Jerry, Alison, & Nellie

"Let's get dizzy!" "More, daddy. Do it again!"

Big Sister Amara

When Nellie was four days old, Dexter, Sharon & Amara travelled from Tacoma to welcome her to the world.  It was during this visit Amara promised to be Nellie's "Big Sister."  Posted at left is the picture of Amara making this promise.

This last week, Amara stayed with us a few nights while her parents attended a conference in Salem.  It was a delight to have "Mara, Nellie's Big Sister" for an extended stay.  She is a lovely big sister!  Nellie thoroughly enjoyed having Amara stay at our home.  She was constantly interested in what Amara was doing and what she was wearing.  Amara was a patient and loving big sister! 

Amara brought with her an ipod pillow that plays your ipod while you rest your head.  "Mara's special pillow" left quite an impression on Nellie.  Initially, it was "scary."  Then, "pink and soft."  Finally, "Mara's special pillow."  In the evening when I put Nellie in her crib to sleep, she picked up her pillow and said, "No music.  Where's music?"  We checked many, many pillows, but only Amara's played music.  Amara left on Saturday - Nellie talks about the pillow everyday.

We made sure to treat Amara while she visited us - ice cream, shopping, and movies.  I highly recommend "Delicious Dirt" as ordered by Amara at Coldstone Creamery.  She and I also recommend Wall-E.   

We loved having Amara in our home.  She truly is Nellie's Big Sister and we are thankful for the love she (and her parents) extends to us. (You ask, "So where are the pics of Amara and Nellie?"  Big Sister took the photos! I'll update when she sends them my way.)   

Blueberries!

I love blueberries.  I can not get enough of blueberries.  I can cause myself damage and still not get enough of blueberries.  Addiction?

We were fortunate to have found a source in Tuscaloosa at our local CSA.  Many warm, humid late afternoons and early evenings were spent picking organic blueberries from bushes so tall that ladders were required.  Thanks to my Aunt Karen, we found an Oregon source for blueberries at a farm in Corvallis called Anderson's. 

She advised we call in our order and specify the type of variety she deems best.  So...two weeks ago I ordered 75lbs of "Blue Crop" and recently met Aunt Karen at Anderson's to pick them up.  I am guessing 73lbs made it home and I was probably a driving hazard as I stuffed myself on the drive.  These are some fine, tasty berries.

 

      

Jerry helped unload my blueberry haul from the car to the kitchen.  Nellie promptly devoured three bowls and she has been done with blueberries since.

I wish I could say the same for myself.  I did manage some self-control - approximately 70lbs were bagged and frozen for a taste of blueberries bliss after the season ends.  I have to say...I don't think it is going to be enough and Jerry is encouraging me to call-in another order.  Dialing as I blog.   

Our Camping Adventure

Vicky.  Denese.  And now Rylie.  We have been fortunate and blessed to have met these wonderful, loving women who have been willing to share their talent and daily lives with us as they help us care for Nellie during our working day.  Each has arrived at the right time in Nellie's life.  Vicky shared her experience and expertise in infant care.  Denese taught us all how to sign and provided "toddler phrases" we use everyday.  Rylie's enthusiasm for art and her energy for capturing Nellie's imagination is the most recent of gifts.  What follows is the best example....

Friday I returned from work to a very excited Nellie who ran towards me shouting, "Mommy, camping!  Camping!"  During Nellie's lengthy afternoon nap, Rylie transformed a corner of the room into a camp site.

The background includes a moonlit sky with stars, mountains, and trees.  There is a fire for roasting marshmallows, a picnic table set for two, and a bamboo fishing pole.  A scene ready for camping play!

Nellie knew exactly what to do with the marshmallow as we have read this in stories  about Rocky's camping fun for his birthday and Curious George's big camping adventure.  On DVD, Clifford even gets in on marshmallow fun during a camping trip with Emily Elizabeth and her friends.  Nellie was a bit less enthusiastic when I asked her to pose.

    

   

Among her favorite camping activities is to insist that Daddy and Mommy each have a turn inside of the tent.  I am pleased to report both of us are able to successfully achieve this maneuver without injury or breaking the tent.  The picture at left is a cry/smile Nellie managed as she realized Daddy in the tent is a crowded tent.  Most often Jerry and I end up half in the tent so we can read books with Nellie  - cozy, but not crowded.

 

For our last weekend adventure, we left our campsite for a playdate with Olivia.  Olivia has a play structure just like Lucy's!  Olivia was very eager to show Nellie the new house and how things work - doorbell, phone, mailbox, doors, windows, sink.  A very nice respite from camping!   

