5 years ago...



Namir helped Matt propose to me at Sunset Cliffs.

Still missing Namir immensely but each day is getting better. Thankfully I have a lot of photos to help reminisce.

I really appreciate the well wishes and support from our friends and family.

Telling secrets

Namir and Lavi's first meeting

About a year later...

Matt in Nevada

Matt is now home from his latest field rotation in NE Nevada. He spent the last 3 weeks doing raptor surveys from a helicopter. He is now letting his butt recover from the terrible chopper seats, neither of which have any cushioning.



Here is Matt and two of his heli-partners, Ilya and Blythe.





This is a video of them flying through a beautiful canyon.



We are all glad to have him home now for good :)

Hot, sunny weekend

Not only did Matt come home this weekend but the sun was out and temperatures were in the 80s. Lavi and Namir found ways to deal with the heat...




We spent a lot of time in the backyard all together...






Here is Namir in his new favorite spot on top of Lavi's soft crate. He has a nice view of the many birds in the backyard.



Here's the two critters doing what they do...

Doggie Dash 2009

Lavi, Doug, Roxie and I headed to the waterfront along with 4,998 other folks and dogs to take part in this year's Doggie Dash.
Here is an exuberant Roxie and Doug crossing the street.


We also met up with Liza, Ray, Nathaniel and Wrigley.


Lavi and her buddies - Wrigley and Roxie.


We headed to the start of the walk. Lavi was ready to get going after her short meeting with "Blaze", the Portland Trailblazer's mascot. Lavi made it very clear that she is not a fan of character costumes and barked incessantly at him. Although she was frightened, it was quite funny -unfortunately no picture.


After the walk, we hung out a bit and waited for the "best dressed contest". An eager Lavi proudly wore her newly crafted strawberry costume. She enjoyed all the attention. She would have had more treats but some four-legged thief stole her bag of treats out of my sweater pocket during the walk!


Getting her on the stage was not a problem. She performed like a star under her alias- Laviberry!


Although the competition was tough, we believed she was at least in the top 3. But no, the top prize went to a guide dog and his buddies (sympathy factor?) followed by 2 gaudily dressed pooches. I guess Lavi didn't have enough "crap" on! Here is another non-winner.


Believe it or not, there was even a brave 14 year old Siamese cat amongst all these dogs. He and his owner have been coming to this event for the past 12 years. Yes, you can find all types of people in these parts...


Before we left, Roxie found love in an older, well-refined gentleman.




We had a great time at the dash and look forward to next year. Thanks again to all of you who made donations on our behalf...you helped many dogs and cats at the Oregon Humane Society who are still waiting for there forever homes.

Mother's Day gifts and cards

I had a lot of fun making these frames for my moms. The pictures are from our airboat trip in the Everglades.

This one is for my mother-in-law Kim.

I used Scenic Route patterened paper and other misc ribbon, buttons, flowers and Making Memories brads. I picked up the frames at Craft Warehouse on National Scrapbooking Day.


I created this one for my mom, Maxine.

The patterened paper is from Tinkering Ink, Basic Grey fibers, Prima flowers and dew drops from The Robin's Nest. I believe the metal flower is from Creative Imaginations (but I might be wrong, I have had it around for a while).

I also made cards for the mothers in our family.

These were created with Basic Grey Wisteria patterened paper and Bazzill cardstock. You probably can't tell in the picture but I added white flocking to the dragonflies....sooo soft. There are also Prima flowers, dew drops, May Arts rickrack ribbon and other misc embellishments.

Haley - oatmeal Labradoodle puppy

Say hello to Haley! She is a 9.5 week old Labradoodle puppy. She is Lavi's new sister...just kidding. She belongs to Colin and Linsay (Doug and Susan's cousins).


She was visiting Roxie for the first time.



She is a lil' cutie pututie.


Lavi meet her briefly and wasn't very interested. I don't think she wants a little sister... Unfortunately my camera battery died but she will see her again later.