Timpanogos Caves

Dorothy and Casey at the end of a 1.5-mile hike with an elevation gain of 1000 feet to reach the cave entrance.  Lucky for us, our tour time was near the end of the day when it was cooler.

Colorado River White Water Rafting

White water rafting on the Colorado River.  If you want extreme rafting, perhaps April and May might suit you best.  This was in the second half of June and the rapids were maybe Class 2 to Class 3, fairly tame.  On the plus, there was a middle part of the trip where rafters were allowed to leave the raft and float in the river.  Casey, Dorothy and Naomi at the back of the raft.  The four adults in the front of the raft decided to moon the photographer.  This was with Adrift Adventures in Moab, Utah - had a great time with them!

Summer Vacation 2012

As we wind down another summer, we are also winding down another road trip to Seattle. We experienced the hottest days in Seattle since...2010. This past weekend temperatures in Seattle hit 90 degrees for the first time since 2010 we were told. We felt every bit of those 90 plus degrees as grandma and grandpa's place does not have air conditioning.

We started the week experiencing an aerobatic show by the Blue Angels that marked the end of Seafair. We were somewhat amazed that one of the two main routes across Lake Washington would be shut down for the Blue Angels show not just on one day, but both on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe this is not as drastic as shutting down the Bay Bridge, but the bridge was shut down for two hours at midday with the other path across the lake now a toll bridge.





Another less than usual event that we took in was the King Tut exhibit that's at the Pacific Science Center through the first of 2013. This supposedly is the last time that this exhibit will be shown in North America, perhaps until the next time that it is shown (tongue in cheek humor?). Although a couple of our kids seemed to take in the exhibit in record time they were patient enough to let the rest of us take our time to enjoy the 100 plus artifacts on display.





Finally, one of our new adventures was kayaking on the bay, or more accurately on Lake Union. We rented kayaks and set off for an our on the high seas...sort of. Yuki had Ethan and Lianne in a triple. Dorothy and Naomi were in a second kayak, and Ryan without an oar and I were in a third kayak. Ryan thought that he wouldn't be able to paddle so he didn't want to take one with him, preferring to be a sightseeing passenger. We looped around the lake taking in the sights of the Seattle skyline and other locales where we were previously on the other end watching other kayakers go by. Near the end of the tour, Ryan decided that he would give paddling a whirl and found that he could do it. We were on a one-hour clock since we had the return the triple kayak in that amount of time since it was reserved for others. Next time we'll take a longer trip.







Okay, one last photo that we need to share that needs no explanation.

Bike Days!

May 10 was Bike to Work Day. Also in some quarters, the entire month is Bike to Work Month. Most of our biking is on weekends as a family fun activity. On a recent bike ride the kids spotted the following: 78 songbirds, 19 robins, 8 dogs, 7 hummingbirds, 3 morning doves, 3 yellow butterflies, 2 geese, 2 mockingbirds, 2 crows, 2 ducks, 1 squirrel, 1 woodpecker, 1 frog and a snake...not to mention all the other bikers, joggers, and walkers.

Photo below from top left corner clockwise: bike rides usually include the obligatory stop at a playground; taking a break on the trail; another playground photo; a snake; and leaving the playground.

Yes, Naomi is starting to outgrow her bike. Ethan is getting there too.

2012 Ninjas

It's soccer season once again! This year by coincidence Ryan's team was assigned the name Ninjas. Last year they were the Red Ninjas, but the kids picked the names themselves. Spring soccer seems more casual than fall soccer, which is fine by us.  The soccer fields where the games are played are next to open fields where there are cows grazing.  It's a great setting for soccer!  Enjoy the slide show below.

CYO Falcons Cross Country Running

We had all three kids run cross country once again this year. They each showed improved throughout the just completed season. The CYO program is through our neighborhood Catholic church/school, St. Francis.

Cross country running is somewhat less time demanding compared to other sports. First, the season is relatively short. There are two practices per week and there's one meet per week with the meet usually running about an hour and a half.

Ethan and Ryan ran in the 1st through 5th grade division while Naomi ran in the 6th through 8th grade division. Depending on the course the kids run any where from just under a mile to a little over a mile. Their meets this year were in Oakland, Danville and Alameda.

Here is a write up about cross country running by Matthew Keenan of the Kansas City Star that was placed in our kids' end of year packets.

Over the years my kids have played all the sports. At last count the number was nine...but only with the sport they picked last - cross country- did I gain an epiphany about what I - and they - had been missing. It's the sheer simplicity of a sport that has the complexity of putting one foot in front of the other. A sport that celebrates something you can do for a lifetime no matter the weather. A sport removed from parent politics, coach substitutions, or relying on a portly man with a headset calling an ill-advised fake punt that costs the game. Where the word "bench" never crosses anyone's lips. Where spectators cheer most loudly for those who finish last. A sport where the competitors are challenged to improve their last, best time.