Track Town, USA: Where people get fired for being .03 seconds late

First, let's begin with an analogy: Football is to Tuscaloosa, AL as Track & Field is to Eugene, OR.  UO's Hayward Field is the track where Bill Bowerman experimented with shoes that would evolve into Nikes, where Prefontaine shattered long distance records, where the team motto is "The Hardest Team to Make," and where over 21,000 people gathered on Sunday to watch the last day of the 2008 Olympic Trials. 

Our Eugene 08 experience began on Thursday, July 3rd.  Nellie, Jerry, and I escorted Dad and Barb to Hayward Field and we shared dinner before they entered the track stadium to watch the evening's events.  They returned late in the evening to report their favorite highlights which included women's pole vaulting, men's high jump, 400m men's and women's finals, and the women's 1500m quarterfinals.

On July 4th, our long-time friends Dexter, Sharon, and Amara Gordon (now residing in Tacoma via Tuscaloosa) joined us for the weekend to attend the Trials July 4, 5, and 6.  Amara (now 11!!) and I sat together while her parents were in the next section.  Jerry and Nellie joined us for part of the day on Saturday.  When asked about what she saw that day, Nellie says, "Kids running.  Big TV's."  The jumbo-trons were pixel clear and collosal - they were impressive.  Most impressive were our seats - we were located on the back stretch in front of the 200m start line and the pole vault pits.  (Thank you, thank you Jerry!)  

Just as there is nothing like the experience of watching Alabama football in Bryant Stadium, being part of the Hayward crowd for a track meet is an amazing experience.  There were many, MANY moments and stories surrounding the events and athletes we watched, but here is a Top 10 list of our favorite highlights...

10.  Seeing Jerry at a stadium athletic event and enjoying himself.  (For you skeptics...I'm working on posting a picture for proof.)

9.  The women's 1500m semi-final when Jordan Hasay, age 16 (!!), won the crowd as she ran down her elders for a time of 4:14:50 to set a a national high school record.  She earned a spot in the finals.

8.  The men's 10,000m final...Abdi Abirahaman beats Oregon's Galen Rupp.  I never expected a 25 lap race would be so exciting.

7.  The Eugene July 4th fireworks that began during the last few laps of the men's 10,000m finals.

6.  The men's high jump final that concluded with a jump-off for the third spot on the Beijing team.  I am still sorting through the rules as to why this jump-off was necessary.

5.  The women's 100m hurdles as Lolo Jones runs the race in 12.29 seconds - the fastest in the world thus far this year.

4.  The men's 200m quarterfinal - Tyson Gay goes down with a reported cramp.  However, the stands buzzed with reports that there is something more to his injury.  We likely will not know until he competes in the 100m in Beijing.

3.  Binoculars.  On the second day of the weekend, we brought binoculars to see events that were across the track.  They are also useful for spotting friends in the crowd!  I located Joanna and her mom who were sitting in the sweetest of seats - Row 3 between the 4th and 5th hurdle in the final stretch.  I spotted a WU friend - Mark Hanken - who was lining up athletes for the Special Olympic races that were held on July 5.  And Dexter won a pair of binoculars just outside of the stadium in a vendor's booth. 

2.  The women's 200m was stacked with amazing talent...Allyson Felix, Muna Lee, Lauryn Williams, Marshevet Hooker...all athletes I have seen on television and here they were in the starting blocks nine rows below our seats.

1.  The last race of the meet was the 1500m men's final and was billed as the race of the meet.  Bernard Lagat (also the winner of the 5000m and the only double winner in the meet), Leonel Manzano, and Lopez Lomong made the team in an oustanding race.  So while they were running, pole vaulter Jenn Stuczynski took a run at an American record and was successful.  The crowd was screaming - it was a beautiful, overloaded moment.  With the conclusion of the 1500m and no other events scheduled, you might expect the crowd to start leaving.  But everyone stayed because Stuczynski opted to go for a world record.  The entire stadium (21,000 plus people) began a cadence clap and she made two fantastic attempts - but chose to wait until Beijing to make it happen.  And that is how the meet ended.  With that moment - I think I understood why Hayward Field is such an amazing place.  These fans are informed, serious, and addicted.  I'm completely hooked.

The trials return to Eugene in 2012.  In the meantime, I am going wear my new t-shirt while attending UO meets, the Prefontaine Classic, the 2009 and 2011 USATF National/World Championship Trials.  We're going to make Jerry a track fan and perhaps inspire Nellie to run, jump, and/or throw.  Please - come join me!!

 

 

Oopsie-daisy...

Occasionally instead of "uh-oh,"  Nellie will say "Oopsie Daisy."  So these pics Sharon snapped of Nellie on a walk are perfect. 

Jerry and I agree - these two shots of our summer girl are fabulous.