Oregon Trails

Note: In my attempt to stay up to date here, skipping some older posts and going with a LIFO account of our recent trip to Oregon.

This year we revived a Johnson family tradition of spending the week of 4th of July in Gearhart, Oregon which we did every year when I was growing up. While the kids had been to the Oregon coast before, this was their first time visiting for 4th of July, where they could watch the "parade" (think kids with decorated bikes and several decorated dogs too), which I remember vividly from when I was growing up. The whole Johnson clan was present -- Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Kevin, and Aunt Beth...and even Choco (their dog), who started the week off as a source of terror (to our dog-phobic kids), but ended the week as the recipient of increasingly brave petting.

Our week at the coast did not disappoint, and Sameer once again seemed amazed -- and happy -- that the summer in Oregon is so nice (a stark contrast to his commentary on the weather when we visit over the winter holidays). We started off the week with a visit from Kellie and her kids, and it was great to once again see the kids splashing around in the waves together (something only children do, because as an adult you can only focus on how unbelievably cold the water is). We also tackled the custom puzzles we bought Grandma for Mother's Day (the kids enjoyed working on puzzles that were pictures of themselves, although the rest of us lamented that I had chosen pictures that turned into nearly impossible puzzles to complete). Throughout the week, we enjoyed lots of fantastic wine (courtesy of Kevin & Beth, of course), great food (local fudge, smoked tuna, cedar planked salmon...best not to think of the calories), and numerous outings to the local sites. Grandpa accompanied us when we visited Fort Stevens (site of the "batteries" that defended the mouth of the Columbia River from the Civil War through World War II) as well as Fort Clatsop (where Lewis & Clark wintered). We also made it as far south as Tillamook where we toured the cheese factory (probably the highlight of the trip for Deven, our little cheese lover). Closer to home, we took in the tourist traps attractions of Seaside, where Sonia enjoyed the bumper cars and the tilt-a-whirl (I'm still nauseous from the latter), and of course more junk food. On the last day, Grandma watched the kids while we managed a quick round of golf (let's just decide not to note the scores here for posterity). But, probably the best days were those spent lazing around on the beach, flying our kites, partaking of nightly bocce ball on the lawn, and enjoying a vacation where we had no schedule, no hassles, and nothing but some much needed R&R.

Some highlights in pictures...

Deven "helps" Grandma find pieces for her puzzle

Deven shows the waves who is boss

Work in progress on Grandma's personalized puzzle (this one ultimately defeated us -- just too many pieces that looked *exactly* the same)

Sonia drives the jeep at Fort Stevens

Snarfing down popcorn on the streets of Seaside

Ready to camp out at Fort Clatsop

Photo bombed by Aunt Beth

Things are pretty cheesy in Tillamook

Happy 4th of July!

Another cutie wishing everyone Happy Independence Day!

The Gearhart parade is even better than Halloween!

Second puzzle = success!

One last perfect day at the beach

For Team Dholakia diehards, here is a link to a slideshow with all of the above photos plus a whole lot more. Too bad that our wonderful trip is over and it's back to the real world!

Father's Day 2013

This year we kept up our annual tradition of going to Alice's on Skyline for Father's Day. In an improvement over last year, we managed to actually bring a camera with charged batteries. Unfortunately, we also made it up to the restaurant at least an hour later than usual and in the process discovered that Alice's is very popular midday when it is, a) beautifully sunny, b) Father's Day, and c) Stanford's graduation weekend. So we had a lot of time to enjoy the surroundings and hear a 3-year-old say over and over, "I want pancakes." 

Here is this year's picture for posterity:

Father's Day 2013

To me, the kids don't look that much older than last year, but each year's picture hints at the realities of our world these days. You can sort of see that Sonia is missing one of her two front teeth (the other is wiggly, but stubborn), and has bandages on her chin from an ER visit due to a recent wipeout (I guess now we'll have a matching scar to the one from when she fell out of the shopping cart when she was 3). Not to be left out of the shenanigans, Deven is sporting his own facial scrape where his cheek met up with his nightstand when he fell out of his big boy bed. Of course, that doesn't deter him from giving his biggest "cheeeeeese" smile for the camera.

