Summer of Sketching

Naomi was busy earlier this month sketching for murals for summer camp at our church for the kids to color as one of their activities.  Here's a sampling of some of her freehand sketches.

Transit of Venus

The kids used special solar glasses to see the transit of Venus from our back yard. After the sun went down, we watched the event through the NASA web site and their webcast of the event from the top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The following are some of the sites that we checked out for information about the transit:

NASA

UAF Geophysical Institute

Huffington Post

We originally learned about this when we visited the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley a couple of months back. We watched a program about the transit in the planetarium. The program was interactive and Ryan got to play Venus in the enactment of the upcoming Transit of Venus. Below is the best photo we have from inside the planetarium. That's Obaachan in the photo with Ojiichan and Naomi. I remember being a little tired and taking a little nap.

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.

Light Field Cameras

There's a type of camera that allows one to refocus images after the fact.  I was looking for floral photography tips when I came across a site for a company called Lytro located in Silicon Valley.  Check out the image below.  If you click on different part of the image, the photo gets refocused on that part of the image.  Also if you double click on the image, it will zoom in on that part of the image.

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.

Neighborhood Nature

Here is a sample of Naomi's first foray into nature photography. This photo session started over the weekend and included taking photos during a walk of our neighborhood with one of her uncles.

Arbor Day Celebration On Earth Day

Our kids participated in Arbor Day celebrations with the City of Concord on Earth Day, April 22, this year.  We've done this the past three years or so through our scouting activities.  We have a leg up on some of the other scouts because the cubmaster for boys' pack is the "tree guy" for our city.

This year we planted about a dozen or so trees in Newhall Park.  The mayor and another council member were also in attendance.

Cub Scout Graduation

Ethan is officially now a Boy Scout after bridging to Troop 370 earlier this week. He enjoyed his five years as a Cub Scout, but it is time to move on. And move on he did. He's already away on his own with his new troop on a weekend campout on Mt. Diablo. This was the first time for him to actually backpack into the campsite.

Here is a video clip of his graduation ceremony that included him earning his Arrow of Light award, which is the only award that moves with a cub scout to boy scouting. The ceremony included scouts getting their Arrow of Light award presented to them by the Order of the Arrow.

April Heat

We're experiencing a scorcher this weekend. The weather forecast shows highs today into the upper 80s, but this morning in the shade outside the backdoor the thermometer was already registering over 90 degrees. How's the weather in your area?

Megan's Easter Egg Hunt

The Smith family has their annual Easter Egg Hunt and celebration at their house. This was the 24th year of this event that was started for their daughter who is now gainfully employed in NYC. It's been a few years since she last attended this event named for her.

Being that they have a very large piece of property, a rarity in these parts, there are many places where eggs can be hidden. Last year was the first year in several years that we missed the hunt. The kids made it this year, although dad had to stay behind as a friend was coming over to help prune trees.

The day started off inauspiciously enough with a fried egg.

The Smiths go all out for this event, barely nosing out their annual Super Bowl party for Best Event honors. There's usually quite the banquet of food provided by the hosts but also the side dishes and desserts brought by the many families that attend the event. The main event has two objectives: to fill up Easter baskets with as much chocolate candy as possible and to find the three special eggs. The candy is easy to find. There's so much candy scattered about their yard that it's difficult to make sure that all the candy is not stepped on. The hunt is started in waves starting with the smallest seekers scampering off at the sound of Dan's duck caller. That's Dan below. I think he was wearing his hunting jacket this year.

The kids were ready with their empty Easter baskets and the eager egg seekers all gathered at the ready at the official orange start line. Such a straight and evenly drawn start line is not needed for this start but would come in handy for a later event that is described below.

This is what it looks like in terms of finding candy. It's just scattered all over the lawn that seems to go on forever. Just look for the shiny foil covered candy. Some people are really just satisfied with this.

Then there's the searching and searching for the special eggs...up in trees...along fence lines and in the thickets of plant leafs.

The first egg is usually the most difficult to find for whatever reason, causing Dan to climb the steps to his official announcer's post to provide hint. "The blue egg is not where you think it is, but maybe near something blue." Or something like that.

And then sometimes you get success!

