String Summit 2011

Lucy really enjoyed Marc's camel back. 

Hanging out!

The happy family!

Lucy LOVES both her puppy and strapping him into her stroller. Buckles are a favorite of hers.

John and Lucy

Zoe and Lucy, ready for a wagon ride to the ampitheater.

Todd, Marc and Jim

That's a little puppy painted on her face.

On Sunday many people wore pink, in honor of Lilli, one of my patients who recently died. An intersection of my personal and professional life.  It was beautiful to see how many of the 5000 people there dressed up, and I really felt the love. 

Katie Lee, Kurt, Tiffany and me. Good friends!!!

I had a wonderful time at the 10th String Summit, a festival that is held near Portland by the Yonder Mountain String Band. We have not missed a single year. Thinking back, it is amazing how many changes there have been in my life, but yet we have always had this weekend to hang out at Horning's Hideout with some good friends and get back to the basics of what I discovered so long ago when I saw the Grateful Dead. While the music is what brought me there, I think that the overall experience is what makes it for me. The shows by Yonder are always solid, the other bands are fun, the dancing is fabulous, there are so many colorful people, so many old friends and several days to just hang out and party! Now getting to share it as a family is even more fulfilling. The other day I asked Lucy what she liked about the String Summit, and she said "music....dancing...peacocks!" Two and a half years old and she summed it up perfectly. (There are peacocks that roam the property).

Lucy really enjoyed all of her friends that were there, including Zoe, Miles and John. She got her face painted with a little puppy (her choice!), and had fun dancing. On the last day, Lucy started spinning up on the hill. If anyone has seen me dance, then you know I love to spin around, and of course Lucy has learned her moves from me.  While I was trying to deflect her from tumbling down the hill, she grabbed my hand and started running for the dance floor and then just started boogieing down! She done me proud! The folks around us were tickled with her dancing enthusiasm.


It was a great family weekend!

Loving life

Wahclella  Falls

A tiny cave. Lucy said, "bears in there?"

Crossing a bridge!

Enjoying the sun at Wachlella Falls

Soda Creek Falls on our rainy camp trip

Boating on the Clackamas with our best friends

Santiam River, Lucy and Sophia

The last several weeks have brought me many reminders of how important it is to enjoy the present, because nothing is guaranteed. It has been a difficult stretch at my work, and many special, special children have lost their battles. It doesn't make sense, and makes me so sad for our families that have had to say goodbye to their cherished children.  Being reminded of the frailty of life so often can be hard, but I think that in my relationship with Lucy and Marc it keeps me present. I think that Lucy is so amazing, and that every moment there is the potential for something special. She constantly makes me think, "Wow!" I am blessed to have this time to spend with her, making memories, building traditions, enjoying and loving her. 

Right now she is hard at work on a new art creation. She works in multi-media, combining paint, stickers, paper, markers and tape. :) She is so much fun to watch while she creates. I give her a lot of space and freedom, and she often has a clear idea of what it is she wants to add to her picture. We have been singing together often, which is really fun for me to see how many songs she remembers the lyrics to. We have been spending time hiking in the Gorge, and she can handle a two mile trip with only a little help along the way. She loves to play outside, and we have spent the last two weekends camping and are preparing for another trip today. It was a downpour for our Cascadia camp trip, but we still enjoyed the Santiam river a bit, a nice hike, and the company of good friends. Marc has been working on his Masters, so Lucy and I have been going together. It is so much fun, although we miss Marc. We are lucky to have my friend Rose, we have a lot of fun together, and I am so grateful to have her support!

Much love!

East Lake 2011

Getting bigger! I have been taking this shot since Lucy was 5 months old.

There was still a lot of snow this year, and Lucy loved playing in it.

Marc and Lucy

My girl!

Gracie Girl

Lucy Kathryn

On the boat

Catching fish

We saw a "Sun-Bow" which is a rainbow around the sun.

Our private paradise

Home sweet home.

Once again for our anniversary we headed to Central Oregon and the wonder that is the Newberry Caldera. We love this place and discover new things each and every year. It is amazing! Hot Springs, gorgeous views, fishing, relaxing, hiking...this place is an outdoor wonderland. Lucy really enjoyed fishing, the snow and the hot springs. We went on an amazing hike along Paulina Creek, and found a pool with a small waterfall just for ourselves. There was a rainbow around the sun which I felt was very special, and unusual phenomenon. We are so lucky to have had this time together as a family, and celebrate our lives together.

