For seven minutes per day, Bridal Veil Falls turns into a Rainbow falls. These guys were taking pictures of a huge RV, which was much more impressive.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Rainbow Falls and Deer in Yosemite.
For seven minutes per day, Bridal Veil Falls turns into a Rainbow falls. These guys were taking pictures of a huge RV, which was much more impressive.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Yosemite Trip Part 2
If you come to Yosemite Valley from Fresno, on Highway 41, you get a pretty dramatic entrance. After a long tunnel, this is your first view of the valley:
Marin's iPhone picture doesn't do it justice, but it's still pretty spectacular, no?
We stayed in a canvas cabin on a cement slab in a camp called Housekeeping Camp. The camp lies along the Merced River. Since September is a pretty dry season in Yosemite, the river was shallow and slow but it was beautifully clear water. Charlie spent a lot of time throwing pebbles into it.
We did a lot of sightseeing on our bikes, and unfortunately, the only picture we got of the camp site was from a moving bicycle. Apparently we had better things to look at than Housekeeping Camp (canvas cabins are nifty places to stay for a pretend camping trip, but they aren't the most picturesque accommodations in the world).
Every night Gil would built a fire, and some of our favorite times of the whole trip were spent in the evenings, sitting around the fire pit.
This vacation wasn't exactly about the food--our family isn't experienced with outdoor cooking. We roasted hot dogs on sticks one night for dinner (something Marin had never done before). Our next door neighbors were roasting a rack of lamb, and we felt like hobos.
We'll post more pictures when Marin can figure out how to upload the stuff from the camera.
Marin's iPhone picture doesn't do it justice, but it's still pretty spectacular, no?
We stayed in a canvas cabin on a cement slab in a camp called Housekeeping Camp. The camp lies along the Merced River. Since September is a pretty dry season in Yosemite, the river was shallow and slow but it was beautifully clear water. Charlie spent a lot of time throwing pebbles into it.
We did a lot of sightseeing on our bikes, and unfortunately, the only picture we got of the camp site was from a moving bicycle. Apparently we had better things to look at than Housekeeping Camp (canvas cabins are nifty places to stay for a pretend camping trip, but they aren't the most picturesque accommodations in the world).
Every night Gil would built a fire, and some of our favorite times of the whole trip were spent in the evenings, sitting around the fire pit.
This vacation wasn't exactly about the food--our family isn't experienced with outdoor cooking. We roasted hot dogs on sticks one night for dinner (something Marin had never done before). Our next door neighbors were roasting a rack of lamb, and we felt like hobos.We'll post more pictures when Marin can figure out how to upload the stuff from the camera.
Yosemite Trip Part 1
We divided the drive to Yosemite into two parts so we could spend some time in Fresno with some of Gil's cousins. We had a fantastic evening meeting people that Gil hadn't seen for years and Marin had never met. Charlie entertained himself with the doggie door.
About two hours outside of Yosemite, we decided to take a break and check out the Sugar Pine Railroad. Charlie freaked out, and we realized that he really had never seen real steam engines. When Charlie found out that we could go for a 30-minute ride on the "jenny car," there was no turning back.
The ride was pretty fun for everyone, actually. It was nice to be out of the car, anyway, and the driver (whom Charlie respectfully referred to as Mr. Conductor) actually knew a lot about lumber industry historical trivia.
Charlie got to ring the bell and sit on the front of the train. This was the highlight of the trip for him, and every morning for the next few days he'd wake up asking if we could ride the train again and ring the bell.
About two hours outside of Yosemite, we decided to take a break and check out the Sugar Pine Railroad. Charlie freaked out, and we realized that he really had never seen real steam engines. When Charlie found out that we could go for a 30-minute ride on the "jenny car," there was no turning back.
The ride was pretty fun for everyone, actually. It was nice to be out of the car, anyway, and the driver (whom Charlie respectfully referred to as Mr. Conductor) actually knew a lot about lumber industry historical trivia.
