Mike, Jill, Lucy, & Wubie!

The Palo Alto Obon fest is the third and final Obon festival we attend, and is a bit smaller than the others. It has drums and dancing and food and game booths. We attended the P.A. Obon with Grandmommy two years ago, and keep going in her memory.

This year the big event of the day was Lucy winning a prize at one of the game booths…a kitty cat! She has had luck on the ‘wheel of fortune’ two years in a row. Yay Lucy! I think you’ve found your game!

“Phalaenopsis, phalaenopsis…pretty flower, pretty flower… “(to the tune of Frère Jacques)
— Lucy’s song after visiting the orchid farm

We’ve had a pretty mild summer, a few hot days here and there. On the hot ones we head out of town…to the foggy city or to the cool beach. Here are some snaps from our summer so far, mostly beach pics. Stay tuned for part 2…

Last week we had our first adventure in kite flying, on a big hill overlooking the valley. Madame was a natural!

The weather was warm, wind was blustery, and the view was spectacular…you could even see the water of the bay and the hills in the distance. What a perfect day.

We went to a super cool birthday party recently, and they had a bouncy house. What fun!

Madame also enjoyed playing with the birthday girl’s toys….

But kept going back to the bouncy house….she even convinced her daddy to bounce!

They were crafts…a pinata…loads of balloons…cupcakes…phew!

It was a great party, and we stayed til the very end. Just as we were about to leave, she got in one last bounce!

One of the goofier things Lucy and I do most days is snail racing.

We go out to our garden, and check for snails on various plants, esp. the lemon tree. We pick our contenders. After watering the racetrack, we place the snails in a line with a goal in mind, usually the top of a nearby pot. And they’re off!

Racing snails is similar to cats…they take naps, go the wrong way, turn around a lot. So it can be quite exciting…you never can tell who will win.

Going to the Snow from Mike C on Vimeo.

We spent the weekend in Grass Valley with Lucy’s grandparents. Lucy had been looking forward to the trip all week, especially our Saturday trek to Soda Springs where she’d be able to play in the snow.

Lucy got her first taste of snow last year. However, she wasn’t really prepared for that encounter. Her excitement dissipated quickly once she realized how cold and wet snow could be.

However, this year was very different. Lucy’s three now, a grizzled veteran compared to the two year old rookie we plopped into the snow last year. This time she had a much better idea of what to expect. We also planned things a bit better, making sure to bring along a snow sled for the kid.

In this video you’ll see us all having a great time in the snow. Lucy’s excitement can be quite infectious that way. Also, if you watch the whole video, you just might catch a special moment where Lucy and her Gpa cut the rug together. Fun stuff.

Last week we went to see the daffodil hill at Filoli…it’s a great place to run around!

Grandmommy loved the daffodils…we imagined her enjoying them with us, just like we did when Lucy was a baby.

Here are some pics of the girls getting the mail. The pics on the left are from May, 2007. The pics on the right are from this morning.

They really enjoy mail time, especially when they see a key in our mailbox, which means there’s another box they get to open that’s holding a package so cool, so wonderful, that it just couldn’t be contained by our regular mailbox.

Whenever the kid sees a package she immediately guesses, “something for me?!” and in many cases she’s right.

More pics from the May, 2007 mail retrieval project can be found here.

Auntie Laura took us to a park a few weeks back which overlooks the city of San Francisco. It was an interesting, sometimes harrowing ride up to the park, which is level with some big tower at the top of a hill (auntie can tell us which).

The beautiful park is open to dogs, so Luna came along, and met up with other dogs big and small.

It’s wooded in places, hilly and meadowy in others, and it felt like we were in the middle of a forest, rather than a city. (It also reminded me of Hitchcock’s Vertigo.)

Here are some of the breathtaking views:

That green strip is Golden Gate Park.

Toward the Sunset, you can see the beach:

Auntie points out her house:

Luna having fun.

Auntie, Luna and Lucy wander down a path.

Lucy chasing the ‘piglet’ doggie:

We hope to visit again soon.

Grass Valley Visit from Mike C on Vimeo.

We spent last weekend with Tom and Karen in Grass Valley. This is the (25 minute!) video. Some highlights:

• Lucy playing in the “ladybug pool”
• Lucy, Tom, and Karen putting on a talent show
• Lucy saying “Hi” to her Auntie Janie
• Lucy finding frogs while exploring a creek

For pics, please refer to Jill’s post.

Music:

• ‘”Mose Rager Blues” from Country Guitar Thunder by Merle Travis & Joe Maphis
• “Words Unspoken” and “Tin Roof” from The Crow—New Songs For The 5-String Banjo by Steve Martin
• “Gone” from Guitar Country by Chet Atkins
• “Understand Your Man, “Catch the Wind“, and “Blowin’ in the Wind” from More of That Guitar Country by Chet Atkins
• “Ground Speed” from Foggy Mountain Banjo by Flatt & Scruggs
• “Black Mountain Rag” from The Essential Chet Atkins by Chet Atkins