'Dakota Love Amador', June 1995- 11/5/11

 After 16 1/2 years of good living, Dakota died in my arms surrounded by Scott, Oscar, and Lucia on 11/5/11.  She has been with me since 2nd year of medical school, a year before Scott and I started dating.  She has been on countless adventures with us!

One of the funniest things about her was the 'competitive drive' that she had at a couple of dog jogs we did.  The first one was a one mile race.  When the race started, she took off like a rocket, hauling me the whole way.  We ended up coming in 2nd place, running a 6:30 minute mile, I'm sure the fastest mile I've ever run.

Notice that it looks like there is only one paw on the ground

Then we did a 2 mile run with a much bigger crowd.  When the race started, she took off like a bat out of hell again.  I'm running fast trying to keep up with her.  Someone cuts in front of me and I trip of their leash and go flying into the air and the leash goes flying out of my hand.  Dakota is still running, clueless that I'm not holding the leash.  I get up and start sprinting to catch up to her.  It's crowded and people all around me are yelling 'STOP THAT DOG!!'  Finally, she realizes I'm not there and she slows down and waits for me.  I will forever laugh out loud thinking about all those people yelling 'STOP THAT DOG!' to a 25 pound dog with very short legs!

Bryce, of course, was her best buddy.  She wasn't so fond of him at first.  But, she was the matriarch and he quickly obliged.  I feel sure they are still spiritually connected. She graciously welcomed 4 pets and 2 babies into our constantly evolving lives. 

At our house in WV, shortly after Bryce joined our family.

A young Cusco cuddling with D

Hiking at Mary's Peak, awaiting Lucia's birth

Hiking at Oak Cree, awaiting Oscar's birth

Dakota and Bryce were at our wedding in West Virginia.  Of course, they were bathed and groomed for the big day.  Sometime at the beginning of the ceremony, Dakota caught some deer scent and we could all hear her yelping in the far distance.  She was gone until the food came afterwards and when she returned, she was caked in mud and dirt, exhausted!

Dakota joined us countless adventures. 

Backpacking somewhere in GA or NC

Backpacking in upstate NY

Climbing at Owen's River Gorge

Those van trips were plush before the babies!

She cross country skied with us for miles and miles!  I'll never forget Kathleen laughing hysterically the first time we put her in a backpack.

Hiking to the summit of Mt Mitchell, highest pt in NC.  Those little legs could go!

When life was too busy for adventures, she spent time with my Mom who gave her a ton of lovin'!

Although it was inevitable, the decision to put her to sleep was hard.  Her mind and personality were ever present.  Despite her failing body, she would still look at me with those perky ears as if she wanted to go for a walk and she would still somehow muster up the energy and strength to get into the kitchen when she new the little humans were dropping their crumbs.  We gave her lots of warm baths together those last few days. 

It was so hard that morning holding her and knowing that she wasn't coming back and letting her sniff Bryce one last time. 

Last kisses

We miss her!  Now I just wish I had given her some more love these last few years, so busy with parenting.  And I wish I could hold her again one last time, enveloping her with complete love and security as she surrendered and drifted away.  Rest in peace, D!

10th Annual September adventure, Part 1

September 1st is our anniversary, this year marks 10 years!  When we got married, we decided to take a trip together every year rather than exchange gifts.  We have done some awesome, memorable trips!  This year we went on a camping trip as a family for 10 days as the first part of our adventure. 

As was recommended by many friends, we started at Waldo Lake.  And wow!!!  Why have we never been there?  The place is beautiful with miles, and miles, and miles of trails.  We trail ran, mountain biked, hiked, and played in the lake.  It was absolutely lovely. 

Oscar was not so in to the 'timed shot' here. 

We very reluctantly left Waldo after a few days but only to meet some very good friends at another campground outside of Sisters.  It was a nice but short time and the kids had a great time playing for the short time we were together.

The van, of course, was a big hit!
From here, we went to Three Creeks Lake for a few days.  We actually stayed at the Meadow instead of the Lake, because it was full and it actually ended up being the preferred choice!  Lovely campsite with lots of playing room.  Short hike to the lake.  I ran/hiked up to Tam Macarthur Rim, a peak with excellent views without too much work!

We also rented a boat to try to take a nice stroll on the lake.  Something about being on the lake made Oscar into a total wild man!  You couldn't get me off that boat fast enough.  So Scott and Lucia got to take the nice ride on the lake.  Whew!

He looked pretty cute in the lifejacket though!
From this campground, we weren't sure exactly where we were going.  We went to the base of South Sister and thought briefly that we would stay there until the mosquitoes started munching on us.  So we took a couple of shots and got the hell out of dodge!

Before we left the area, we also got to see our friend, Lucia's first nanny, who we adore, Gypsy!!

