Thornhill Drive Weekly

John traveled through Europe (UK, France and Denmark) since we last updated you. An internal Dolby meeting took him to London, and he jumped on the Eurostar to go say hi to Lyne. Lots of updates. Isabella had prepared drawings and letters. John went back to London only five hours later, and spent the next four days in London. After that a weekend in Denmark in great weather and in company of great friends. The Danish soccer team arrived at the airport almost at the same time after Japan had sent them home. Daniel Agger rushed through the crowd so no chance of getting an autograph from the Liverpool defender.

We’ve started to remodel Olivia’s house a bit and should have it ready at the end of month. We are looking for storage space for the things we can’t fit in, but seem to have been beaten by college students and house owners remodeling over the summer. It’s a small fortune to get a 10′x20′ space, but there’s probably no way around it.

We celebrated 4th of July with the Bellamy klan. We had a great time and always appreciate how well we are taken care of and accepted into the family. John brought a bunch of lights and reflectors and we shot pictures a total of four times. Lots of portrait that needs to be looked through. Hopefully this weekend.

July 3rd was partly spent in Elkhorn Slough with an abundance of wildlife around us. We saw lots of birds, seals, sea lions, otters and much more. It was a tad cold but good times on the water.

Looking at the calendar it’s hard to understand that Isabella’s days are filled up until she’s back in school. She’s having lots of fun at Steve & Kate’s camp in San Francisco, but next week she’s in a local art class. We’ve booked a ticket for her to spend a couple of weeks with her cousins in Ottawa early August. She’s very excited and we hear that’s also the case at the other end.

House was lowered $10,000 this week. No fun. Looking at the national figures, it’s not only us that’s struggling to sell. Some day soon…

Spent the weekend in Carmel Valley. Hiked Palo Corona Regional Park this morning (permit required). Very nice with views of both Carmel Valley and the Pacific Ocean. Had a blue heron follow us around for a bit, but other than that there wasn’t much wildlife. Saw a bunch before leaving though – eight male deer strolling though the garden just like they owned the whole place. Good times down here and very relaxing. Looking forward to many more visits over the summer.

Late May we spent a weekend in Sarah & Robert’s house in Healdsburg. Drive by Barnett Vineyards to take some pictures of their poppies. Enjoyed the wonderful view of the valley around St. Helena while we munch on sandwiches from Dean & Deluca. The house is wonderful and very cool inside. Physically but also when it comes to the decor. There are a few pics from the vinery here.

Isabella finished third grade on Tuesday last week. Report card looked good – As and Bs. She’s already attacking the summer workbook hoping to make it through before it takes up too much time late in the summer. We signed her up for camp at Steve and Kate and an art class mid-July. Other than that she’ll get to hang out with friends and family before all of a sudden time for the next school year.

Nothing new on the house but we’re started looking for storage space, so that we can start moving out. We’re excited to be moving in with Olivia and her girls, to move to Burlingame and to combine households. Will have to come up with a new name for the blog when that happens ☺

We promised to post a link to the pictures from China. The Beijing pictures can be found here, and the once from the Great Wall here. Enjoy.





John got back from China last Monday. Long trip that unexpectedly ended with a couple of wonderful days in and around Beijing. Hooked up with Beijing Sideways – a small tour company taking people around in a sidecar on an older Chinese motorcycle. Highly recommended and a great way to unwind after visiting Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Saturday was spend at the Great Wall in the Jiankou area. This is the most dangerous part of the wall as no restoration has taken place. Everything is crumbling and there are section where almost none of the original rock formation is left. Much walking is done using both hands and feet and the stairs are almost unbelievable steep at times. But the reward is that you’re pretty much all alone in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but admire and appreciate what the people went through to build this line of defense. Jiankou is not for everyone (we saw two familes turn around) but we highly recommend going there if you’re want to get away from the crowds. Stayed for the sunset and didn’t get back to the hotel until almost 1:00 in the morning.

Back in the sidecar eight hours later but this time inside Beijing. Saw the Hutongs, lots of famous and well-knows buildings, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. We also made it to the Olympic City and admired the birdnest. Very impressive building that unfortunately isn’t used a whole lot. Apparently the citizens are not too happy that money is being spent on a stadium that isn’t used.

More pictures from both trips will follow. There’s quite a stack to get through…

We had tickets to go see Atlantis on her final voyage into space, but the China trip got in the way. Turned out the tickets were in high demand but it would still have been fun to see the shuttle lift off. Two more to go…

The house didn’t sell while John was gone and is still on the market. We lowered the price a bit and are excited to see if that will bring buyers. A couple of disclosure packages were handed out last week but so far it’s quiet. There are currently four houses for sale on our street.