And even more success every blue or yellow moon. The story behind the yellow egg find this year was that it was Ryan who found it, but he gave it to Ethan. What a great little brother, huh?

Yes, the special thing about the special eggs is that the finders of these eggs are awarded with their very own large chocolate Easter bunny!

The final event of the day is the egg walk. If you blink, you will miss the race. Sometimes the race judges have to go to the cameras and breakdown a photo finish. Sometimes there are eggs flying every which way. It's a good thing that the eggs are hardboiled. The races are divided by age with the level of competition increasing with each age level.

Cub Scout Den Visit to Pixar

Ethan's cub scout den was invited to a tour of Pixar.  Talk about exciting, huh?  Here are some photos from the visit.

Spring Break - Animals!

An afternoon visit to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco included neon colored animals, some good food and a visit to the Morrison Planetarium. Here's a video recap:

Best Fries?

On a story about "best fries" was an entry for one Bay Area location called Frjtz in SF. They have burgers, sandwiches, crepes, breakfast and even mussels on their menu. Will have to go check it out one of these days. Do you have a favorite place for fries?

And Now Here's the Original Version...

"Somebody That I Used To Know"
(feat. Kimbra)

[Gotye:]
Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I was glad it was over

But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and I feel so rough
No you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

[Kimbra:]
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
Part of me believing it was always something that I'd done
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know

[Gotye:]
But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and I feel so rough
And you didn't have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

[x2]
Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)

(I used to know)
(That I used to know)
(I used to know)
Somebody

Another Current Favorite

Remembering Uncle John

We visited Uncle John earlier this year.  He was the biggest Cal Bears fan that we knew.  Red flowers are very common at grave sites, but blue ones are not.  So we took some pictures and touched them up just for John.  First here is the untouched picture.

The following are the touched up photos.  Just what did we change?

Five-person Band...just one guitar

...and now the parody!

Reagan Doodles

A page of ink drawings among personal papers from 1981 released Saturday March 17 2012, by the Thatcher Archive at Britain's Cambridge University. Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was so fascinated by U.S. President Ronald Reagan that she snatched and kept this page of his doodles at a G7 summit, the former British prime minister's newly released papers reveal. Reagan left the piece of paper sitting on a table at the meeting near Ottawa, Canada in July 1981, adorned with a scribbled eye, a man's muscular torso and several heads including one that looks like a self portrait. (AP Photo/The Thatcher Archive)

Talk About Down to Earth...

Mariner Baseball!

If You Have a Little Time to Kill...

If you're curious about what's inside an iPad, check this out.

2012 Pinewood Derby Races

This was Ethan fifth and final pinewood derby since he will be moving up to Boy Scouting later this year. He came into this race as the defending champion and probably was rooting more for his brother than for himself. He had a fast car, hitting a top scaled speed of almost 201 mph, and had Spider Turtle in the cockpit

This was the second pinewood derby for Ryan. Last year he finished just off the medal stand. This year he surprised all of us and took home top honors. It's hard to say what he did right, maybe a little help from mom, dad and our cubmaster. Ryan's car reached a top scaled speed of over 203 mph.

Is "Fashiony" a Word?

Ryan: Mom can I wear this to bed?

Mom: Yes, I guess that's okay.

Ryan: I like it. I think it's "fashiony."

Ryan was referring to wearing a white t-shirt under his pajama top.

Senior Day at Cal

It was a memorable day for us in more than one way. It was Senior Day at Cal with two of the more popular Bears in recent memory playing their last game at home.

Harper Kamp after five years and countless bumps and bruises, one missed year due to injury and the firing of the coach, Ben Braun, who recruited him to Cal. When Braun was shown the door after Kamp's freshman year, Harper almost followed Kamp out the door to UNLV. He decided to stay with the Bears and the rest is history.

Jorge Gutierrez was Montgomery's first recruit at Cal. It was a lucky break for both sides as it turns out. There was a slot open for Jorge only because another player had asked out of his scholarship when Braun was fired. Jorge was available only because he was not highly recruited out of a prep school in Las Vegas.



The part of the memory will be our luck to be chosen for the pre-game experience to take in the Bears' pregame practice from court-level. The only way this could've been better was if they allowed to remain in the court side seats for the game.