Gypsy and Rick had just returned from a one year adventure of their own in Turkey. 
So we decided that we would go back to Waldo because we loved it so much!  This time, now later in September, a much less crowded Waldo and just as gorgeous as ever.  Scott got to ride around the lake and do some other mountain bike ride.  I went on a trail run that was lovely, but missed a turn, so 8 miles turned into about 12! 

We played in the lake and we drank some hot chocolate.  I think the kids are pretty hooked on this camping thing.  

 On the way home, we hiked up Fuji Mountain.  A great short hike that takes you up to a peak with panoramic views.  Also a great hike (from this approach) for taking young kids.  They started out hiking but quickly hopped onto our backs as the trail got steeper.  We got a good work out on this one!

What another great trip!  Can't say it enough-- we live in a fabulous place!

Camping at Clear Lake

We went on a short 3 day camping trip to Clear Lake near the McKenzie River Trail.  The campground was called 'Cold Water Campground.' It turned out to be a lovely place with a spectacular lake and it was really clear!!  Lucia and Oscar did some off-piste riding on the balance bike and tot bike.  Pretty cute.  Relaxing with some trail running and mountain biking mixed in.  We dropped Scott off at the top of the McKenzie River Trail and picked him up at the bottom.  It was quite a 20 mile adventure for him.  We also did the waterfall hike to Sahalie Falls and Koosah Falls.  The waterfall hike was a loop where we got views of the falls from both sides of the river.  A great kids hike, meaning do-able with them on your back.  They hiked some too but the whole loop was about 4 miles, I think.  We, unfortunately, lost all of our pics from this trip but we have some funny video of the kids enjoying the campground.

http://vimeo.com/31319522

Benton County Fair

I would have never gone to the fair before kids but now it's a total blast!  One of the many things that are so fun now that didn't seem so fun before.  Lucia was so excited to ride the rides.  Of course, she was even more excited to ride them with her buddies, McKenna & Agoesh.  Of course, on that first go around of the roller coaster, the look of fear on Lucia's face made me feel sure that she was going to get off stat, but she found the fun in it and carried on!

Little Acorns Class at Corvallis Waldorf School

For quite some time now, Lucia, and Oscar and I have been going to the Corvallis Waldorf School's Little Acorns class which is a lovely parent- child class for toddlers and preschool age kids.  It's once a week for a couple of hours.  A gathering of several parent-child dyads (or more, depending on bro/sis involvement).  This summer, we had our class outdoors and it was quite fun.  Each week began with a walk to a lovely spot in the forest on the campus.  The children could pick a basket and fill it with treasures and maybe even some dandelion greens to give to the chickens at the end of the morning.

Once we arrived to our lovely spot, we sat together in an opening circle with a welcome song.  Oscar and Lucia always enjoyed receiving a lavender-infused warm washcloth for their hands and face.
After that, we all sat together to eat a healthy, snack.

After snack, there was always an activity/craft that mostly the parents worked on but the children could definitely help too.  This week we wet felted covers around bars of soap which turned into a decorative, longlasting bar of soap.  It was quick, fun, and the kids could participate in many of the steps!

These were our lovely final products!

After the activity, there was always a lovely, Waldorf style performance by our wonderful teacher, Mrs. Henry.  My favorite part and always inspired me to infuse more magic and wonder into all of our days.

 Then it was closing circle time and off to feed the chickens...

I would highly recommend this class.  There's nothing better than just spending time together with these little humans.  And on top of that, learning some nice crafts, songs and meeting lovely families. 

The not so lazy days of summer....Oregon Coast 2011

I am finding myself way behind on everything except for playing with my kids.  It is an awesome feeling.  This summer has been so awesome with both of them in a place of total joy, especially with these great summer days.  We went to the coast with a friend, Kristen and her two kids, McKenna and Kellen, who happen to be the same age as ours.  We left the men at home.  We found this awesome house that was just the right size, a short walk to the beach and just outside of Yachats.  It came equiped with fun toys too!  The kids had an absolute blast and they did GREAT!! 

At some point during the trip, Oscar decided that he was in love with Kellen and who could blame him really, with those beautiful blue eyes!  Here's our attempt at getting a picture of the 4 of them. 

Here's Oscar trying to hug Kellen again and Kellen is starting to wonder what the deal is.  So we shuffled them around to see we could distract Oscar away from his attraction. 

Oscar said, "No way dude, let me at him!"

What about the Oregon coast weather that weekend?  Well, the first day was overcast but very pleasant and then it gradually became the most beautiful and warm weather I've ever seen on the coast with little to now wind.  WOW!

For those of you who are interested, the house we stayed at was 'Wren's Nest' outside of Yachats.