We’re missing Moses. Nothing much else to say about that. We look for him every morning and almost head for the dog food while we’re still trying to wake up. No doubt he’s having fun and he’ll be spoiled rotten at the scout’s camp this summer.

Today is Pia’s birthday. She celebrated with most of the girls from class on Saturday. There are some pictures from the party here. Many congrats to her on turning nine. A final shout to out Parisian friend Magali, who got married to Gauthier this weekend in Vercors (near Grenoble). Sorry we couldn’t join!

First of all: we’ve changed how the blog handles images, so that you can enjoy higher resolution photos. Just click on the thumbnail and enjoy large(r) images. You can easily browse through all the images in a post using the arrows at the bottom of the image viewer. We hope you’ll like the change.

The image on the left is from our recent trip to Las Vegas. The entire album can be found here. Enjoy!

The second change is not as colorful. The house is once again on the market. We’re not sure what we can and cannot say, so we’ll play it safe and leave it with that. More when there are new buyers. The house is open this weekend – hopefully bathing in sunshine.

John’s on his last leg in a China trip. Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Shanghai is behind him. The next few days will be spent in Beijing. Tight schedule and crummy weather. Three pictures so far and they’re all of folks in business meetings… Still many restriction on what you can (or rather cannot do). No restrictions on what you can eat…

Olivia and Isabella came to Las Vegas on April 15 and we had a great weekend. The days disappeared hiking in Red Rock Canyon and Death Valley while we spent the evenings on the strip. Saw Le Reve and The Blue Men. Very different but both good entertainment. Friday afternoon we flew out to Grand Canyon with Maverick Helicopters. Passed Valley of Fire on the way and touched down a couple of times before we flew over the strip in all it’s neon lights. Great memories.

Thornhill Drive… There’s a “Sale Pending” sign outside and after a few offers and counter offers we agreed on the numbers late Sunday evening. If all goes well with the inspections, we’re handing over the property on June 13 a few days after the girls are out of school for the summer. So many memories here but we’re also excited to the things to come. More as the news tickles in.

This past weekend was spent in Carmel together with Rhett & Karin (former Adobe colleagues) and their four boys. Good times – very relaxing. Kids had a blast in the hot tub and we all felt rested once Sunday came around. After they left for the aquarium we drove a bit down the coast to enjoy the beautiful weather and strong afternoon colors. We can’t remember ever being there and not appreciating the beautiful scenery.

We’re leaving you with a picture of dear Moses, who yesterday found a new home. Cory found him a great family, and although they are local Moses will join Skip at a 207 acres scout camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains. House is empty without him, but we are happy on his behalf. We’re welcome to peak in whenever we want, and we will definitely check up on him from time to time.

A quick jet lagged update from Las Vegas. John made the world’s two largest playgrounds – Dubai and Las Vegas – in one day yesterday. He’s at a trade show for the week and will be joined by Isabella and Olivia on Friday. Good times in Dubai although it was brief. He spent a good amount of time at Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world. At half a kilometer tall (2,625 feet) it can been seen from everywhere. The elevator runs at 22 mph and it takes very little time to reach the 122th floor. Very impressive!

The open house at home is progressing just fine although the weather is doing what it can to discourage buyers to show up. Looks like the rain is over for this time, and we have already received an offer. The house is open tomorrow for agents and next weekend for everyone else. The electronic tour can be found here.

Isabella is enjoying being back in school and a project about Pluto (the planet, not the dog…). She enjoyed three days with Phoebe and her siblings and were very well taken care off. We got to spend Sunday afternoon together and went to a reptile show. She’s certainly not scared of snakes, but she’s starting to understand that there’s no reason to put one on the wish list…

We landed earlier today and is already getting quite used to the island life. Weather is warm and the sunset is just around the corner. We haven’t planned a whole lot for the five days other than a dinner with the Hunters. It’ll be good to just relax and enjoy. Isabella’s coughing a bit – hopefully the 75 degrees will make it go away. How lucky we are to have the luxury of being here in only five hours!

Last week John spent a few days in Las Vegas at a telecom trade show. Attendance was down and what used to be an important industry show was filled with what seems to be a lot of iPhone cases and screen protectors. The show itself was about half the size as it used to be. Cab drivers said that even Las Vegas was feeling the crunch. But John had good briefings with the press; which is why he was there in the first place.