Charlie got to ring the bell and sit on the front of the train. This was the highlight of the trip for him, and every morning for the next few days he'd wake up asking if we could ride the train again and ring the bell.
The Santa Barbara Pirate Ship
We love visiting Santa Barbara, mostly because we can spend the day with (sort of) free activities (we have memberships to the zoo, the natural history museum, and the Sea Center). This last time, we decided to splurge and go for a ride on the touristy pirate ship docked in the harbor.
Such a beautiful day, as every day seems to be in Santa Barbara.
Charlie was over the moon with joy. All he knows about pirates is that they say "yo ho ho" and "arrr," and since he wanted to fit in, he said very little else for the whole ride, but we could tell he was happy because he kept jumping out of his seat to do his happy dance (which basically consists of him jumping around in circles).
The price of the pirate ship ended up being totally worth it because we got dolphins and sea lions on the ride.
Such a beautiful day, as every day seems to be in Santa Barbara.
Charlie was over the moon with joy. All he knows about pirates is that they say "yo ho ho" and "arrr," and since he wanted to fit in, he said very little else for the whole ride, but we could tell he was happy because he kept jumping out of his seat to do his happy dance (which basically consists of him jumping around in circles).The price of the pirate ship ended up being totally worth it because we got dolphins and sea lions on the ride.
Book Boy
Charlie is nuts about the library. It used to be the only thing that would get him moving was a trip to the pool, but now that the novelty has worn off a little, he's all about the "liberry." Marin and Charlie go three or four times a week.
There is one aisle of shelves in juvenile nonfiction that has all the books on cars, trains, airplanes, tractors, boats, spaceships, etc. He could live there for hours and hours. And since it's juvenile nonfiction, there aren't very many other people around to be bothered by him camping out on the floor). He pulls over one the library's humongous stuffed animals, cozies up, and pulls out piles and piles of books. So far, the librarians haven't complained about the reshelving.
Charlie prefers to read these books alone rather than have them read to him. Marin is kind of tethered to Charlie in the library. She can't leave Charlie alone, or he'll start to wander through the stacks, and it can be mightily annoying to find a 3 1/2 foot boy in miles and miles of 4-foot shelves (Charlie doesn't really see the point of coming when he's called). Marin has learned to snap up a little something from the "new arrivals" shelf on the way in so she has something to do while Charlie studies the engineering of the USS Holland (which, as we all know, was the first wholly successful submarine).
Altogether, these quiet afternoons in the library are some of the most pleasant of Marin's motherhood.
There is one aisle of shelves in juvenile nonfiction that has all the books on cars, trains, airplanes, tractors, boats, spaceships, etc. He could live there for hours and hours. And since it's juvenile nonfiction, there aren't very many other people around to be bothered by him camping out on the floor). He pulls over one the library's humongous stuffed animals, cozies up, and pulls out piles and piles of books. So far, the librarians haven't complained about the reshelving.
Charlie prefers to read these books alone rather than have them read to him. Marin is kind of tethered to Charlie in the library. She can't leave Charlie alone, or he'll start to wander through the stacks, and it can be mightily annoying to find a 3 1/2 foot boy in miles and miles of 4-foot shelves (Charlie doesn't really see the point of coming when he's called). Marin has learned to snap up a little something from the "new arrivals" shelf on the way in so she has something to do while Charlie studies the engineering of the USS Holland (which, as we all know, was the first wholly successful submarine).
Altogether, these quiet afternoons in the library are some of the most pleasant of Marin's motherhood.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Summer Preschool
Marin enrolled Charlie is summer preschool to give him a head start for regular fall preschool to give him a head start for winter pre-kindergarten, to give him a head start for kindergarten. If he's not ready for kindergarten next year, Marin will be very upset with his summer preschool teachers . . .
This is Charlie's first-day-of-school picture. You can tell he's nervous about starting school because he's grabbing his ear.
The preschool is taught close enough to our apartment that we can get there on the bike if no one sleeps in and breakfast goes as planned (that's a big if on some days). This is Charlie's favorite mode of transportation, and sometimes if you ask him what he did at school that day, all he will remember is the bike ride.
