome Lillian Claire

Last weekend Shannon, Sutton and I headed east to make a visit to our first niece & Sutton and Shaeffer's 1st cousin. Exciting times for all!!! Congratulations to my sister and brother-in-law on the birth of Lillian Claire. Lillian is just a little munchkin! Sutton loved every moment with Lillian and we would catch him sneaking into the bedroom to take a peek at his little cuz. Shaeffer stayed back with Granny. We felt he was just a little to young to fully understand and we really wanted to not impose on Lillian. We figured the fewer the Dodds crew the better!! Again, congrats to you guys!!! She is SO precious!!! Have fun staying up all night long...better you then me!

Love you guys!

Peace,
BD

"Proud Parent of a World Vision Sponsor"

This afternoon I was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying lunch. My boys were running around as they usually do before they prepare to take their afternoon naps. As I was thinking about the day and somewhat staring off into space my eyes were drawn to our fridge. My wife, Shannon, has done a very creative job of decorating our fridge. Being that she's a teacher she uses her creativity to cover the icebox with a monthly calendar, notes the boys receive from school and colorful letters that help remind our boys how to spell their names. I often think I might need my own letters for my name but she refuses.

As I was staring at our fridge observing the monthly calendar, my eye was drawn to something more important then anything else on the fridge. I was reminded that before Valentine's Day Nona & Papa (my parents) had sent the boys their very own $5 bill. Inside the card that held this large sum of cash was a little poem that eluded to what they could possibly spend their money on. They ran around with their bling for about 30 minutes when all of the sudden Shannon invited them to join her at the table. Shannon took the boys $5 bills and handed them each 5, $1's instead. My face was confused as to what she was doing but I soon learned of her awesomeness.....

Shannon explained to our boys the importance of sharing, of giving, of tithing to those in need. She showed the boys a picture of a little boy in Africa that our boys picked out to sponsor. His name is Michel and he is growing up in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She continued to explain that Michel had very little and that you (our boys) have been very blessed. She finished by explaining that she would like to see each of the boys donate $1 out of their $5 to Michel. They were so excited to be able to help make a difference in Michel's life. The dollar bills serve as a reminder to our 2 & 3 year olds that it is better to give then receive. What difference can you make in somebody's life today? Thanks to Shannon teaching our boys, I've been challenged to rethink how I can help change a life.

Peace,
BD

YELLOWstone & BIG sky....

This past weekend I set a new record. A record that unfortunately requires the Guinness Book of World Records to be present (which did not happen) but a NEW record non the less. What was the record you ask. Let's play a little game to see if you are creative enough to take a stab at my amazing feat that definitely requires a little recognition, if I do say so myself. Let the games begin.....I'll give you three clues and I want you to leave your answer to what you might think my amazing accomplishment was.....To leave a guess, leave me a comment on this post in the "comment" section below. Here we go....

mini donuts
"I'm sick and tired of living in a van down by the river!"- Chris Farley
189 kilometer/hour

You might have to combine words/concepts/ideas as your work through your 8th grade problem solving skills....I can't wait to hear your ideas.....I'll let you know the answer very soon!

In other news, I spent this past weekend in Big Sky, Montana. This was a guys trip with 3 of my friends and man did we have fun! Many great memories were shared over the weekend and I was reminded of how blessed I am to be surrounded by such great men. As one might think...."oh, he went to Big Sky?" I'm sure that Ben is going to post some pictures of the mountains here on his blog....WRONG! Actually, I didn't even take a single picture of the mountains. I know, it sounds crazy!! I also straddled the boundaries of Yellowstone National Forest yet still didn't take any photos of the amazing country side. This might be a call to be hospitalized or I should quite possibly receive a fine from the Photography Police. All's I can do is apologize. I spent a short time in West Yellowstone, Montana one afternoon and did take photos of the old Motel signs around the town. Again, my apologies for not recording my adventures better but I do think these signs were really cool...what do you think???
I'm glad to be home with my family again and missed my wife and boys. I look forward to the day that we can load up the family vehicle ( I so wish we had a wood panel station wagon) and set off for Mrs. Old Faithful herself. I want my boys to see the true beauty of that area. Have a great night!!

Peace,
BD

Ben Dodds Photography is LIVE....

CLICK HERE TO GO TO BEN DODDS PHOTOGRAPHY

I'm filled with excitement! This is truly a dream come true over the past 2 years. I have been blessed in SO many ways; family, friends, photographers that are friends, clients, creativity from Above...I feel like I'm on a ride a Disney World right now. I'm honored that you all continue to follow the exciting changes around Ben Dodds Photography. Thank you for all of your encouraging words, supporting emails, wonderful Facebook messages (hit me up on Facebook by the way if we aren't friends yet)...etc. I can't wait to look back over this year and see how many fun moments will be captured through the lens of my camera. Thank you again!!!