We celebrated Olivia’s birthday on Friday in company with her girls, her mom & dad and her brother Dave + his family. Very lively bunch and we enjoyed Sandy’s delicious food from the BBQ. This year’s first. We celebrated Olivia’s actual birthday the evening after in Half Moon Bay enjoying sitting close to the Pacific Ocean, room service and an all-you-can-eat dessert bar.

Isabella started Volleyball on Wednesday. Just friendly lessons before she’ll have real lessons in school next year. Several of her classmates are there. Sadly she missed on the sessions today as the flight over here collided with the schedule. She lucked out and even got our of school early. No complaints. From Isabella.

At home people are staging the house. Mostly removing stuff or at least moving it into the garage. We’re sure it’ll look great and the house will no doubt be ready for the grand opening on Sunday, April 10. We have had the house inspected a by general contractor and the termite guy was there looking for the little wood hungry pests. Painting, planting and cleaning… All that remains in the baseboard of the fence. There are two more houses for sale on Thornhill Drive – both within the price range allowing the buyers to get the $8K tax credit. That won’t quite be the case with our house but we don’t mind :-)

Greetings from sizzling San Carlos. How we missed the warmth this time around. Moses is enjoying the sun and a summer cut. He’s had a routine check at the vet today. Got vaccine, squeaky toy and a couple of treats.

Isabella’s working on a Lenten Quilt due on Monday. She’s listed a scarifies and a good deed for each day. Rumor is that she’s running out of things to scarify, but of the two it seems to be the right one to have in short supply. She went riding earlier today. The horse she’s been riding over the last couple of years – Rosie – passed this week. Happened very quickly. Isabella found a new buddy. She is happy to be a helper at tomorrow’s horse show and always looks forward to her Saturday riding.

Olivia’s youngest – Adriana – celebrated her third birthday last weekend. Lots of jumping at the Little Gym in Millbrae followed by a few smaller parties at pre-school and at home. Lots of good presents incl. an impressive kitchen with lots of food, pots and pans. There are some images here.

Finally, we’ve decided to see if we can sell the house. Tough decision but running two households isn’t financially viable and market seems to be a little better these days. The house will be open April 10 and 11. Until then we’ll rearrange some furniture, do a little touch-up painting and make sure the next owners have a nice home to move into. And should the market not be able to carry the asking price, then we’ll enjoy the changes ourselves :-)

It’s been more than a month since we last checked in. Lots of activity on top of each other, but now there’s a bit of breathing room.

First of all: thanks to all who sent Isabella thoughts and presents around her birthday. She got spoiled and we’ve staked some of them trying to find room for her to sleep. Olivia hosted her and us on her actual birthday.

John’s dad Mogens was here until February 13. We spent some good time together although there was a bit too much distraction preparing for the trade show in Barcelona (see below). We stopped by the studio to capture some Kodak moments. Always fun! Went to Carmel for the weekend starting February 5 and brought Phoebe so the two girls could have out together. As always beautiful surroundings although the weather was a bit rough. We had good hikes and lunched overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Isabella and John grabbed an opportunity to go to New York for the weekend on February 27. We wrote John’s sister and asked if they were in the neighborhood. The five of them jumped in the car and drove eight hours to spend some good time with us. The cousins were especially happy to see each other and Isabella and Anna begged for a sleepover pretty much two minutes after they were reunited.

We ignored the snow and were tourists all day Sunday visiting Empire State Building, Natural History Museum, FAO Schwartz and naturally Dylan’s Candy Bar. Isabella and Anna got their wish on Sunday evening, and kicked John out of his bed. But not until they skated at the Rockefeller Plaza in their Canada sweat shirts – proudly worn after the hockey final.

Monday brought a revisit with Maura who we met in South Africa. Quite the host and beautiful views from her Manhattan apartment on the 33rd floor overlooking New Jersey. Fun to catch up on all her world travels. Isabella got a doll from Jordan and immediately named it mini-Maura.

John came back from Barcelona February 21. Laptop got stolen almost as soon as he stepped off the plane in Barcelona, and overall there were many unpleasant surprises within the Dolby team and the underworld of Barcelona. The return trip should have been nice, but a canceled flight from Frankfurt turned everything into something that’s not worth remembering. At least the sun was out the day before, and John walked the city thin revisiting many of the sights from the two previous visits such at Frank Gehry’s gold fish in front of Hotel D’Arts.

Isabella is in bed with what could be a sinus infection. She’s had a persistent cough for a while but it disappeared once we scheduled a doctor’s appointment :-) She’s doing well in school and handed in yet another report on Friday. This time about Tutankhamun. Teacher is not as happy as she could be so Isabella’s promised to work a bit harder. And bit a lot more quiet.