Although it's a short ride, it's got a pretty ugly hill, and Marin shows off her rock star toughness twice a week as she pulls herself, the bike, the trailer, and her 45-pound son up the hill.
Charlie liked preschool enough (and Marin liked having the free time enough) that we decided to move him to Phase 2, fall preschool, with larger classes and more structured indoor time. He starts next week. Wish him luck.
This is Charlie's first-day-of-school picture. You can tell he's nervous about starting school because he's grabbing his ear.
The preschool is taught close enough to our apartment that we can get there on the bike if no one sleeps in and breakfast goes as planned (that's a big if on some days). This is Charlie's favorite mode of transportation, and sometimes if you ask him what he did at school that day, all he will remember is the bike ride.
Although it's a short ride, it's got a pretty ugly hill, and Marin shows off her rock star toughness twice a week as she pulls herself, the bike, the trailer, and her 45-pound son up the hill. Charlie liked preschool enough (and Marin liked having the free time enough) that we decided to move him to Phase 2, fall preschool, with larger classes and more structured indoor time. He starts next week. Wish him luck.
Visit from Grandma Bradshaw
Gil's mom visited us during the middle of July, and we had so much fun with her. It was especially fun to take her to meet the fantastic people we've met during the three months we've lived here.
Gil's cousin (a distant cousin, but family is family), Alie, who lives in Pasadena, threw a big dinner party for the Southern California family so we could all get together. Gil and Marin sat at the "Under 60" table, while the rest of the party passed around photos and told (sometimes off-color but always entertaining) stories.
We closed the night with a piano performance of jazz standards, Mexican folksongs, and Carole's signature piece: "Mary's Boogie."
Grandma spent her time taking care of Charlie and the apartment while Marin worked. She is one of the most generous and hard-working human beings on the planet, and we all adored having her stay with us.
Grandma was here for her birthday. It fell on a Sunday, so Gil was able celebrate with us all day. We went to church in the morning, did some sightseeing along the coast in the afternoon, and had a big pasta dinner that night.
Unfortunately, the last memory Grandma will have of the trip is the traffic we waded through as we took her to the airport.
We love you, Grandma. Come again soon!
Gil's cousin (a distant cousin, but family is family), Alie, who lives in Pasadena, threw a big dinner party for the Southern California family so we could all get together. Gil and Marin sat at the "Under 60" table, while the rest of the party passed around photos and told (sometimes off-color but always entertaining) stories.
We closed the night with a piano performance of jazz standards, Mexican folksongs, and Carole's signature piece: "Mary's Boogie."
Grandma spent her time taking care of Charlie and the apartment while Marin worked. She is one of the most generous and hard-working human beings on the planet, and we all adored having her stay with us.
Grandma was here for her birthday. It fell on a Sunday, so Gil was able celebrate with us all day. We went to church in the morning, did some sightseeing along the coast in the afternoon, and had a big pasta dinner that night.
Unfortunately, the last memory Grandma will have of the trip is the traffic we waded through as we took her to the airport.We love you, Grandma. Come again soon!
Hot, Hot Las Vegas
Gil's brother flew in from Japan for a translation job in Las Vegas. It had been years since we'd seen him, so the family scrambled to come from California and Utah to meet in Vegas. Since we traveled mid-week, we were able to get a really nice hotel room on the cheap.
Gil, Albert, and Mike: the Brothers Bradshaw.
Life goes on, even in Vegas, and both Gil and Marin had big projects going on with their jobs. They spent the days buried in their laptops while everyone else played around Vegas and swam in the pool.
Mike poses in our fantastic bathroom (seriously, this was a nice place).
Gil's angelic mom treated everyone to dinner at Buca de Beppo, which is the perfect restaurant for a noisy family gathering with huge servings of pasta.
Charlie grew tomato sauce beard while we were there. He approves of the spaghetti. Gil's favorite was the chicken Marsala. Marin loved the apple and gorgonzola salad.
