Benefit pic nic & BBQ

You know- there are some days- when you can't help but take photos of some stranger's kid because they are so stinking cute! Turned out not to be a stranger- thank goodness.... We were attending a benefit bbq yesterday on Lake Washington and the the day was perfection. Hmmm where do I really begin with all this.... oh yes- the bbq.

It was the friends of the Davidson Family fundraiser. The Davidson family has been dear friends and nieghbors of my husband's family for over 40 years- and I can say without fear of reprocussion- is a family that has had the worst decade of luck of most anyone I know. Mr. Davidson fell ill and passed away a few years ago, then they lost "Pistol Pete" (Peter) who was an almost constant companion and co-conspiritor with my husband in a lifetime of shenanigans. And then this summer- the elder brother Eric was involved in a bicycle vs drunk driver in a car crash.
He and his wife Anna-Carin were finishing their packing- they were moving back to her native Holland. They had just quit their jobs and were ready to leave. Eric hopped on his bike to zip down to the store and grab some thing for dinner and he was crashed into. He sustained massive head trauma and they are in for a very long haul of healing. Since they were parting the country- they had no insurance and no jobs to support the now massive medical bills.

So several of the Newport Hill gang from their classes got together and put this benefit- and yesterday alone they raised $3000! A great effort by the organizers, donors and attendees.

The food that everyone brought was outrageously good. The laughter and reminiscing was nothing short of a comedy. The weather- was perfection- not a cloud in the sky- not too hot and light breeze- it's the kind of weather that reminds me why I live here in the NW!