Sunday lunch

Fire Safety Week

Miss Vicki could be one of the most creative, resourceful people ever.

Enter bread, jelly, Oreos, pretzels, and Swedish Fish and you've got an edible fire truck.

Traveling West

All of us were traveling last week; some further than others.  As part of my Christmas gift last year from Mom and Dad, I received an all-expenses paid trip to California to visit Mark, which also included childcare.  As an added bonus, Mark and I were also able to stay at Yosemite National Park, a hop, skip and a jump beyond the fertile San Joaquin Valley just four hours away.

I arrived Friday morning with plenty of time for the two of us to explore downtown Menlo Park and visit a couple of Mark and Meredith's favorite stores.  The afternoon included a bike ride over to one of my all-time favorite campuses, Stanford, to work out.  That evening, M & M surprised me with tickets to the San Fransisco Symphony to see 91 year old Ravi Shankar, likely one of his last performances in the US.  It was an amazing evening and I felt really lucky to see a person perform who helped shape The Beatles and their own musical development.  (Shankar, interestingly, is Norah Jones' father.)

Saturday morning, after a lovely California-style breakfast (M & M love, love, love breakfast), we headed out in our rental car to Yosemite.  It was wonderful to not be on a schedule and take our time getting there.  We stopped along the way to look at the almond groves; I picked a handful for Kari to take to her classroom's science table.  But by the time we started entering the mountains, this city girl just wasn't prepared, nor confident enough, to drive the winding cliffside 2-lane roads.  Fortunately, Mark gladly took over and drove the rest of the time we were in the park.  It was just too much for me.

Happy to hand over the reins to Mark.

Yosemite is just shy of 800,000 acres.  Reflecting back, being in the park made me realize, one, how b-i-g the world really is and, two, how s-m-a-l-l I felt being in this massive reserve.  Our first full day we hiked up the Mist trail to see Vernal Falls and further onto the even more impressive Nevada Falls.  While we were hiking, the Chicago Marathon was in full swing.  Even though I wasn't running, I was doing my own sort of vertical marathon.  I knew the altitude would get to me in a hurry.  We rested and had an easy trail-type lunch at Vernal before hiking UP another 1500 feet or so.  I was glad I pushed myself to do so.  Nevada Falls was nothing short of spectacular.  Once we reached the top it suddenly opened up and there were massive spans of flat granite rock.  I felt like I was on top of the world.  It was peaceful.  I saw one woman meditating on a rock jutting out over the falls.

  

 

 

I have no idea what I'm in for.

 

 Giving Mark the bird.

 Not sure I'll make it to Vernal Falls.

 Vermal Falls.  Totally worth it.

 Lunch at Vernal.  Liberty Cap in background.

 

 We made it!  Nevada Falls.

The hike down the John Muir Trail was nothing short of bliss. Blissful walking down.  Blissful breathing at a normal rate.  Blissful being out of the hot, beating sun.  At the end of the day, Mark calculated that we had hiked eight miles round trip.  I could barely stay awake to eat my dinner that night in the cafeteria.  I think I was in bed and asleep by 9:00.

The next day we had a decision to make: hike Yosemite Falls or drive to Glacier Point.  We settled on the hour-long (!) drive for the breath-taking panoramic views of the Valley Floor, The Ahwahnee Hotel, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Vernal and Nevada Falls, Liberty Cap and Clouds' Rest.

 

L to R: Half Dome, Liberty Cap, Vernal Falls, Nevada Falls.

 

We hiked that!?!!!!

 

From Glacier Point we took an easy hike to Illiouette Falls via the Panorama Trail, which ultimately leads back to the John Muir Trail we had hiked the day before.  Different from the day before, we started at the top and walked down.  Which meant that the walk back (this was an out-and-back) would be up.  We were up high enough to be at the snow line!  The main thing I noticed on this hike, but also throughout most of the time in the park was that it seemed that almost every square inch of the park had forest fire scarring.  Some of the fire damage was more recent than in other areas; but the hard part to wrap my mind around is that it's considered healthy, when in a controlled manner.

Snowball fight!

It was chilly, beyond 5,000 feet chilly, and eventually started to rain.  We pressed on and I'm glad we did to see the Illiouette.  We had another trail lunch overlooking the falls.  I took my time on this trail picking up many different species of acorns, pine cones and leaves for Kari. 

So much of the time I thought of Kari and saw much of the park through the eyes of a four year old.  I was drawn to stop, touch, investigate, smell and feel almost every living and non-living thing along the trails.  Mark was patient and served as my partner in crime filling up his back pack, too, with treasures from the park trails.  (I'm guessing that it's either against the law or at the very least frowned upon to remove plant life from the park.)

Our last day in the park we decided to take it easy and head over to the beautiful Ahwahnee Hotel for breakfast.  Divine!  And then even more divine was relaxing, reading the paper and a book in front of one of the giant fireplaces.  These fireplaces were big enough to stand in!  A little old man would wheel a luggage cart around stacked with huge chunks of firewood and stoke the fires.  I thought to myself, "Wow, he's got one of the best jobs in the world!"

The trip had to come to an end.  We headed back to the Bay and listened to Born to Run by Christopher McDougall on an audiobook.  We reunited with Meredith and ate at one of their favorite restaurants before heading out early Wednesday morning for the long flight back to Chicago.

