We set off for Hawaii late on April 4 and arrived in Honolulu just in time for bed. We noticed a couple of mosquitoes during the night but thought nothing of it. We easily passed 100 bites in between us in the next 24 hours. Pia and Isabella took the prize with more than 90 percent of the bites but overall they were very good sports about it. It’s the first time we’ve encountered mosquitos on the islands and we hope they will move on to different corners of the world before we – or anybody dear to us – return or arrive.

We drove around the Oahu and we made a couple of regular stops but also stopped at a couple of new sights – one of them a fairly deserted beach close to the Shrimp Truck. Unfortunately the wet weather made it impossible to stay more than a minute so we rushed back to the car as quick as we had left it. Lanikai remains a favorite – except when parking tickets are handed out…

The Easter Bunny made it all the way to Hawaii but seemed to have had trouble finding good spots in the condo. All eggs were found right after the hunt was started. Girls enjoyed their time at the Outrigger and at the pool and once again proved that the human body will not dissolve after five hours of continued soaking.

We left on a red-eye flight six days later and arrive back home at 6:45 in the morning. We got some extra sleep on the plane while they unloaded 4,000 pounds of corn seed that had made the 767 too heavy to land in San Francisco.

There are some images from the trip here.

After finished volleyball and basketball it was time for track. Ella and Pia just started and can be found on the local track arenas several times a week. They participate in several different styles of running, shot put and long jump. We are all looking forward to see what the coach can get out of the girls.

Bella is still on the bench unable to participate in Cheer leading. The foot its slowly getting better but it seems a longer process than first anticipated.

Finishing the post off with a couple of pictures from Moss Landing where we recently stopped to see (and smell) the local sea lions. From our tour last year we know that there are hordes of otters just around the corner but they can only been seen by boat. Certainly worth a visit if you’re in the neighborhood.

Olivia turned… well, a little older March 27. We turned to helium-filled balloons rather than candles and decorated a good portion of the living room ceiling that way. Penny came with the six of us to Kincaid’s to celebrate before Pia and Isabella had to run to their weekly gymnastics class.

She had gotten flowers from Denmark which went nicely along with the two Georg Jensen vases Olivia had spotted while in Copenhagen in February.

The biggest present was probably that the lice we’ve had visit finally decided to call it quits. What seems to have started in the early grades at school jumped from head to head to head and while only three of us actually got the host the little buggers, it sure itches on your scalp just thinking about it. Anyway, hopefully it’s over and speaking to friends it seems that it’s more common than we originally thought.

Happy birthday :-)

2012 is bringing a rather long list of anniversaries, round birthdays, and other high profile events. As we understand it the term “round birthday” is a Scandinavian expression used primarily when the person turns the sharper corners – typically anything divisible by 10 (we realize anything is divisible by ten, but you’re smart enough to understand where we’re going with this).

Adrian was first on the list when he on February 25 turned 70. Hard to tell by his good looks, his exercise routines and calendar. But we have proof of the birthdate. A slightly smaller group celebrated him at Slanted Door in San Francisco on the actual day. The birthday cake at the restaurant was made of cotton candy – a speciality of the house – and poor Adrian didn’t get to taste much of it before the kids had devoured it. Knowing him he didn’t mind one bit.

All of us got together on March 10 and have an unforgettable afternoon and evening at the Monterey Peninsula Country Club Beach House in Pebble Beach. The setting is stunning and the privacy of the house and the large windows make an impression that still is fresh in our memories. Olivia had decorated the room to her hearts content making the room a part of the beach. Even the cake had sea shells on it.

The evening’s entertainment was delivered by uncle Robert who summed Adrian’s life up using street lyrics, gestures and everything else that made the rap outstanding. We also had a slide show lined up with 60+ pictures of the years that passed. But Adrian himself took the prize delivering a heartfelt thank-you speech reminding us that family is what matters the most.

Formidable event all round – there are some pictures here.

Adriana turned 5 on March 15. Isabella and Pia were away for the week with the school so the first birthday party was a little smaller than usual. The upside was that she got celebrated three times – on the actual day, when Pia and Isabella cam home, and when she threw a birthday party for her friends. The rest of us was happy to get to eat cake on each occasion, and Grandma and Grandpa came to celebrate with her at Benihana on the actual day.

Lots of presents were waiting for her in the morning. Among them an electric train, a carrier for her art supplies, and an inflatable pool shaped as a castle. There were gifts to style herself and a handful of karate lessons. She’s loving it and is proud to show off the white belt she got for transforming a piece of wood into little match sticks using nothing but her foot. Chances are she will get a yellow belt at her next lesson and she’s determined on a getting a black belt soon. As an incentive she’s been promised a trampoline at home if/when she accomplishes that goal.