All of that is about par for the course...lots of evidence of chaos, but everyone is still smiling.  :-)

The rest of the weekend was a blur of fun. Deven had his soccer class (which mostly just involves running around until he gets tired...a parents' dream). Sonia and Deven both started tennis lessons (note the pattern: more running around until exhaustion sets in). We saw friends for dinner, ran errands, enjoyed the sunshine, suffered one epic meltdown at the mall (that event will be wiped off of the permanent record of the weekend), and ultimately wrapped up the events with a giant bowl of queso accompanied by a margarita. Between that dinner and brunch at Alice's, we should have enough calories to last us through until we can do it all again next year!

All in all, a great weekend with the family.  Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful dads in our lives!

Run, Deven, Run

Note, we have missed the ball entirely

How many Dholakias does it take to bounce the ball with the racquet?

 

Thank you Steve Jobs for making our hour long wait for food bearable

New Father's Day tradition: bowls of queso

Not pictured: the stomach ache that followed Sameer eating this entire bowl of queso by himself

Summer Daze 2012

After our trip to Europe, the rest of the summer we stuck close to home, but still managed to have a ton of fun. The kids spent most days decked out in swimsuits, sundresses/shorts, and sunscreen, which almost made the Bay Area cost of living seem worthwhile (almost). Highlights included several trips to Dada and Bebe's house, meeting Thomas the Train, and summer camps running the gamut from swimming to marine science, but we also enjoyed just splashing around in the kiddie pool on the lawn and riding our bikes around the neighborhood.

In the blink of an eye, summer was over and it was time to start school...more on that next!

It's summer...time to break out the kiddie pool!

Matching swimsuits at Dada and Bebe's

Kai helps Sonia cool off in the hot Tracy sun

Look, Dad, it's Thomas!

The newest Jr. Engineer had lots of questions as to how Thomas had traveled by train from the Island of Sodor, but was still excited to meet him

Deven has perhaps never been happier

Meeting Sir Topham Hatt -- easily the creepiest character meet-and-greet ever

Crazy hair day at summer camp

Four cousins in a car...god help us when they actually have drivers' licenses

Riding the carousel at the Oakland Zoo

It takes a lot of confidence to pull off Ariel princess heels with socks

Hold on tight!

This past weekend we had fun helping Kai celebrate his 3rd birthday, complete with bouncy house and all-you-can-eat treats. Sonia's favorite part was getting to hang with the "big kids", but the highlight for Deven was getting to form a mini "choo choo" with his cousin.  As Melissa said, you can just imagine this video being played at a rehearsal dinner sometime in the distant future while someone comments that these two have been joined together since the very beginning.

Kindergarten Shots

Sonia went to the doctor today to receive her "kindergarten shots" (she was so excited about the notion of being officially ready for kindergarten that she was jumping up and down with excitement this morning...I don't think she quite got what she was going in for). After checking her hearing, eyesight, and weighing & measuring her, she received 4 shots and promptly realized this was not the treat she had in mind. Nevertheless, one lollipop later the tears were gone and the state of California is ready to accept her into public school.  Oh, wait, what is this second form about an "oral exam"? Okay, apparently a dentist's visit is required as well...the to-do's never end!

In the spirit of posterity, here were her measurements (age 5 years, 8+ months):

• Weight: 39 lbs, 8 ounces (26th percentile)
• Height: 44 inches (43rd percentile)
• BMI: 14.34 (24th percentile)
• Blod pressure: 102 / 60

Apparently her belief that she should have dessert every single night has not yet translated into body mass...may she always be so lucky.  :-)

The tooth fairy's first visit

After much anticipation and wiggling, Sonia finally lost her first tooth (one of the middle teeth on the bottom). Tragically, she now has a matching gap to the naturally occurring space between her two front teeth on the top, but we can only hope that eventually the tooth fairy will come to claim those as well.

For the record, the tooth fairy brought Sonia $5 for her first lost tooth (TBD if that figure holds constant for future teeth) as well as a book about herself. Apparently, the tooth fairy collects the teeth and builds furniture and other things for castles in her magical world.  Kind of like that throne made out of swords on Game of Thrones, but this one is made of baby teeth. Who knew?