This means that we also got our photo up on the big screen during the second half of the game. The kids were pretty excited about it especially Ryan. At first when I told him that we were going to be able to see ourselves on the big screen, his reaction was, "I don't want our picture up there." Later during the game, he kept asking when our photo would appear.

What made the evening perfect was that the Bears won!

Everyone went home happy. Even the larger than life posters of Jorge and Harper.

And also the large contingent of Jorge fans who were at the game wearing yellow matching T-shirts. In the group were Jorge's parents with his father trying to capture the moment with a video camera. That's his mother holding up the Mexican flag and his father to the left of the flag in the photo below.

Glee

Ryan signed up for the after school Glee program at our elementary school this year. He's been busy practicing these songs:

"Don't Stop Believing"

"Total Eclipse of the Heart"

"Defying Gravity" which came from the musical Wicked.

Cal Wins Thriller

Ethan and I were on-hand for this thriller that featured three technical fouls called and a game of "I can do better than that" between two former Golden Gopher teammates. Joseph of Oregon won the scoring battle, but Cobbs' Bears won the game. Ethan says that this was the best game that he's ever seen in person.

Valentine's Day

Faces of 2011 Holiday - The Video

Sights of 2011 Holidays

Although mostly rainy, we did manage to get out and about the Seattle area.  The Seattle Sheraton had its annual Gingerbread House display to raise funding for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  On the flight to Seattle, we took in the sights from 30,000 feet to spy Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier.  Although Christmas evening dinner was the height of food smells and sights, we sampled small and large bites at:

Locol Barley & Vine in West Seattle where Chuck had a gig playing jazz adaptations of tunes by local grunge bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden to name a few as part of a keyboard, drums and bass trio; the atmosphere was local, the food was good (we sampled kale chips, a beet salad and a spicy corn and chicken chowder), and the music was a hit;

boom noodle at the U Village (which is no longer the U Village that I remember from my days as a kid going to the Village to bowl); while walking to the place from where we parked a horde of young men only wearing underwear crossed our path (didn't get this photo);

Red Mill Burgers in the Magnolia area; drive by this place several times as it is near where our relatives live; we first heard about this place on a show on the Food Network; the burgers and fries were terrific;

Kaname Izakaya in the International District that we visited for Happy Hour and consumed way too much food, the idea was to go and eat a little bit of this and little bit of that off their Happy Hour menu; we continued onto order ramen, soba and donburi; the food was good but the service was a little off;

Blue Star Cafe & Pub in the Wallingford district that must have one of the largest selection listing of scrambles and omelets known to humankind; I think I already know what I'd order for the next 10 times that I visit; not only is the menu large so is the establishment itself;

Stell's Burgers and More across the street from Seattle Pacific University is another place that we drive by frequently but had never tried; we tried the gyro sandwiches and Greek fries and were pleasantly surprised; the pita bread used for the sandwiches were warm, light and fluffy;

Old Mill Cafe outside Sequim where we stopped on the way back from our visit to the Olympic Game Farm; another stop being the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge and Spit (could see Canada across the way!);

Getting to the Olympic Game Farm included crossings of Puget Sound on the Washington State ferries.  In all the years going to Seattle, this was the first such crossing for our kids.

Mixed into this fun was two movies with the kids:  The Adventures of Tintin in 3D (we even convinced Ojiichan to see what was his first or second movie ever) and Arthur Christmas.  The parents had a movie night too and took in the latest Sherlock Holmes offering.

The Adventures of Tintin was at the IMAX theater at the Pacific Science Center which we visited a second time to see the exhibits.  Finally, we hiked over the Fremont district on two occasions - the place has really grown up to have an interesting mix of restaurants and eclectic shops.

But really for the kids the best times seemed to be when they were just hanging out.  They built forts with the bedding.  They built their own arcade and shops.  They played games and discovered a new favorite game called Forbidden Island that was actually based on the need for teamwork to succeed rather than on winning or losing.

Perhaps that should be the message for all of us in 2012 - let's succeed together.

Faces of 2011 Holiday

We had a memorable time with family over the holidays. The following is a compilation of our many faces from the holidays. The fish eye and other effects were the courtesy of our new camera. We played with many of the settings - perhaps too many of them. It was only on our return that we discovered that we had shot all of our photos in compressed mode using a lower resolution. And we thought that there was something wrong with the camera...

