4th of July

Headed down to San Diego for the 4th. As we drove down Idyllwild, it was 103 in Temecula. We heard it was going to get hotter...Mitsu met us there, we haven't seen them since New year's. The kids always enjoy playing with Sekai.



When we got to my dad's house, he hosed them down to cool them off... I think he gets some sick pleasure doing this...

Later that day, we decided to climb Cowles Mtn. I figured if we went at 5pm, it'd be cool enough. Boy, was I wrong.






At the summit, 1591'. The highest point in the city of San Diego. Sage's first summit.















Wrestling with Teru...
Mitsu looks happy pouring some wine...

Baba

Sekai had gone to the beach with his friend and Sage hosed him down to get the sand off him. Being a fellow boy, you'd think he'd know better not to shoot him there!

The kids being goofy...

Mission Bay. Sage borrowed my dad's trunks and had fun making "boobs."

Sekai

Takeru made a sand ball, and I asked him to say "cheese!", this is his "cheese" face.

A group picture with my dad and all his grandkids. It was a rare moment for all of them to be there together. I think it made my dad happy.

Bird Song

Emi participated in a Native American Bird Song as a dancer with her friend Mallory, while her dad and the men sang. It was part of the Native American week at the Idyllwild Art school. They sang, and also had storytellers who told stories of where they came from and also creation stories about nature. Since Emi is not an Indian, her friend's dad "adopted" her for her display of dignity and character. They perform often and have asked Emi to tag along when she can. It'll be good for her to be a part of something cultural. It was really cool to see performances that has a raw and earthy feel to it.

Emi & Abby's First Summit

Emi's been wanting to hike to Suicide Rock for some time now, so I took her and Abby up for a 6.6 miles roundtrip hike. I was really surprised Abby wanted to go, but she promised she won't cry and complain so I took her along. She can be tough when she wants to. Sage, on the otherhand, wanted to go, but admitted he will whine, so I left him at home with David. Unbelievably, Suicide Rock is on the Sierra Club's 100 peaks list, so Emi and Abby just bagged their first peak!

Entering into the state wilderness...

One of many breaks along the way...it was pretty warm, good thing we left at 7:30am.

Abby kept asking, "Are we there yet?" 2.3 miles into the hike, see the sign? One more mile to go...

Crossing over into the National Forest...

The infamous Tahquitz in the background...

Picking manzanita berries on the way back, for our 2nd attempt at Manzanita Tea...

A Fun Day at the Bay

Went down to San Diego this weekend and took the kids to the bay. Its one of their favorite places to play. Went with Teru, his wife, and Takeru. They had a lot of fun.

Takeru enjoying his pink floatie...

Emi got pretty comfortable on the boogie board and went pretty far. That dot in the middle is her.


Teru taught them how to make sand balls...

And then he'd throw them in to the
bay at whoever was in there...

Tamami dragged Sage to where its deep. He was so scared...

Sage was stoked to be in the hole till we gave him some boobs...

And then it was Emi's turn!

North Fork

Summer break has started for the kids this week. We went hiking with a few of their friends to the North Fork of the San Jacinto River. It was a short hike, with a lot of stops along the way, playing on boulders and logs. The kids really had a fun time.

It was like we were on a field trip...

Allison, Sage, Micah, Ben, Danny, Abby, and Emi.

The pretty flowers were blooming...
Playing among the huge boulders...they looked like they can play here all day.
What a great way to start off the summer...

Manzanita Tea

Emi tried making Manzanita Tea she learned from her friend Mallory's dad, a Cahuilla Indian.












She picked berries from the trees from our neighborhood, washed them, and separated them, skin from seeds.







She grinds the skins...















Sage wanted in on the fun and picked some berries to grind too.

Put them in a cheesecloth, and let it sit in some hot water and simmer...

Whola! Manzanita Tea! The berry taste was subtle, but worth making again with more berries!

Class of 2007

Abby graduated from Kindergarten today. She is officially a big kid now. She's learned a lot this year, especially reading. We're getting a pool pass so we will be swimming at the pool a lot this summer.

10th Anniversary

David and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary today. Time does fly. Hard to believe I've known him for 16 years now.

Tetherball Whore

Sage's latest obsession: Tetherball. That's all he plays at school. How come you don't play with your friends? They play basketball, and its not basketball season now. Who do you play Tetherball with? Whoever is there, doesn't matter, as long as they play tetherball. David can't believe our son has chosen tetherball as his sport of choice. Well, at least it involves a ball. Yeah, on a stick! But he's pretty good at it. He'll play with some middle-schoolers, and they've come to know him by name. He calls himself the Tetherball King. He is so cocky...

1st Solo & Summit #5

Walked my first solo hike today. My friend Michelle caught a cold and couldn't make it. Went up Marion Mountain trail, I had read up on it, it is the shortest route (11.2 miles roundtrip) to the San Jacinto Peak, but also one of the hardest. People had said they've done it, and will never go this route again. It's just steep and the hike back is just as rough. So I thought I'd go check it out, go partway just to see if its really that bad, and also walk on a trail I haven't been on yet. The first 2.5 miles took 1hr 45 min., definitely the longest 2.5 miles I've hiked. Still had some time so kept walking to Little Round Valley...and ultimately to the San Jacinto Peak. Overall, the hike wasn't as bad as expected, I'd do it again and probably will prefer this route. Would rather do 11.2 rough miles, than 18 moderate miles.





















































Some pretty flowers along the way...

Little Round Valley

Little Round Valley Junction. This would of been my turnaround point. The sign says the peak is 1.6 miles away. Hmmm, I wonder if I walk fast enough I'll have enough time to go there. It'll be a shame to get this close and turn back...

Only .3 miles to go...almost there....

I was so happy to see the shed. Finally...I'm there!

Inside the shed. Looks like a shrine to Hikers, with a couple bunkbeds on the side.

Signing my first summit register!

Behind the shed is the pile of boulders you need to climb to reach the summit.

The view from the top. Whenever I reach a summit, I wish my camera had the panorama feature.

At the peak, 3 1/2 hrs later, elevation 10,834'. Total climb: 4534' gain. Believe me, I was so happy to reach the top. Too bad I couldn't stay and enjoy the scenery and rest a bit. I had 2 hrs. to run back to my car and go pick up my kids. Summit #5, check!