Browse Author: beakatude

ManKamp 09

ManKamp09

The boys returned home this afternoon alive and uninjured but a little stinky.  They actually backpacked all their stuff 3 miles up a mountain and hung out in the middle of the woods with no running water or toilets…just a lake and shovel.

rain

Round Lake

backpacking

They also gathered wood for a raging fire, shared booze, ate hot dogs, and made lots of noise without any neighbors around to complain.  It sounded like they had a fun time despite all the cold rain and sometimes snow that was falling on them the whole time.  Actually, the sun only decided to come out this morning as they hiked back to the cars.

ethiopian dinner

roebling

Once the boys returned and showered, we all went out for Ethiopian food in Berkeley so I got to catch up with G and Tob before they flew back to their respective homes.  It sounds like the next ManKamp will be in 2011.  Maybe Jack will be old enough to tag along by then.  Then again…maybe he shouldn’t go.

Jes took the waterproof camera and actually took a bunch of photos.

One Last Goodbye

Dr. Mai

Friday was Dr. Mai‘s last day and so of course there was one more party for her.

zoo animals

Here’s a photo of us as 3 tigers, a unicorn, and a reindeer.  Confused?  It’s just an inside joke that I don’t think will be worth explaining here.  🙂

Long Weekend

I had a rough work week and I’m so relieved that it’s Saturday.  We finally discharged two of our more intense patients (after two months of Rehab) on Thursday and our new one has been a handful.  Without getting into a lot of detail, my patience, endurance, and mental fortitude were pushed to their limits this week leaving me depleted.  So, it’s Saturday now and my boss gave me Monday off.  Ah…I love random 3-day weekends.

On top of all that, Jes is out in the woods this weekend for another wild and crazy ManKamp so I’m having a lot of “me time”.  It has been pretty awesome.  So far, I’ve been to a going-away party, had drinks with a friend on the roof of my building, slept in until 10 am, and spent 2 hours at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market browsing and tasting all there was to offer.  The sun is out, there’s a load of laundry going, and I’m in bed sipping coffee at 4:30 in the afternoon.  Nice.

I don’t have much planned for the rest of the weekend and I like it that way.  Hmm…what should I have for dinner tonight?

Butterflies!

butterflies

Jes and I went to the CA Academy of Sciences this morning and we were pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn’t as crowded as first time we visited last fall.  We missed the rainforest last time so that was our first stop.  It’s a huge dome that has a special temperature and humidity for all the plants and butterflies.  There were all kinds of butterflies and lots of them!

dome

The dome has natural light that comes in from the circular windows on the rooftop above and a huge pond down below filled with gigantic arowanas and catfish.  At the very bottom there’s a tube that allows you to hang out below the water and the dome, which give you a really cool point of view.

beakandjes

It was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning and we were home by 1:00 pm to enjoy the rest of the day.

Fruit Everywhere!

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On Saturday morning we all woke up early and left the house by 8:30 for a trip to Brentwood.  It’s a 54-mile drive to the middle of farmtown to pick some white peaches, cherries, and blackberries.  The weather was warm but pleasant and the fruit was plentiful.

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Little J had a good time giving Uncle Bang dirt, wandering the orchard, and feeding the goats some twigs.  Jes and I ended up with about 4 pounds of fruit – 3 white peaches and lots of Bing and white cherries.

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We also found some bootilicious cherries that were just as yummy.   The others also picked a bunch of blackberries, which turned out to be the best deal since they were so tiny and had no seed inside.  For $2.50/pound, we have enough fruit for at least a week and had a fun time pickin’ fruit.

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For lunch, we went to a Red Robin in some mall that we found along the way.  The last time I had Red Robin was a while ago in Irvine and it was delicious.  We were all so excited that we ordered the Tower of (Onion) Rings for the table.  Awesome.

The Making of a Fan

watching the game

Little J and I spent the evening in front of the TV watching the Lakers play in Game 5.  He had a grilled cheese sammich while I ate my cherries.  When the players were running up and down the court, he would point and say “Ball! Ball!”.  Woohoo!  He seemed to actually enjoy the game but then again I think TV is still pretty novel for him.

auntie beak and lil j

The most important part was that by halftime he managed to eat all of his dinner and drank all his banana milk.  The rest of the evening was spent pushing cars around and rearranging the Tupperware drawer.  When it was time for bed, he got his teeth brushed, diaper changed (whew, it was loaded!), pjs on, and was out in just a couple minutes.  Woohoo!!!  So, by the end of the night I had a happy sleeping toddler and the Lakers won Game 5.  Today was a good day.