We disembarked the Oosterdam in Seattle on Sunday morning, May 5, about 8:30 a.m. My daughter Kristin and her husband, Jamie, and baby Lucy, now 7 months, rented a van and drove from Bend, Oregon, to pick us up. They spent their first night in Portland, a 3 hour drive from home....Lucy's first road trip. We spent two weeks with all of them when Lucy was a week old, back in October. Goes without saying, she has changed!!! Those of you who are grandparents will understand this portion of our blog....those who are not.....skip it if you want or grin and bear it!!!
Can you guess which butt is which? Tom and Kristin are looking for Tom's cell phone before we take off....packing was a challenge, even with a van! We had 4 suitcases, they had 3, PLUS the baby paraphernalia.....Lucy was stuck in the way back cause she is used to sitting in the back with no one around her.
Where's Waldo.....where's Lucy???????
Check this grin!!! Our first stop was Rosie's Diner, about 1.5 hours out of Seattle....this is the first time that we REALLY get to see her....sitting across from her and drinking in each move!
Had to include a picture of Rosie who made a point of speaking to each of us (as she did to most of her clientele), making us feel welcome, giving us her life history and how she started in the restaurant business....and finishing off with the gift of a pen, complete with a flashlight...for each of us! The food was great, too!
All fed, full and frisky.....back on the road again.....for another 1.5 hours!
Our next stop was a campground....perfect for feeding Lucy, a stretch, a walk, some exploring.....WE ARE OUT OF THE CAR!!!
ESPECIALLY THE CAR SEAT!!!
Back in the car for our last 1.5 hours.......Mt. Hood, taken from the car, in all its splendor
Home to bath, jammies and BED!
Bend, Oregon, is a lovely town....and we have been lucky enough to be there twice....the fall and now the spring. Lucy is an "outdoor" girl!
Short people have a tough time reaching that top shelf!!
Lucy has two wonderful half brothers!!! This is Niko who is graduating high school in a few weeks and will be attending Montana St. He is a very accomplished skier and will be participating in the 37th annual "PPP" race in Bend.....pole, pedal, paddle....downhill skiing, Nordic skiing 8 km, cycling 22 miles, run 5 miles, kayak 1.5 mi, both up and down stream, finishing with a half mile sprint! The next day he travels to Portland to join his team for the State ultimate frisbee championship.
This is Ted who has already graduated high school and is currently in the Job Corps in central Oregon. He is in the Forestry program, planning to be a certified forest firefighter. We were lucky to see him this weekend. He has been at the camp 6 months and will have approximately another year of training. Lucy is lucky for now, but imagine these young men will side with her Dad when the "boys" start showing up at the front door!
"Schma" (yea, a very weird name!) is another member of this family....has been so since the family dog, Sadie, died.....there are those who believe that Sadie "sent" Schma. Schma walked in the yard about two weeks after Sadie died.....and has a very similar temperament.....i.e., laid back, loving and involved!
Kristin's good friend, Jenny, made this wall hanging for her for Mother's Day. Jamie and Kristin call each other "Doodle" (yea, I know, another weird name.....kinda runs in this family). Jenny's son, Asa, is 5 weeks older than Lucy. We are having a picnic along banks of the Deschutes river which flows through Bend.
Remember how nearly all babies love those filthy, dirty keys??? Guess what Asa has?....Lucy's Mommy's keys!!!!
"Wait, those are MINE!"
"Who says, peanut?"
"Ah, well....maybe next time". Asa is a BIG boy!!!.....we think she may lose many of these skirmishes along the way!
This is Julie and her daughter, Carley. These two girls are only 5 days apart! Kristin and Lucy are fortunate to have lots of new moms and babies with whom to play.
Jamie's new grill arrived while we were there....the accompanying instructions declared that one person could assemble it in 2 hours!!! So that would mean that Tom and Jamie could do it in ONE hour, right? THEY DID!!!!......in an hour and a half.
Many hours were spent in the neighborhood park....the neighborhood also has restaurants, cafes, a language institute for TODDLERS!, the schools from K-12.....Lucy will be able to walk to all of them!
Lucy has a "thing" about raising her leg while nursing, bottle or sippee......when nursing, it is her arm....has been since birth....now the leg.....perhaps a gymnast in the making!
There's just nothin' better than holdin' a smilin', happy baby!!!!!
The outdoor enthusiasts are at it again! Lucy doesn't like the Burley....so our ride was short-lived.
Needs no further description!!!
Some grandparent attention before we take off on a Mommy's Day outing...
We drove the short distance, 20 miles, to Sisters, Oregon, a popular tourist/retirement area. The streets were lined with craft stores, especially quilting.....Sisters hosts the largest outdoor quilt show in the world every July, displaying over 1,300 quilts. It is a non juried show, anyone can enter....and the quilts are sold first come, first served. Those in attendance on the ONE day each year outnumber the 2,000 residents!!!! Glad OUR day is not THAT day!
Following our stroll and ice cream, we went to the TINY Bend Distillery. Jamie introduced us to Hazelnut Espresso Vodka and Ginger Vodka.....delicious! He had purchased the bottles at a street fair. We decided to go to the source for tasting....another lovely day to be outside.
A very special Mother's Day for all three generations!
Our chefs get to work, preparing a Mother's Day feast....on the NEW grill! Tom and Jamie are experimenting with two new recipes: Bagna Cauda (warm bath in ancient Italian), a garlic/anchovy dip and a Lemon/Olive oil cake. They went to a cooking school presented by John Ash, a chef who was a pioneer in the farm to table movement. Jamie had met John some years ago and has followed his career.
Thanks, guys......delicious, even the grilled fennel!
Our final night and final rousing game of Rummikub! Thank you, Kristin and Jamie! We loved being with you......and Lucy.......and Niko........and Ted......and Schma!
These two pics are for Gabby and Grand T.....to remind us of that spittin' tongue smile!!!!!
