I've been tagged...

Beka tagged me a few days ago, and since then I have been diligently scouring my brain, trying to come up with seven things about myself that would be even remotely interesting for anyone else to know. So, brace yourself, because here they are, in no particular order:

1. I always make my bed before I exit my bedroom in the morning. This quirk comes from my childhood, when making our beds every day, without fail, was the law of the land for me and my siblings. And, just this week I read in a magazine that if you make your bed, then your bedroom is 80% "clean." Who knew?

2. Given a choice of about a million things to do, I would probably always choose reading. I read a book or two every week. As one of my favorite poets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, wrote, "No man can be called friendless who has God and the companionship of good books."

3. I am a planner and an organizer by nature. I sometimes really wish I was more spontaneous, but I just always feel so much more relaxed - say, on a vacation - when I know where we are going, where we are going to spend the night, what the itinerary will be, etc. I've read that this trait probably comes from being the oldest of the six children in my family. You've heard those traits of oldest kids: responsible, compliant, pleaser, organizer, worrier, avoids trouble, and probably see things more black and white than younger siblings might. I pretty much fit that mold.

4. I am crazy-in-love with my husband. 'Nuff said.

5. I love babies - that's probably why I had five of them. It is an amazing thing to partner together with God to create, birth, and nurture life. Being a wife and a mom have been my highest calling. I have been far from a perfect parent, and to the degree that my children are "successful" in life, I can only give grateful credit to God for His grace and faithfulness.

6. After a lifetime aversion to gardening (I've never liked getting dirt under my fingernails), I have found that I really enjoy planting things, watering them, and even weeding, providing I'm wearing my trusty gardening gloves.

7. I had my first-ever pedicure of my 56-year-old life only last month. When we were in Colorado seeing our kids there, our daughter-in-law Nikki treated me to a pedicure. The woman who gave me the treatment could hardly believe it was a first for me. And oh, was it lovely! I think I could get used to having one on a regular basis!

So, there you have it. YOU CAN WAKE UP NOW!!! I think everyone I know has been tagged already. But feel free to tag yourself if you wish!

Am I an idiot? (wait, don't answer that)

Call me crazy, but I'm now an official participant in the Portland Marathon, which will be on October 5th. Have I ever done a marathon before? Nope. Am I totally in shape for this? Nope - not even close. Will I run my heart out? Nope - actually, I'll be walking, not running (I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid). And why, you may ask, might a 56-year-old woman do such a thing? Because of love, pure and simple. Jake and Beka are in the process of adopting a baby from Ethiopia, and some of the many people who love them are participating in the marathon to support and encourage them and to help them raise funds to cover the adoption expenses. To prepare, I am walking my usual four miles every morning, and will walk longer distances over the next month. My goal is simply to finish the course. Period. I LOVE YOU, BABY DORR!

In loving memory of my Aunt Nancy Palmer

On Wednesday, I flew to Santa Barbara, California, to attend the memorial service for my dear Aunt Nancy. By way of background - in my mom's family, there were three children: Mom, her twin sister Diane (aka "Mikie", and their younger brother Hank. Nancy was my late Uncle Hank's beloved wife. She herself was the mother of seven amazing children, and it was a joy to be with them and with many other family members these past few days.
This is one of the last pictures taken of Aunt Nancy before she passed away. She is surrounded by all seven of her children, who of course are my cousins. From left to right: John, Hank, Kim, Aunt Nancy, Jana, Scott, Jeannie, and Brett.
First: when I arrived in Santa Barbara, Mom picked me up at the airport and took me by her former home. She has been trying to sell it for many months, and - finally - it has sold. She took me through it so I could see it one last time before the new owners move in next week. This is the home all our kids have grown up visiting, so it's kind of sad to see it sell, but Mom is very excited to embark on her new home-building venture, so I am, of course, excited for her!
The SOLD sign had just been put on the realty sign - Mom was ecstatic about it!
We then drove by the "new" house - but look quick, because it has a date with a bulldozer. After this house is removed, Mom will build her new home on this lot. I went through this house, too, and believe me, it's only fit for a bulldozer!
On Thursday morning, we all gathered for the memorial service. I don't have pictures from inside the chapel, as it was a very small, private service. The picture above was taken at the graveside service afterwards. My cousin Scott, Aunt Nancy's fifth child and a deacon in the Catholic Church, officiated at both the memorial service and the graveside service. He did a very nice job.
At the conclusion of the graveside service, the urn was placed in the ground, and various family members put shovelfuls of dirt in the grave. Here, Mom and Aunt Mikie take their turn. Of course, being twins, they said they had to put in two scoops!

One huge cause for rejoicing was that all six "Olson kids" attended the service. What a delight it was to be able to visit with ALL my brothers and sisters! Here we all are at the cemetery. From left: Chuck, John, Willa, Doug, me, and Andrea.
And Mom was thrilled to have all of her chickens come home to roost. Here she gets in the picture.
Mom and Aunt Mikie love to dress alike, and the memorial service was no exception. Mom is on the right.
After the service and the lunch which followed, we went to Goleta Beach for an Olson gathering. I was so happy to meet my grand-niece for the first time. Cecilia is the daughter of my nephew Stefan and his wife Jen. I brought a doll for her, and my sister Andi brought a doll stroller. Cecilia caught on right away to the idea of pushing her new doll in the stroller. It was so fun!
Here my brother-in-law, Mark, who is Cecilia's grandpa, helps her get the hang of it. Before long, though, she was pushing it around all by herself. It was such a great time with my immediate and extended family. I'm very glad to be home, but I have wonderful memories to feast on for days and weeks to come.