Peace,
BD

Ben Dodds Photography Launch Coming Soon!

coming soon......
Ben Dodds Photography has a new look available at an internet hub near you...
I am super excited to announce that after a lot of work and much anticipation that I will be launching the new Ben Dodds Photography website early this week. Stay tuned!
We've been working on developing a new brand for BDP and wanted to share with you the new look today. Much thanks to Lori Schmidt for her hard work and creative spirit.
The BDP blog will continue as is but will be under construction over the next month or so as well. A new look will arriving soon as well for the day to day followings of Ben Dodds Photography.

Have a great weekend and check out Ben Dodds Photography (www.bendodds.com) early this week.

Peace,
BD

Cancun '09

Many apologies for not posting any photos from our family vacay to Cancun this past January. Upon my return, I was very busy developing/creating the BIG SURPRISE being unveiled early this week. I'm just now getting a chance to look at the many photos I took on our trip of Shan and the boys. We had an awesome time in Mexico and our resort was top notch. The boys still continue to chant Mexico, Mexico, Mexico....almost as if the US was being invaded and the Mexican military was coming to help my two boys cross the border illegally or something. I mean they're pretty serious about us going back there very soon. If you were a fly on the wall in our home this would be a conversation you'd be bound to hear....

CONVERSATION....
Ben/Shan: "Ok boys, get your coats and shoes on..."
Boys: "Where we going mommy Shannon, where we going daddy Ben?"
Ben/Shan: "just get your coats and shoes on and head downstairs to the car"
Boys: " Are we going to Mexico daddy Ben?"
Ben/Shan: "Mexico would be nice wouldn't it..."
Boys: "I want to go to Mexio"
Ben/Shan: "well sorry to disappoint, but we are going to the grocery store"
Shaeffer: "not go to grocery store mommy Shannon...go Mexico"

We hope that this cold weather will fade away very soon yet may our Mexican family vacation stay in our hearts forever! What a great trip!!!

Have a great weekend!

Peace,
BD

With the rag top down so my hair can blow......

IMG_2438web, originally uploaded by dodder55.

This is a test

I was looking through some old family photos and wanted to post this one for all my Minnesota crew! I took this photo on a 90 degree, Florida day as the waves cautiously danced around my boys feet. I also posted this photo because I will be visiting a beach near you very soon.
It's gonna feel like the winter monkey is off my back as soon as I hop on that plane. Sniff, sniff....is that salt water I smell?

Hey, at least the sun is out today!

Peace,
BD

Pumped Up!

The title of today's post is completely unrelated to the recent news about Roger Clemens once again denying any relationship with performance-enhancing drugs. On a much lighter side, I experienced 2 things today that rocked my world!
1. Shannon's HOMEMADE Chicken Noodle Soup
2. that Shannon had opened the BIG bag of Skittles that Santa brought for WAY BACK on Christmas Eve!

I've been sick (flu-like symptoms) since Saturday evening and my stomach's security entourage (my nose) has pushed away any foods that have attempted to entice my tumtum. The thought of eating some hearty meal makes me gag. 2 days ago, my lovely wife stopped at the supermarket to pick up some canned soup (brand to remain nameless) in hopes that 16 oz. of chicken broth, 5 chicken chunks, 33 1/2 noodles and 3 orange specks (aka: carrots) might provide some much needed nutrients into my system.

Well, I tried to slowly sip away at the broth, giving time to the "other" ingredients to dissolve in my mouth. Shannon gets an A for effort however she gets an A+ for pulling out her homemade Chicken Soup from the deep freeze yesterday. Yes, my appetite is slowly coming back but oh if I could have had Shan's soup 2 days instead of that canned stuff.

Also, this afternoon after spending some much needed time on the computer I stopped by our pantry in hopes that a treat might fall from the shelves. After doing a Spearmint Gum double take, I noticed that the hugmongous (sp) bag of Skittles had FINALLY been opened. See, I've been waiting for that bag to open since Christmas Day.... Hope you are having a great day!

Just a photo to share with you my Skittle Bliss!!! Trust me, this is better then seeing the rainbow of colors that I made in my mouth by chewing up 76 skittles at one time.

Peace,
BD

I'm a cookie, your a cookie, wouldn't you like to be a cookie too?

All of this while making and arranging cookies today....Here is some BD random thoughts that often tend to float through this brain of mine. I often wonder how I sleep at night? I just posted this over on my Facebook page (if you aren't a friend of mine over there...get on it...I'd love to add you) and thought it was worthy of sharing with all of you as well......