Naomi won the Spirit Award for the 6th through 8th grade girls on the team. There wasn't a specific race that was mentioned, but for me she showed incredible spirit at her last race in Alameda when she ran when she easily could've opted out because she was getting over a bad cough. This was probably the toughest race she has ever run, but she fought and finished the course.

See if you can find Naomi, Ethan and Ryan below.

Or how about here?

Ninja Soccer Highlights

Ryan completed his first season of soccer competition in the Mt. Diablo AYSO U8 Division.  His team, the Ninjas, were a good group of 7 and 8 year old boys that all got along quite well with one another.

Ryan is playing competitive soccer for the first time this year. He's playing in a Under 8 Division of the Mt. Diablo Soccer AYSO. His team is the Ninjas. Ryan says he came up with the team name.

2011 Little League Opening Day

After a hiatus from baseball, Ethan is giving baseball another try. His team is the Double A Cardinals. Ethan is playing at the level where the players are pitching to each other for the first time. This means that there are many walks and lots of runs scored.

Ryan is playing for the first time and his team is the Single A Nationals. Ryan's league is a coach pitch league which means that your coach pitches to you. There are no walks, but there are strikeouts.

The league runs to about mid-June. Below is a little slide show of the Opening Ceremonies for the league with the Mayor on-hand to throw out the first pitch. Let's play ball!!!!

Cross Country Running in September

Hardly posted a single entry last month, but this was not for a lack of subjects to write about. Far from it.

For some reason, we thought that it would be a good idea for our kids to do cross country running. The kids are running through the local Catholic church's youth sports program. Several other families from our school are also on the team. The season only runs through part of October, but the kids have practice two days a week and a meet on a third day.

While watching NFL games this weekend, Ethan noted that the 49ers were playing the Falcons. The game information showed ATL and the team logo so I asked how he knew that the Atlanta team was the Falcons. He said, "Because the logo is the same as the one on our cross country running team uniforms."

Their team name is the St. Francis of Assisi Falcons. Can you spot Naomi in the photo below?

Ygnacio Wood Seahorses - June 5, 2010

Today's swim meet was against the Forest Hills Beavers from Martinez. Ryan swam backstroke in the medley relay, free, backstroke, and free relay. Ethan swam free and backstroke. Naomi swam free and butterfly.

Uncle Mike's Visit

2009 Seahorse Season

Here's a video recap of our swim season. Enjoy!

Ryan's First Backstroke

Naomi in Free Relay

Ethan in Backstroke

Ygnacio Wood Seahorses - 2009

Where's Naomi and Ethan in the photo below. The team photo was taken before Ryan was on the team so he is not in the photo.



The coaches naturally had to cool off after their hard work in lining up 130 or so swimmers for the photo session.

Ethan Hits His Mark

Ethan has found a comfort zone with karate. Things do get more difficult as one moves up, but Ethan just this past weekend passed the belt test to make it to the purple/blue belt level in the Dragons Program at Bay Mountain Martial Arts here in Concord. We have been very happy with the programs at Bay Mountain. The instructors are terrific with kids and although cramped, the place has a family atmosphere.

Here's Ethan with Sensei Alex at his recent belt test. These tests are fairly involved affairs that could take well over two hours to complete depending on the number of kids testing.

Ryan Promoted to Swim Team

Ryan was okay with making the swim team next year, but with the 6 and under boys often unable to have enough kids at meets to field a relay team there was a need for more team members. So Ryan made the team and took part in his first meet last week. The requirement to make the team in mid-season is to be able swim the full 25-yard length of the pool unassisted. Swimming against boys who have been swimming all season, he won his first race. At this point, he can only swim free style, but swimming this season means that he will have a leg up on next year.

Swim Season is Here!

Swim season is underway once again for the Ygnacio Wood Seahorses of Concord, California. Naomi and Ethan are swimming once again and Ryan could make an appearance when he is ready.

Ethan's been working on his dives. That's him below starting his leg of a recent free relay race.



Ethan's favorite stroke is the breast stroke.



Naomi's been making strides too swimming this year with the 9 and 10 year olds. This is the first age group where the swimmers have to swim two lengths of the pool (50 yards) in their races. Here's Naomi going out in a recent 50 yard free style race:



Here she is going for the finish in the same 50 yard free style race:



However, perhaps the best part of recreational swimming is the time spent with friends. There are not many activities around that involve the participation of kids 4 years old up to 18 years old at the same event.