Jamie & Adam come to visit...

Our Daughter Jamie Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

Adam & JamieClick on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

~A Smile to Brighten Our Living Room~
Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

Our 23 year old daughter, Jamie, and her boyfriend, Adam, are down from Lake Tahoe for a visit. Jamie and Adam met here in Big Bear when they were both working for the local ski resort.

Their love of snowboarding and the outdoors led to their moving to the Lake Tahoe area, where they get serious snowfall every year, and where, in the warmer months, they find plenty of places to hike, camp, and pursue Adam's other passion, fly-fishing.

Adam's best friend got married yesterday and they came to Big Bear be part of the wedding.

The pictures were taken yesterday morning in between breakfast, showers and getting ready for the wedding.

Jamie & Adam - Her 22nd Birthday

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We arrived at Jamie & Adam's place about 9:30 Saturday night in time to celebrate Jamie's 22nd Birthday. As you can see, they are both looking great and enjoying the big old house they just rented for the winter. That's Jamie's affectionate cat Ralph and Piper (the dog with the missing nose) is Adam's faithful fishing companion. He and Dallas made fast friends.

Adam & Jamie - Happy Easter!

Click on photo to enlarge - photo by Jamie Otterstrom

Our 21 year-old daughter Jamie lives near the shore of Lake Tahoe with her boyfriend Adam, where every spare winter moment is spent snowboarding.

Jamie and Adam are both outdoorsy nature-lovers who also enjoy hiking and camping, and Adam is an avid fly-fisherman.

They finally got an internet hook-up and sent us an e-mail today with photos for an Easter Sunday.

This is my favorite, Adam and Jamie at Donner Pass.

If you go into the Earth Home Garden archives, back to the 21st of October, 2005 (and scroll down from there), you'll find a brief photo-essay of Jamie's life.

postscript

Now maybe they'll even comment at the blog once in awhile...
;~)

Our Daughter Is 21

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#1
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMIE!

Jamie is 21 years old today and I've decided to post 21 pictures in tribute to her and the joy she's brought to our lives.

This photo is the first and I'll be posting 20 more throughout the day as I spend it thinking about this loving girl far away on the shores of Lake Tahoe.

Thank you Jamie...

We Love You!

The subsequent photos will be posted below this one in no chronological order.

New Tricycle Day

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#2
Jamies playful happiness...
...always contagious!

Early Reader?

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#4
Yeah right!
Always mugging for the camera, Jamie seems to be having difficulty keeping a straight face here.

And as you can see by the book, we were brainwashing her early on too.

I think this photo was taken at a shopping mall studio in Victorville.

August 1985

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#3
Jamie and her mother a couple of months before Jamies first birthday.

...and yes that's Peggy's natural hair color & curl.

Clowning With Angie By The Garden

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#5
Angie lived with her grandparents in the house right behind us and, until she moved away, was one of Jamie's best friends so here they are clowning around for me by the garden gate.

Studio Portrait

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#6
I really love this portrait, it so captures Jamie's direct, forward and exuberant personality.

Just look at that little rascal, I was in deep trouble and I knew it!

The portait was taken in the good old days of 1989, about the time Jamie started school, by our friend Richard Millener at his studio here in Big Bear.

Good job Richard & Jamie.

A Long Time Ago...

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#7
Jamie and a tired daddy relaxing on the couch in their PJs a long long time ago, March of 1985 to be exact.

Happy Halloween!

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#8
Jamie and her Cat O'Lantern some Halloweens back.

Becoming A Young Woman

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#9
Jamie was already becoming quite the young woman when this eighth grade school portrait was taken.

Into The Music

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#10
Jamie getting into piano at Grandma & Grandpa Griers house.

The Baby Shower

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#11
Here's Jamie at her baby shower, she couldn't see what was going on from inside the womb there, but we knew she was listening.

The shower was held at Mary & Barney's house (my aunt & uncle) here in Big Bear and the joyful occasion was enjoyed by all those present, including Jamie I presume, seeing how she received a truckload of gifts.

Sea Shell Necklace

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#12
Jamie on a camping trip to the beach sporting her new sea shell necklace that dad made from shells we collected that day. My tackle box supplied the line and attachments for stringing it.
We still have that necklace around here somewhere and to me it's now a family heirloom just like the leather keyfob you made me in pre-school that still adorns the keys in my pocket right now.

That's our tent and camper in the background.

Camping & Singing

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#13

Jamie and our friend Elizabeth working on songs to sing by the campfire during one of our camping trips to the Eastern Sierras.

Another Jamie

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#14
There is another side to Jamie that you won't see very often. This was the first time I can remember seeing her with this sad pensive expression, and I think she had a cold at the time, but the light that day, and her mood, caught my interest enough for me to take several pictures, and this was my favorite.
But it's still discomforting for me to see this sad beautiful face that I barely recognized.

Graduation Day

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#15
Jamie couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh or cry after her graduation from high school as you can tell from her puffy eyes. Then her friend Daniel brought her roses which cheered her right back up .

Brand New Friends

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#16
I've always loved this photo of these two innocent young colorblind girls in their matching pink sundresses.

Jamie's new friend was on vacation here for the weekend and their pink & white striped outfits were just a coincidence.

Her friend came to visit a couple of more times while they were growing up but it's been so long ago that I've forgotten her name.

Off To Kindergarten

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#17
There goes our baby, excited and scared, off to her first day of school.
At this point in my life I could write a book on my feelings about public education, and believe me, if I knew back then what I know now, my kids would have been educated much differently.

One of the great regrets of my life is sending my kids to public school.

I'm sorry...

...and I think the photo is blurry because I get teary-eyed looking at it.