I'm thinking pretty deep on this but that's often where my mind has been going lately. As I was scooping the cookie dough from the bowl to place on the plate i realized that i was never able to duplicate a scoop of dough as it headed for the cookie sheet. Much similar to the way in each we were all created differently and uniquely. The "amazingness" of our Creator.
The real mental processing came about as I removed the baked cookies from the sheet to place them on a rack to cool and take shape. Some of the cookies stood firm on the rack, others just looked as if they were sitting on the cushions of a 30 yr old couch. Their shape took to the cooling rack as if they were part of the rack. How often do we become part of society? How often to we stand firm in our beliefs and not allow the cooling rack to mold us into something that we're not.
Finally, I began to place the final product (warm but cooled cookies) on a serving plate. Being that I'm a photographer and being that this might possibly be the first time I've made cookies by myself (actually my boys helped) I arranged each cookie on a serving plate in anticipation for THEIR big photo shoot. The criteria by which i used to place each individual cookie on the platter was as follows....
size
number of chocolate chips per cookie
shape of this delicious treat
and most importantly, appearance

I arranged the platter to only discover my "dislikings" for some of the cookies because of their defined differences from the rest of the platter. It was at that very moment that challenged my thinking around how I look at other odd shaped, not so perfectly formed cookies in our world. Do i dismiss them and not give them a chance to be in the photo or do I embrace them and point them front and center? How would I arrange myself on a platter? There might be certain days where I would allow others to move me to the bottom of the platter, hoping to not expose my inadequate characteristics or look, yet there are days where i stand firm and confident wanting to be front and center. How often do we hide behind the strong, how often do we allow ourselves to be controlled by the controllers, how often do we allow our negative self inflicted emotions to nudge us to the bottom. If we are to, "love others as ourselves," how does that influence how we arrange a plate of cookies. More importantly, how does that encourage us how we look at our world and those that live within this world. Do you love yourself? Are you proud of who you are? Do you take joy in knowing that you are different then others? Or, do you find yourself becoming someone that others might want you to be? Do you find yourself having internal confidential conversations with yourself that find you wrestling in your identity?
Yes, random thoughts and maybe a little all over the place. Yet, all of this from making cookies today.....how do you look at life?

Santa DID come in '08

Sutton leaving Santa a little treat on the back of his suit



Shaeffer chanting "BIG ONE, BIG ONE" in his little 2 yr old voice....Precious!


I'm a tad behind on posting the recap of the Dodds Family Christmas. I'm aware that the suspense has probably killed a couple of you off by now. I fully understand that seeing a plate of cookies, a glass of Vitamin D milk, clementines and a couple snacks for the reindeer left you to wonder whether or not the big guy made a stop on Riverside. Well he did and the excitement was extremely hard to contain. Pictures truly don't do the "excitement" justice. Sutton & Shaeffer had a challenge catching their routine nights sleep on Christmas Eve due to the wonder around what was about to happen in their living room. Santa definitely delivered a "perma-smile" on the boys faces much to our surprise. Here are just a couple photos I grabbed while enjoying watching S&S fall deeper into magic of Mr. Claus. Oh to be a kid again!!

Peace,
BD

It's COLD outside....

I woke up this morning and it was way to cold for this time of December. Let's just say that the dog didn't get her FULL morning walk, BBBRRRrrrrrrrrr! I had an early morning meeting and thought I'd share with you 2 images that share how cold it is outside in MN today. Yes, that's "-" (aka: minus) sign in front of the 4 degrees on our car temp gauge. COLD!!! The other photo is of a Sun Dog in the sky. This ONLY happens when it's COLD outside. Have I told you how cold it is???? IT IS FREEZING!!! Sorry for the "caps" and exclamation points but it's REALLY COLD OUT!!! Stay warm!!

Around Our House....

I thought I'd let you into our house this morning by posting life on a Saturday in December. Being that we've chosen (and I'm now second guessing our choice) to live in frigid Minneeesoooota, we are stuck inside today. We are not actually confined to the home but this morning the local weather station reported a wind chill of negative 4 degrees outside.

BBBBBBbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!

I'm poitive that we will venture outside as the sun has recently peeked through the clouds and it is to warm up to a balmy 21 degrees. We thank God daily that we are blessed with a roof over our heads and heat blasting through the vents. Oh I could visit Naples, FL right about now!!

Here are a few shots from our living room as the boys destroyed our home by pulling out every toy they could find on the main level. Shannon and I are bundled up in our warmest of warm clothes while our boys are preparing for the Polar Bear Plunge (a frozen tundra thing you do....like cutting a hole in the ice and jumping in the water in the middle of winter). Our tree is up, we finished the platter of donuts that have been gracing their presence in our kitchen for a number of days and the boys played with their lead free toys. Life is good!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Peace,
BD