Happy New Year!!!

We rang in the new year this year, just barely filling our glasses before the end of the countdown to midnight.  Then it was back to a game of bowling on the Wii.

Christmas Dinner 2011

The menu included: lasagna, turkey, scallop casserole, soy chicken, corn casserole, green bean casserole, mash potatoes, sweet potato rolls, green salad, rice, homemade chow mein noodles, strawberries and pear...and for dessert: apple pie, pumpkin pie, ice cream and creme brulee.

Afterward, we had a friendly round of a white elephant gift exchange that included coffee, a stick of beef salami, CD of Christmas music, that Drew Barrymore smash "Ever After," a multitool, a note tablet, chocolate turtles, a magic set, an LED headlamp, UNO card game, chocolate candy assortment, a puzzle, and window crayons.

After the game, there was a round of friendly bartering where that Drew Barrymore fan (Tatsu) traded up for the movie by giving up his UNO game. Ryan surprised his parents by giving away chocolates for window crayons. Naomi to the surprise of some secretly coveted the LED headlamp - perhaps a new instrument to read in bed after "lights out." The three most stolen items for the night were: an assortment of chocolates, coffee and a stick of salami - who would've thought in Seattle.

Neil Young, Bob Dylan and others

Can you name all of the performers?

Bob Dylan and Neil Young

This apparently was from something called the SNACK concert at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco in March of 1975.

Life Imitates Art...Sort of

Watch this video first...



Now read these lines from the song "Highlands" by Bob Dylan from his Time Out of Mind album:

Then she says, “I know you’re an artist, draw a picture of me!”
I say, “I would if I could, but
I don’t do sketches from memory”

“Well,” she says, “I’m right here in front of you, or haven’t you looked?”
I say, “All right, I know, but I don’t have my drawing book!”
She gives me a napkin, she says, “You can do it on that”
I say, “Yes I could, but
I don’t know where my pencil is at!”

She pulls one out from behind her ear
She says, “All right now, go ahead, draw me, I’m standing right here”

Ethan and Friends

Ethan has been able to develop close friendships in elementary school, but now that part of his life is coming to a close as he will be heading off to middle school next year. The sad part is that the new face of education in a large school district has kids likely at different schools as they move from elementary school to middle school. Here's a picture of Ethan with some of his closest friends. From this group, perhaps one or two may end up at the same middle school as Ethan next year.

Go Bears!

The Bears are winding down their football season that has AT&T (home of the SF Giants) as their home field with Memorial Stadium under renovation. They have their last home game tomorrow against the Oregon State Beavers.

At their home game last week against the Washington State Cougars, they had Tony La Russa of the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals on their sideline sporting a Cal lid. He was on hand promoting his Animal Rescue Foundation located in Walnut Creek, California.

As he has announced his retirement from baseball, the words out that he's looking for a new gig. He announced that his first job offer was one to be an elephant trainer.

Wave Your Flag

This is a current favorite video in our household. It was the official theme song for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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.

Lyrics for Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki
Kyu Sakamoto

(Words by Rokusuke Ei, music by Hachidai Nakamura)
- released in Japan as "Ue O Muite Aruko" (I Look Up When I Walk)

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
omoidasu harunohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

ue o muite arukou
nijinda hosi o kazoete
omoidasu natsunohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

shiawase wa kumo no ueni
shiawase wa sora no ueni

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
nakinagara aruku
hitoribotchi no yoru

whistling

omoidasu akinohi
hitoribotchi no yoru

kanashimi wa hosino kageni
kanashimi wa tsukino kageni

ue o muite arukou
namida ga kobore naiyouni
nakinagara aruku
hitoribotchi no yoru

(whistling)

-----------------------

Translation:

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Remembering those happy spring days
But tonight I'm all alone

I look up when I walk, counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those happy summer days
But tonight I'm all alone

Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Happiness lies above the sky

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

whistling

Remembering those happy autumn days
But tonight I'm all alone

Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

--------
The story goes that the song was written by Rokusuke Ei when his heart was
literally broken by a Japanese actress, Meiko Nakamura.