The lads recently got zesty in their pal Marina’s back yard, furiously pulping a whole tree’s worth of oranges:
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Chalk-rockin’ Hen
Rolling up the driveway this week, I discovered a new bridge to cross. I’ll let the artist explain things from there:
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Flume of Doom!
On Sunday the guys & I lived it up at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. With the wholly unnecessary help of their goggles, they braved the daunting log flume with me. Check it out:
And here’s our splash down captured in ultra slow-mo:
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The Old Men & The Lake
Up in Tahoe I rang in the start of my 40’s just two days after our friend Hans started his 50’s. Just as last year we shared a cake, and this year Margot & the boys took the sting out of mortality by giving me “Benny’s Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP!!” from The Lego Movie—a loving throwback to the 80’s-vintage sets I had growing up. Amazingly (miraculously!) despite our cabin being darker than Carlsbad Caverns, we built the beast and got it home without losing any parts.
Here’s a handful of photos from the festivities—including impatient Henry realizing that yes, he will actually get to eat some cake 🙂 .
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Big Men on Campus
Q. Who’s got four thumbs and is (almost) ready for the first day of school?
A. Theeeese guys. 🙂
(For comparison: First day of first grade/kinder 2014; first day of kinder 2013)
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Spherical Tahoe
I like to go beyond what a simple photo can capture, so I really enjoy capturing 360º spherical panoramas of our travels. (The fam is nice to indulge me as I lag behind on hikes, etc. in order to make these.) To look around some of the Lake Tahoe-area sights we encountered last week, you can click and drag on any of the photos below, or—better still—you can click the “View on Google Maps” link on each one to view it much larger.
Stormy Skies
Sunset
Easy Sunday Morning
Fallen Leaf Dam
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The Twilight of My Thirties
Few people really want to age, but getting to spend the final sunset of my thirties with these chaps on the shores of Lake Tahoe—well, that wasn’t too bad. 🙂 Here’s a little gallery of the boys digging their giant earthworks project, returning a tiny clam to the water (Henry was quite sentimental about this), and “Ninja Warrior” Finn clamoring up the pier & leaping into the sand.
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Lords of the Paddleboards
Greetings from Lake Tahoe! Despite facing some unseasonably cool & blustery weather, we’ve been spending a good amount of time down by the lake. We’ve become paddleboard “lords” only in the most ironic sense, but it’s been fun zipping around the long, very shallow stretch in front of our cabin. Here are a few pics.
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Some excitin’ kitin’
We had a ball checking out Berkeley’s Kite Festival last weekend. The boys were especially intrigued by the enormous octopodes stretching their tentacles out more than 100 feet. Check out a little gallery of the proceedings.
Five years ago today we were riding the rails with Thomas!
And just two years before that, here’s what went wobbling its way through our kitchen. 🙂
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Of Krakens & Kites
Here are a couple of video glimpses of our fun, windblown day out at the Berkeley Kite Fest. (Click on either one to play it.) Pics to follow!
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Port of Call: San Diego
Having previously explored the USS Hornet, Iowa, and America, the boys were eager to see what the naval hub of San Diego had to offer. They weren’t in the least disappointed to scurry through not one but two submarines (the deep-diving recorder holder USS Dolphin as well as an old Soviet Foxtrot-class boat), the 100+-year-old ferry Berkeley (which helped rescue people after the San Francisco earthquake), the 19th-century Star of India (the world’s oldest active sailing ship), and finally the aircraft carrier USS Midway. Check out a gallery from the day out.
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Henry: 6; gift wrap: zero!
Our lad Henry marveling excitedly at the Birthday Lego set he has waited for!
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¡Enrique Seis!
Our Henry has hit another milestone – he is officially a 6-year old! He has been so excited to turn six, and we’ve been stretching the celebration out over the past two weeks. Last week, at Henry’s request, we took a family vacation to Legoland California as a special birthday treat. While there, we also visited San Diego’s Maritime Museum and the USS Midway aircraft carrier, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. At long last, Henry got to celebrate yesterday with singing and vanilla cupcakes, cards and gifts from cousins, grandparents, and our beloved Coco, and of course a new Lego City construction set from us.
Feliz Cumpleanos to our youngest, but no longer little, Henry!
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SD Zoo Crew, Part Deux
Having really enjoyed our 2013 visit to the San Diego Zoo, we were eager to check out the Safari Park some 30 miles north of town. Despite the 90-degree heat, the park didn’t disappoint, and the boys were delighted to see lions, tigers, and goats—oh my! Here’s a little gallery from the day.
Just a couple of mammals digging the San Diego Zoo Safari Park:
To the surprise of probably no one ever, we’ve had a ball exploring Legoland over the last few days. It’s great that Henry is now able to ride all the big-guy rides, and like MacArthur storming back into the Philippines, he boldly reclaimed the Lazy River that literally sank him two years ago. Highlights this year included the upgraded water park (where you can build & race Chima-themed boats), the giant Lego Death Star (see below), and the 3-million-brick basement set from The Lego Movie. Check it out!
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“Who did our lion eat today?”
Oh, probably just some little blonde kid from up north. 🙂 (Hi from Legoland!)
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Throwback Friday: Wigglin’ with cousins
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Throwback Thursday: Wigglin’ with Grandpa
Seven years ago in Leadville. 🙂