The hotel pool had a shark tank in the middle and a three-story waterslide that goes through the shark tank. Do we need to say that Charlie was speechless with joy when he saw this? Unfortunately he was too short for the slide, but I don't think we could have gotten him out of the pool anyway.
The pool was crowded because it was 105 degrees by 10 am, and it only got hotter as the day went on.
When Charlie wasn't swimming in the pool, he was looking out the hotel room window at the pool, asking when he could go swimming again.
Charlie misses his cousins, and he could not get enough time with his 7-year-old cousin, Gavin (or Gavin's impressive collection of action figures).
The best part of the Vegas trip was seeing Albert. The second-best part of the trip was the fact that we got to take Grandma Bradshaw home with us for a week in California.
Gil, Albert, and Mike: the Brothers Bradshaw.
Life goes on, even in Vegas, and both Gil and Marin had big projects going on with their jobs. They spent the days buried in their laptops while everyone else played around Vegas and swam in the pool.
Mike poses in our fantastic bathroom (seriously, this was a nice place).
Gil's angelic mom treated everyone to dinner at Buca de Beppo, which is the perfect restaurant for a noisy family gathering with huge servings of pasta.
Charlie grew tomato sauce beard while we were there. He approves of the spaghetti. Gil's favorite was the chicken Marsala. Marin loved the apple and gorgonzola salad.
The hotel pool had a shark tank in the middle and a three-story waterslide that goes through the shark tank. Do we need to say that Charlie was speechless with joy when he saw this? Unfortunately he was too short for the slide, but I don't think we could have gotten him out of the pool anyway.
The pool was crowded because it was 105 degrees by 10 am, and it only got hotter as the day went on.
When Charlie wasn't swimming in the pool, he was looking out the hotel room window at the pool, asking when he could go swimming again.
Charlie misses his cousins, and he could not get enough time with his 7-year-old cousin, Gavin (or Gavin's impressive collection of action figures).The best part of the Vegas trip was seeing Albert. The second-best part of the trip was the fact that we got to take Grandma Bradshaw home with us for a week in California.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Charlie's Fourth Birthday
Charlie's birthday has come and gone without a blog post to mark its passing, but here are a few highlight photos (and a promise to TRY to do better about keeping this blog up-to-date).
Marin took Charlie to the Santa Barbara Zoo for his birthday with his friend Ava and his cousin Cooper. Marin made mini-cupcakes which she frosted and sprinkled while she was at the zoo (sorry there are no photos--they were eaten as fast as they were frosted and sprinkled).
We've now been about a dozen zoos across America, and they all have a tortoise statue, and Charlie always rides the turtle statue. Show him the zoo with the live Galapagos Tortoise to ride, and he'll be really impressed.
This is Ava, Charlie, and Cooper looking at the flamingos. Charlie is demonstrating his signature ear-grabbing pose.
Marin made a cake with the left-over cupcake batter and frosting. When she came back to cut it up after dinner, she discovered that Charlie had secretly eaten most of the frosting off the top earlier in the afternoon (again, before she could get a picture). It still tasted good.
Happy birthday, Charlie-Bean!
Marin took Charlie to the Santa Barbara Zoo for his birthday with his friend Ava and his cousin Cooper. Marin made mini-cupcakes which she frosted and sprinkled while she was at the zoo (sorry there are no photos--they were eaten as fast as they were frosted and sprinkled).
We've now been about a dozen zoos across America, and they all have a tortoise statue, and Charlie always rides the turtle statue. Show him the zoo with the live Galapagos Tortoise to ride, and he'll be really impressed.
This is Ava, Charlie, and Cooper looking at the flamingos. Charlie is demonstrating his signature ear-grabbing pose.
Marin made a cake with the left-over cupcake batter and frosting. When she came back to cut it up after dinner, she discovered that Charlie had secretly eaten most of the frosting off the top earlier in the afternoon (again, before she could get a picture). It still tasted good.
Happy birthday, Charlie-Bean!
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