Tahoe, September 2011

We're in Tahoe this week having a great time. I'm sure Amy will post a more complete account a bit later, but for now here is a picture from our boys night out last night. We went down to a beautiful beach, laid out the blanket, and looked at all the amazing stars that we can't see in Palo Alto.

Two incidents

The Toothpaste Incident
I went to a training meeting for my job recently--one of the few places I go where I interact with people who don't have kids, and who don't even know that I have kids. I got all ready to go. I even brushed my hair before I left, even though it was slightly damp still.

I arrived at the meeting and settled into my seat. Soon I put my hand up to push my hair behind my ear, and I noticed it felt weird. It was crusty and sticky. A stranger sitting at my table saw the surprised look on my face and told me, "There's something blue in your hair." Yes, some child (I guess Lucas?) decided it was a good idea to put toothpaste in my brush. My entire head of hair was stiff and sticky during the whole three hours I spent in the outside world. And I smelled minty.

Incident #2
Today was hot. So, I put Anne down for her nap in just a diaper. When I went in to get her up, I immediately smelled something foul when I opened the door. Anne was standing in her crib with a big smile on her face, and no diaper on. The diaper was on the floor and there was poop all over her tummy, hands, legs, and face. Plus it was all over the crib. It took me a full half hour to clean the girl, put all the bedding in the wash, wipe down the slats of the crib, and scrub the floor. Anne was smiling at me the entire time, so it was hard to be upset. However, she will wear at least a onesie in the future, no matter how hot it is.


Update 6/6/14: William confessed today that the toothpaste in my hairbrush so many years ago was his doing. He thought he'd try brushing his teeth with a hairbrush instead of a toothbrush. (It didn't work.)

Quick Updates

Blaine can read!
Blaine finished the reading book! Go Blaine!

Girls' day
I had an awesome girls' day with my friends. We went running, shopping, and horse-back riding, and we got pedicures and ate yummy food. You can see some pictures and read more about it here 

The dads were supposed to be realizing how hard it is to stay at home all day with the kids. Instead, they all went to In-N-Out and had a party in Google's fountain.

Thinking of friends
In particular, we're thinking of you, Chris and Brittney. The courtyard isn't the same without you. Wishing you the best of luck in your coming endeavors and challenges.

Seven kids under age 7
We have three extra kids while our friends are on a backpacking trip. We're on day 1 of 4. So far, so good.

Twenty-nine years and eight years

Last week was my birthday and Justin and I celebrated our anniversary. Man, I love him. Thanks for everything, Justin.

One more thing

Courtyard insanity 

Talbot Family Reunion

Arriving at the beach (Uncle Scott designed the awesome t-shirts)

Leaving the beach

While in San Diego for the reunion, we also visited our good friends, who moved there about 6 months ago. Another nice reunion.

Pictures

Pictures of my us while we were in Utah for my brother's wedding the beginning of May

This one was taken by my sister, Carrie.

The rest were taken by Justin after the wedding at the Salt Lake Temple.

They did a great job making sure Anne didn't fall off the bench, but not such a great job looking at the camera.

Yosemite 2011, With People

Our family had a great time at Yosemite this year.

The boys explored.

We got warm and dry on the shuttle.

Anne mostly slept, soothed to sleep by sucking on her hat.

The boys tried to skip rocks.

We saw deer.

And we saw a bear.

On morning #2, we saw this when we stepped outside.

So we played in the snow.

And built a snowman.

Here's the final product.

On our last day, we stopped to see the giant sequoias.

We hiked to the California Tunnel Tree.

On the hike down, we saw our friends.

We heart Yosemite.

Yosemite 2011 Scenery Shots

This year's Yosemite trip was a huge success. With minimal planning on our part, we were able to enjoy the company of both friends and family. The weather ranged from rain to snow to beautiful within the four days we were there. However, we stayed mostly warm and dry in our Housekeeping canvas room. Pictures of kids to come, here's a few of my favorite scenery pictures.

On a morning walk with just Blaine and I, a cool geometric pattern caught my eye.

The first morning there I took a walk by myself to Lower Yosemite Falls before anyone else was up. On the way, a lone woodpecker tree in front of the falls.

The second morning brought beautiful snow from Upper Yosemite all the way down to the valley floor.

While the boys skipped rocks in the Merced River, Sand beneath Glacier Point.

After putting the kids to bed, I glimpsed Half Dome through the trees. I ran down to the beach to get a clearer view. If only the boys had gone to bed 15 minutes earlier, I think the entire face would have been lit up. Next year.

That night, my pseudonymic photographer neighbor took me out to take pictures in the middle of the night. This was my first experience with long exposure photography. To get anything reasonable out of my D40 when using even its longest exposure--30 seconds, I had to use its highest ISO, so the pictures are a bit noisy. Even so, it was a fun experience.

Moonlit Upper Yosemite Falls. Since I didn't have a tripod this is taken from ground level, using my backpack to get some elevation. I got quite the crick in my neck trying to see through the viewfinder.

Taking pictures of Half Dome. Again, taken from ground level. In the middle of Sentinel Bridge.

After being bedeviled by fog all night, we finally drove up to Tunnel View and, escaping the clouds, found an absolutely incredible view of the valley in the light of a nearly full moon.

While I was taking this picture, my neighbor joked that we had one of the most beautiful views in the whole world and I was shooting the wrong way.