DFC3 is history, part 3 - the hike(s)!

Next on our family campout agenda came the infamous Mt. St. Helens hike. After our picnic lunch, we took a hike to a viewpoint where one could see Spirit Lake. This little 2-mile trek (in each direction) was a harrowing walk along a very skinny trail, with an upwards-cliff on one side, and a downwards-cliff on the other. The drop-off was several THOUSAND feet. Beka led the way along the scariest part - mostly, I think, because she wanted to get it over with! At the viewpoint, Jake just scampered out to the outermost spot, with a goal of scaring his mother to her very DEATH! Mark led me out a little way at that lookout point, and that was as far as I could (or would) go.
Sarah and Chris look as handsome and beautiful as ever - and not a bit scared.
A look at the skinny trail - what were we thinking??? We are crazy.
This is the view of the lake. I'm glad it was beautiful, since we risked our very lives to see it.
Sarah and Chris at the viewpoint.
My beautiful baby Hannah.
I'll admit it - this is the awful picture of me actually shedding a tear when Jake ran to the edge of the precipice.
Sarah and Chris back on the safe side of the mountain.
Mark and Hannah rest for a bit.
The daring Jake and his brave wife Beka.
At this point on our hike, Hannah was leading the pack.
Hannah at the viewpoint.
The next day, we started out by hiking (again), this time to the top of Beacon Rock, which is along the Columbia River on the Washington side. Here is a view on the way up.
At one point, I asked Sarah and Chris, who had hiked this rock before, just how much further it was to the top. "Oh, I'd say we're about halfway there," was her cherry response. GROAN. Just look at all those switchback trails yet ahead.
A photo op along the way.
Sarah at the top. Beautiful, no? (both Sarah and the view, that is)
A look at the Columbia Gorge in the other direction - east, this time.
After surviving yet another hike, we headed to Bonneville Dam, where we first toured the visitor's center on the Washington side (boo - old and outdated), then on the Oregon side (yeah - well done).
Just a little reminder from George to wear your life jackets.
Many fish at the hatchery on the Oregon side.
A big, bad, very old sturgeon - Herman, I think.
In the foreground is a new generator (or is it a turbine?) that is being installed at the dam.
And, since we were just longing to go on yet another hike, we walked to Wahclella Falls, which is just east of Multnomah Falls.
It was a powerful falls, and very, very pretty.
Beka and her mother-in-law!
That evening, we concluded the third annual Dorr Family Campout by eating out at Dalo's Kitchen, famous for its Ethiopian food. In honor of Baby Dorr's upcoming adoption, we enjoyed authentic dishes from Ethiopia. Yummy! The large bread in the middle of the table, called injera, was especially good.
Mark's eyes were watering and he broke a sweat eating one of his spicier dishes.
And Jake was chowing down so fast that he was just a fuzzy blur. All in all, a wonderful three days with the best people I know - our FAMILY! Can't wait until DFC4 next year.

A little, green, Sunday morning reminder

I know I'm in the middle of blogging about our family campout, but when I came downstairs this beautiful Sunday morning, I found this little guy (gal?) on the drapes in our dining room. Just a sweet reminder from a praying mantis that today is the day of the Lord. Praise Him! (The Lord, that is, not the praying mantis, although I think he's really cute!)

DFC3 is history, part 2 - aka: we like to eat...

So, the Dorrs rarely go hungry when we are together - or at any other time, for that matter. And DFC3 was no exception. These pictures - some less than flattering - were taken at Mt. St. Helens, when we took time to eat a picnic lunch, tailgate-style.







Next - the harrowing hike! Stay tuned.

DFC3 is history, Part 1

This past weekend we gathered as a family for our third annual Dorr Family Campout, aka DFC3. It was a great time of being together and doing some local stuff in the Portland/Vancouver area. Our home base was Beka's parents' condo in Vancouver, which they graciously vacated for our use. So... calling our gathering a "campout" is somewhat of an exaggeration - it's hardly camping when you have TV, microwave, internet, hot showers, and all the modern conveniences. But we're not complaining - we loved it!
We began the day on Saturday with a visit to the Portland Saturday Market. Sarah has some great pictures on her blog (link at right) from our time there. Then we walked from there to Powell's bookstore, where Mark found an old Civil War book he's been wanting since his recent educator's tour back east. Following that, we headed to Nick's Famous Coney Island Restaurant for lunch. The hot dogs were amazing! Go there!
That evening, since it was Mark's birthday, we ate dinner at the Rheinlander German Restaurant. Again, wonderful food, but the entertainment was even better. We had requested a certain waiter for our table, the same one we'd had when we were there for our anniversary in June. His name is Hootan (sp?), and we found out that it was his last night on the job. He made sure we had a great time.
Sarah and Mark doing the "chicken dance" to the accompaniment of an accordion.
Hootan joins in.
Our accordion player had just turned 17 years old. She was quite good, and made it fun for everyone.
Happy Birthday, dear Mark!
Another shot of our waiter, accordion player, and her sister, who is another employee and a great singer.
At the end of the evening, one of the waitresses got down on bended knee and sang a German birthday song to Mark.
She then fed him a bite of cake. The cake, by the way, was a gift to us from the party at the other table in our room. They were celebrating two birthdays that night, and had lots of cake to share. An unexpected bonus!Soon I'll post more about our weekend. It was such a great time!