A hike to celebrate Huckleberry's first week

To celebrate Lydia's one week BD, and to get out of the heat, we decided to go for a swim. We drove over to Henry Cowell State Park near Santa Cruz to swim in the San Lorenzo River. We hiked in about a mile to a swimming hole called the Garden of Eden. About half the hike runs next to old railroad tracks. An old steam train runs along these tracks between Santa Cruz and Felton. The whistle echoed through the redwood forest during our hike and the kids loved seeing it as it finally passed by.

Here are a few pictures. Esther, Bea, and Dad enjoyed a swim in the water. Mom and Lydia watched.

On the sixth day, she was bathed

Guess what. She didn't like it.

I'm better when i move

Here is the little lady enjoying her first swing with Constantine the Duck.

Workin' at the Car Wash

I talked these beauties into washing the car. Maybe I should talk them into watering the grass as well.

Super Dad

Going home from the hospital

Sisters meeting

The first meeting between Bea, Esther and the girl they fondly refer to as "Huckleberry".

Holding the new sister.





Smothering her with kisses.


"Der some tiny fingers in der" says Beatrice.

Guess who's having a baby

Sara on her way in.

Lydia, a few minutes old.

Lydia gets measured and takes a bath.

Lydia Karol

Lydia Karol was born on August 22nd at 9:08 pm. She was 7 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches in length. Mother and baby are happy and healthy.

A trip to the big city

Esther, Bea, and Dad took advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon to take trip to the city on BART, aka "Daddy Work Train". The girls walked several miles of the city and saw the old Mission church, a few thousand city creatures sunning themselves in Dolores Park, and countless dogs for petting.

Along the way we passed a door opening to a room painted all white. The friendly artists were lounging on the ground in the front corner and invited the ladies in to view the installation.

As they pondered the scene Bea and Esther had a few questions. "Why that red string on the wall?" "Where they keep the bed?" That second one drew quite a response from the artists. The ladies were on to something. As the conversation between Esther, Bea, and the artists had gone beyond my understanding, I cannot offer additional insight.


Still contemplating the art. The ladies took a break on a stoop to watch the passing scene.

We continued our journey and stopped for a drink at Four Barrel Coffee. The girls collapsed in exhaustion upon arrival.

Esther tried some of the espresso. Her review of the beverage is captured by the look on her face.

The girls were given a tour of the roasting facilities and received these raw, unroasted coffee beans as souvenirs.

Floating the Russian River

Armed with life preservers and floaties, we set out to cruise a mile or two down the Russian River with a few friends (Jerel, Chana, Cyndi, and Kevin).

Sounds too easy, no? Well, we decided to increase the level of difficulty by starting the trip at 6pm with a sick Beatrice and a 9 months pregnant Sara on a river that may or may not having been flowing. Now we had a challenge. Needless to say, we survived. We had a fun float, a late night trip to a local pizza parlor, and plenty of good conversation.

Here are a couple "before" pictures.

Art

Esther brings home quite a few art projects from school. This piece is quite large (roughly 2x3 feet). It some sort of VERY fragile foam piece with numerous popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, jewels, toothpicks and various other sticks along with plenty of glitter and paint. She was quite determined to send it to her Grandmother through the mail ("I think her gonna be real happy bout it").

It now hangs above our fire place.

Road Trip!

For our 5 year anniversary we decided to take a road trip up the coast of California. Our final destination was the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park near the Oregon border. Here are a few pictures from the trip.







For months now this little girl has possessed a special ability to consume breakfast food.


For example, she can eat three packs of instant oatmeal (Maple Syrup & Brown Sugar) and a banana. Within an hour she is begging for crackers. Here is a glimpse into her approach to the project.