Now, how about that for a Chevy Aveo commercial?

It was a week.  It was a week that I'm still having a hard time finding the right words to describe its awesomeness.  I'm glad I got to share it with Mark-o and explore the park and more.  Here's hoping we can do it again soon!

Tiny Dancer

 Well, I have no idea whether Kari will ultimately find dance to be her "thing" but this morning in church it was most definitely present. She, along with her high school buddy named Allie, performed at the "Celebration Service", our church's contemporary/kid friendly gathering.

Not having seen the dance in practice situations, I eagerly awaited little Kari's first scripted performance in front of an audience. Let's not kid ourselves, she doesn't mind hamming it up at birthday parties or family gatherings... but this was different. Roughly 75 people in attendance. Just two people on the stage. And Kari had responsibility.

I loved that when I asked her before hand if she was nervous or ready she looked at me as if to say "Dad, seriously, I've got this!" Sure enough, I'll let you be the judge by watching the video.

While I held the video camera I'd be lying if I said my eyes didn't well up. Maybe it was the type of song/dance, with it being a slower tune than I anticipated. Maybe it was the fact that so many people in the audience seemed to be enjoying it, too. Or maybe it was just pure pride of my little girl doing something so neat with absolutely no grasp that 150 eyeballs were watching her.

Allie did great, too, and obviously was a wonderful teacher to Kari. They have formed a neat little bond and I think that came through during the dance.

OK, enough of sentimental poppa talking. It was long week for me being gone 5 days and 4 nights for work. So in the end, I couldn't think of a better way to start the upcoming week than to see Kari do so great this morning.

A Week's Worth of Videos

I was fortunate enough to have Grandmo visit last week as Kevin traveled cross country from Raleigh-Durham to Oklahoma City.  Here's a little insight to our week:

Kari learned the hula hoop.

Kari is enrolled in a karate class at school.

Bryce is happiest when he's outside.

Lions, penguins and seals... OH MY

On a rather chilly and occasionally wet Saturday afternoon, we decided to take a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo to meet up with my cousin Becky and her family (from Ft. Wayne). Becky's two girls - Abby and Sidney - were just as excited as Kari and Bryce to have a get-together at the Zoo.

We started with a quick look at the seals inside the Zoo which is where the first group photo comes from. Not much activity here, so we moved on to the statuesque polar bear. At this point I think the kids were wondering if any of the animals would move!

While walking through the zoo, the weather began to improve and once the sun came out we passed by a little kiddie roller coaster. I instantly wanted to get Kari on this ride so she can begin to realize how much fun they can be. I figure we're not too many years away from an occasional trek to King's Island or something similar.


 After some initial hesitation, Kari, me and Abby ventured onto the coaster for a quick jaunt. Kari continue to have some apprehension, but once we had the bar across our laps she felt at ease... until the first drop. Even I must admit it went a little faster than I thought it would. Regardless, the three short spins around the track were a lot of fun and I believe it's safe to say Kari's appetite for coasters is officially whet.

We then did the desert section and saw giraffes, elephants, zebras and other cool animals. But soon it was time to venture back for the afternoon dolphin show. The kids enjoyed seeing the large mammals jump through the air and make big splashes everywhere!

A quick lunch and 30 minute play session on the playground ensued before we visited the shark tank and penguin pool. And what would a trip to the zoo be without a spin on the merry-go-round?

While we don't get to see them too often, it was great to get the cousins together and let them enjoy the day together!

Breakfast For Dinner

Kari's favorite, evidently, is a favorite among all the neighborhood kids.  We had an impromptu dinner party at our house with pumpkin pancakes and breakfast sausage.

Sunday Treat

Stopped in to Pappy's to split a milkshake.

A Camping We Will Go...

A camping we will go!  High-ho, it's off we go, a camping we will go!

Yes, that's what we did this weekend.  Mom, Kari and Bryce went camping with Gran and Beep Beep as part of our annual church campout at Turkey Run SP.  Kevin opted out this weekend and chose to stay within the comforts of home.

We arrived Friday evening just as Gran and Beep Beep were putting the finishing touches on the campsite: two tents- one for us and one for them-, a screened tent to go over the picnic table, camp chairs and air mattresses.  Ben and Cheryl are avid campers and this was high-class camping! 

We were among approximately 12 other families from church and most of the meals were community, pitch-in style.  We ate like kings and finished each evening off with S'mores.

 

After a leisurely breakfast on Saturday a large group of us headed out to the trails.  Kari has a high school buddy, Allie, and Bryce was a trooper, walking a good portion of the 1.5 mile semi-rugged trail.

 

Kari and Allie

 

Pastor Jeff, Bryce and Beep Beep walking up to the lodge for a hiking break.

 Overlooking Sugar Creek.  Bryce was mesmerized by the canoers.

Both kids slept incredibly well each night.  I was quite surprised, even though they spent high amounts of energy each day.  I think the fresh air did us all some good.

We wrapped up the weekend with a pancake breakfast and church service commemorating the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.  It was a wonderful weekend and cannot wait to go again next year!

Picture Day

Clearly, I'm destined to have Bryce hate me when he's older.  Grandmo made Kari's dress again and I took a stab at making Bryce's lederhosen.