Loving life!

Lucy and Marc on the way to see Elmo.

Lucy loves Miles!

Getting cutting skills!

Uncle Dwight and Lucy. He found the surest way into her heart!

Our girl!

Grampy Dave with us at Latourell Falls

Cousin Kris at Latourell Falls

Auntie Maggie and Lucy trying to keep dry!

Silly Daddy!

Brain freeze! Lucy ate this down to the last bite. Thanks Kris, for her first ice cream cone. :)

One of the few rides Lucy could go on! She loved it.

A tree cave we found while hiking the other day.

Lucy and her good friend Maayan

Happy Girl!

We all had a great May. The April showers did bring May flowers, but they never left. We have had quite a bit of rain this month, but that's OK as I am coming closer to accepting Portland weather for what it is! Lucy loves to play outside no matter the weather. One fun thing we did was taking Lucy to see Sesame Street Live, to see Elmo in "real life." It was a toddler's dream come true. She was totally into it, as were most of the kids at the show. One little girl behind us screamed as each new character came out. It was fun for all of us!

My Dad, Uncle Dwight, Auntie Maggie and cousin Kris all came to town last week on a road trip. It was great having them, and showing them a couple of local highlights. The Gorge waterfalls were beautiful, even in the pouring rain. It is always nice to see them and take guests there. We also took the train to the first day of the Portland Rose Festival. It was still raining off and on, but we saw some music and rode some rides. Lucy is destined to be a daredevil and wanted to ride the adult rides. Alas, she was too small for several of the kiddy rides, much to her dismay. Tears occurred at being rejected. She did ride the carousel and wave to her fans, which was super fun for all of us. On the train ride home, we saw the fireworks over the river and it was a great ending to a jam-packed, memory filled day. It was great to have some Karr family here, thanks for coming!

She is really taking off verbally. When my Dad was here and teasing her, she said, "Grampy Dave funny!" It may seem simple, but her use of descriptive words was exciting to hear. She usually takes a while to warm up but then there is no stopping her. She loves to sing, Twinkle Twinkle, and other greatest hits. She can count into the teens.  Dance parties are still a favorite, and the other day when Marc asked what she wanted to do that day, she said 'concert." Yea! Today she got her first cut that really bled, and she was quite taken by it. I am sure that we will talk about it more in the days to come. :)

Our little hiker

Coloring Easter eggs with Stella

Bridal Veil Falls with Aunt Ronda

I was hoping she was asleep, but no!

Lucy and Evan

Silly Glasses!

Downtown Portland

The happy family!

Lucy loves her Auntie Tiffany!

Falls Creek Falls. This photo barely does its majesty justice.

Mommy's tulips, the only flowers in the yard Lucy isn't allowed to pick!

Nightgown!

Picnic time! Sunshine!

Our precious Lucy

In several of these photos you might see evidence of something that has been missing...the sunshine! While it still comes and goes (currently cloudy), we have had three days where it has hit 70 degrees. Yes, this is newsworthy, as this has been the coolest Spring on record up here. Lucy is a typical northwest kid, exclaiming "Bright!" whenever the sun hits her eyes. Then she asks for her sunglasses.  She loves her sunglasses, and keeps them on. It is the cutest thing.

Marc's Aunt Ronda came to visit in late April, and we all enjoyed seeing her. We took a hike to Bridal Veil Falls in the Columbia River Gorge. Lucy is quite the hiker. Last weekend we hiked out to Falls Creek Falls with our good friend Tiffany. It is on the Washington side of the river. It was amazing, the weather was gorgeous, and Lucy hiked a good part of the way. Earlier this week it was 70, so Lucy, Gracie and I hiked out to the Sandy river for a picnic. She walked most of the way...about 2 1/2 miles or so! She is my little hiker.

Lucy is growing bigger each day, and her vocabulary grows as well.  There are so many things that she can communicate with us now, and I love hearing her little voice. The other day we were working out in the garden, and she decided to spin around and around the yard with her arms out, singing ABCD HIJ NOW I KNOW MY ABCS. It was awesome! She even turned over an empty flower pot at one point to use as a drum.  She is still has her spunky moments, and it is nice being able to reason with her a little bit when she looses her temper. It doesn't always work, but such is the life of a two year old. She plays quite well independently, and loves to "pack" - putting books and toys into a bag. Her imaginative play is taking off and it is so fun to see.We love her oh-so-much and are so lucky to have her in our lives.

Happy Mother's Day!!!