Her birthday party was once again at the Little Gym in Millbrae. All invited showed up despite very heavy rain and party that started once it was dusk. Lots of jumping, spinning, sliding before it was pizza and cupcake time. Good friends that seemed to prefer the cupcakes to the carrots. There are pictures from the event here and from the karate lessons here.

We were lucky to get new habitants at Cypress Avenue. A couple Chickadees had built a nest very close to our garage entrance. The eggs hatched on March 16 and out popped a couple of young birds showing their yellow beaks every time they had a chance. They were born in the absolute worst of weather – very cold and very rainy.

We left for Carmel later that day hoping all would be OK despite the lack of Spring temperatures but returned Sunday evening to find both of the youngster deceased. Very sad!

The parents cleaned out the nest the next morning. Before burying them we simply had to capture a few pictures of them to remind ourselves and those around us that every moment is precious. That said; beauty comes in many shapes and even as they lay there there was something peaceful and beautiful about them.

On a more positive note we have seen some recent activity and hope we get a second chance to see life transform from egg to flight.

We are happy to tell you that Olivia and John will get married on October 27 in Carmel Valley.

It’s not necessarily news to most of our readers since the Save-the-Date card has already been sent out, but we still wanted to share the happy news with a larger group. We trust you will understand our wish for an intimate wedding with the closest family and ditto friends.

The planning is moving ahead. We have selected some of the music, the florist, the photographer and a wedding coordinator to help us to it all together. We’ve also found a great efficient and the location is absolutely stunning.

We are excited to be taking this important step in our lives and to bring our two families together in a way we wanted since we decided to join our lives.

You are welcome to visit the wedding site if you want to follow along. The URL is on the non-official flyer below.

It was due to timing and a calendar being too full that our trip to Denmark got scheduled in mid-February. We had plenty of warnings about the climate from the locals but it was then or sometime in 2013. And no-one can blame Olivia for wanting to meet the people her and John have invited to their wedding… So on February 15, Isabella, Olivia and John took off for Copenhagen. No clouds until Northern Germany, but after that we saw the sun only on occasion. It didn’t matter – we were treated so well by good friends and family that the weather didn’t matter. We didn’t eat out once – all prepared meals in their homes, and we left Denmark with a strong sense of friendships that will last a lifetime.

All in all we saw more than 20 people in a four-day period. Among them John’s mom and John’s dad + Birgit. Olivia got to see where John grew up and the farm his grandparents had once owned.

We also walked the streets of Copenhagen and visited museums, castles, old neighborhoods and some of the tourist traps. Olivia even found time to do some shopping at Georg Jensen, Royal Copenhagen and a “few” other places.

We got back Tuesday and were very happy to reconnect with Adriana, Bella and Pia who had missed us very much! Isabella missed one day of school but has since caught up. She didn’t sleep on the plane coming back, jumped straight into the homework routine and ran off to gymnastics at 7:00. Must be the Danish licorice or something like that…

Enjoy some snapshots from our trip here.

Weather was as California weather can be in early February; wet, gray, and foggy but we made it part of the experience and Adriana quickly came to appreciate the small pools of water. At least until she realized that wet feet equals cold feet… overall she was a trooper and marched the three miles on her own.

She brought pictures to school the following Monday and apparently entertained the class with the funny calls these enormous blobs make.

The weekend ended with a visit to the San Francisco Food Bank. We’ve volunteered there before and the girls have been good sports despite the early Sunday wakeup calls. We got our own black eye pea station and packed more frozen one-pound bags that we care to remember. Great to volunteer and in the back of our minds appreciate the food that is on our table and in our lunch boxes. It’s very hard to understand that almost 15% of the US household are classified as “food insecure”.

On the lighter side – the image should easily be a top-contender for this year’s Awkward Family Photos award…

Isabella turned 11 on February 9. Isabella, John and Olivia celebrated at our old pizzeria in San Carlos knowing that the fairly quiet atmosphere would be exchanged with sound levels at the other end of the scale the following day. Isabella invited all the girls from her class to come over for pizza, soft drinks and a dog-themed ice cream cake. All but one accepted and they hardly got inside before the house rocked.

Off they went to see “Big Miracle” at the local theater. John stayed behind to try and make some sense of the house again, while Olivia and Adriana volunteered to be guardians of the big bunch of girls at the theater. Bella cheered the boys’ basketball game. On crotches after she somehow managed to twist her ankle doing hopscotch.

The biggest surprise came after the party after the movies and all friends were on their way home. At home waited a big surprise. Isabella had decided to buy a present for her three sisters. Not expected, but judging by reactions, their new toy was a very welcome gift and as Isabella has hoped for, it was instant love.