An orthodontist's dream

Alpine Adventures

Editor's note: remember that amazing trip we went on last year to Europe?  No?  Not surprising since I never managed to write about it on this blog, and then that somehow became this mental blocker to writing about anything else.  Well, the wait is over...one year later, here is what I vaguely remember...post dated back to the actual time we went.  Wish we were there again this year!

Very few things could make me agree to take Deven halfway around the world on an airplane, but our good friends Matt & Krista inviting us to visit them at their house in Zurich (along with the Dodsons, Weiss's, and Uncle Sudhir, of course) is one of the few reasons I would. So, we took the plunge, paid extra to get non-stop tickets to Zurich, dumped all of the planning duties onto Krista (a HUGE task to get all of us to agree to anything), and off we went.

The trip got off to a bit of a rocky start as nothing says "Hello, Zurich!" like your 2-year-old christening the plane with vomit. Did I mention Deven inherited my tendency to get motion sickness? At least he had the good graces to wait until we landed. After a quick cleanup in the airport bathroom, excited greetings from the Glotzbachs who were there to meet us at the airport, we were off to navigate a sea of trains and I think at least one bus to get to Chez (Haus?) Glotzbach. As advertised, the house was *fantastic*, and so much nicer than staying at a hotel. Particularly in the middle of the night when the kids were wide awake and the adults were not. Oh, jet lag, we hated you so.

We toured around Zurich and the environs, taking in a church I vaguely remembered from my backpacking trip at 21 (at least this time I wasn't wearing jean shorts), an amazing transportation museum in Lucerne (including a panic-filled 60 seconds where Lila was AWOL...only to be found perfectly safe), chocolate stores (of course), an entire restaurant focused on fondue (Sameer's dream come true), and the world's most expensive (but desperately needed) Starbucks lattes.

After 3 glorious nights in Zurich, we boarded the train to Austria to stay at the Schlosshotel Fiss, where we met up with the Weiss clan and learned what it means to take a family vacation European style. As in kids club every night, an indoor water slide, an on-site trampoline, and gondolas to hillside "playgrounds" that were ridiculous. Taking the gondola back down was optional, of course, since the alpine slide was also available. Flying through the sky on a zipline in some gerry-rigged contraption while Andrew discloses that he is afraid of heights and Sameer volunteers (mid ride) that perhaps both of us riding at the same time increased the risk of our children becoming orphans is a memory that I will never forget. All of the kids got along like they had been friends forever, and the ability to play zone defense with some of our oldest friends (supplemented by an only-in-Europe remote monitoring of the children in their rooms) made for countless fun times.

While we were sad to leave our all-you-could-eat buffet lifestyle, it was eventually time to say ciao to the Dodsons (off to Lake Como to hang with Clooney), and we trained back to Zurich for one last stop before departing. I literally laughed until I cried watching Jason attempt to do a flip on the trampoline when I bet him 100 Euros / Swiss Francs / the currency of his choice that he could not do it (a lifetime wager that still stands since he failed despite countless attempts). A leisurely dinner outside capped off the perfect trip, and we boarded the plane with two changes of clothes for Deven. Happily, none were needed as he was a trooper, and I discovered that there is a limit to how long your kid will play with an iPad, and it is about 3 hours shorter than the flight from Zurich to SFO. And don't even ask about the jet lag after we got back...I am afraid to write about it here for fear that it will just prolong the memories.

But, all in all, a fantastic, amazing, fun-filled trip...can't wait for our next adventure with this crew!

Welcome to Kusnacht! Let's get on a boat!

Sonia's matching jacket allows her to pretend to be a Dodson girl

Say cheese! This tiny camera (which Deven played with for hours) was the best $10 I ever spent. Gotta love Swiss exchange rates.

What do you do after flying 12 hours to get to Switzerland? Pretend you're on a plane at the transportation museum, of course.

Not sure how a merry-go-round qualifies as "transportation", but someone's excited

The amazing view from the backyard

I am still amazed that we were able to convene this whole crew for a photo somewhere in the Austrian Alps

It pays to be little

Girl power (and the hats the hotel "gave" our kids and later charged us for)

Come on, Daddy, faster!

Shotgunning juice...alpine fun makes you thirsty