Stanford Vs. Oregon

Marisa and I went to this game with our friends Max and Adam Kennedy. Adam is a huge Oregon fan so we decked out in green and watched a great game. What a beautiful stadium. I got a great picture of a spiral Marisa threw at me.

Turkey Trot at Vista Grande Eleentary

It's Grandparents day at Vista Grande Elementary along with a Turkey Trot to raise money for the school. Both Marisa and Connor participated in the run and ran very well! Afterwards both the kids showed Grandma and Grandpa their rooms and all the work they have been doing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Fun

First we went to an old gold mining town near the Sierra's called Columbia. The town had a stagecoach ride, gold mining a banjo contest and even it's own saloon where the kids had their first sasparilla! Here they are trying both the blackberry creme and the rootbeer. The next day we went to the pumpkin patch. Everyone got to pick their favorite cow car on the train. After the kids picked out their pumpkins and gords and we headed back home after a nice long weekend.

First Day of School

We had a very successful first day of school. Connor really likes his teacher who was also Marisa's teacher in kindergarten. Marisa has a great second grade teacher who is very outgoing and lively. The kids all seem to like her style.

Summer of 2011 in Cincinnati

We spent a whole week in Cincinnati visiting Susan's family in August. It was so nice to see all of our family. We had a nice bbq and went to a local park where Marisa and all the kids got to drive a boat. As hot as it was, water play was the major activity each day.

Saints to Sinners 2011

Saints to Sinners is a relay bike race from Salt Lake City to Las Vegas. It's a 512 mile race that typically is done by teams of 10 or 5. We had a team of 5 until the day before the race when one of our members dropped out. We couldn't find another rider so we resequenced the relay and rode it with four. 29 hours after starting in Salt Lake City we finished in Las Vegas. I didn't get too many photos, but here are a few. The scenery was great. Starting at 5,500 feet in elevation we rode to 10,500 then back down to Las Vegas which is close to sea level. The weather ranged anywhere from 104 degrees in the desert Saturday morning to 40 degrees in the pass during the middle of the night. Each rider rode approximately 130 miles and we went trough plenty of water, gatorade, granola bars and trail mix. The hot meal at the end was well worth the effort. The shower was even better!

10th Anniversary Weekend

For our 10th anniversary we left the kids with my parents (thank you!) and took a weekend getaway trip to a small town north of Bodega Bay called Jenner. We stayed in a neat remote lodge out in the middle of nowhere on the coast. Very pretty and secluded. We spent Saturday wine tasting and riding bikes in between wineries. Sunday we went kayaking on the Russian River. Along with the great views on the river and the coast we saw River Otter, Sea Otters, Harbor Seals, Osprey and some cows who came to drink at the river. The kayaks were extremely quiet so we got very close to the animals in their environment.

A's Game July 2nd

Connor and I went to the A's vs. Diamondbacks game on Saturday night with my parents and my Uncle Fred. This was Connor's second baseball game ever. His first was a Cincinnati game last year where he was more interested in ice cream than baseball! This time he was very attentive to the game, rooting for the A's the whole night. During one of our trips around the park to explore we met an usher who asked Connor if this was his first A's game. Connor nodded and said yes. The usher produced an official major league baseball that he had picked up from a foul ball and gave it to Connor. Connor hasn't let the ball out of his sight since!

June 2011 Rock City

Rock City is a nice little spot in the Mt. Diablo state park. The rocks are easily accessible, large and fun to climb. There are many niches and holes made by nature to crawl in and climb around.