2011

We haven't added a lot to our blog since the family got together over 4th of July so I thought I'd give it a try.

On October 5, 2011, Logan Matthew Ball was born in Cambridge, MA and I was able to get there just in time.  Kayla and I had a great time together while Braden and Tiffany adjusted to this new addition to their family.

Cute family in the hospital.

Kayla spending the night with Grandma at the hotel.

Logan comes home.

Kayla loves her baby brother.

Kayla likes her Cinderella costume.

Happy family at home.

On November 5, 2011, Mason Anderson Wolf was born in Sunnyvale, CA.  Ashley and I were excited to visit Terrill and Emily and Mason in the hospital just hours after he was born.  Two days later Rudy, James and Jen were able to join us at Terrill and Emily's apartment to welcome Mason to the family.

Ashley and Grandma with Mason at the hospital.

Cute family.

Grandma and
Grandpa with Mason.

With James and Jen.

Terrill and Emily were able to visit us later in November and we were able to get some good shots.

Mason...

...with Ashley...

...with Grandpa...

...with Grandma...

...with mom and dad.

 On Christmas Eve Rudy and Ashley and I opened some presents with Terrill, Emily and Mason and James and Jen.  For one of my Christmas presents Rudy had ordered Christmas dinner from our favorite caterer, Barbara Llewellyn.  It was a great day.

Mason

Terrill and Mason

Emily and Mason

James and Jen

Grandpa and Mason

Christmas dinner

Laurie, Ashley and Rudy on Christmas Day.

On Christmas Day we went to church and then our good friends, Ken and Janet Johnson invited us over for dinner to celebrate Christmas with them and their daughter Dara and new son-in-law Jeff.  Ashley and I also made Christmas cookies.

On December 28th Braden, Tiffany, Kayla and Logan arrived.  That night we all drove down to Sunnyvale for Mason's blessing.

Kayla and Ashley

Mason's blessing

On December 29th everyone came over to open the rest of the presents and celebrate Christmas together.

Logan

Kayla kissing Tinkerbell

Kayla kissing Simba

Emily and Mason

Terrill, Mason and Grandpa

Logan, Kayla and Mason

The whole gang

Laurie

Rudy

Kayla and Ashley

James and Jen

Tiffany and Logan

Braden and Kayla

Cousins

Braden's parents arrived on December 30th and on December 31st we went to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo.

Logan

Ashley, Tiffany, Kayla, Braden and Terrill on the roller coaster.

Emily and Terrill

Mason

Braden and Tiffany

Grandpa and Grandma Balls, Grandpa and Grandma Wolf and Kayla

Grandma, Kayla and Ashley

Kayla, Tiffany, Emily, Terrill and Ashley

Kayla and Ashley

Tiffany and Logan

Kayla and Braden

Kayla and Braden

Kayla

That night we celebrated a Happy New Year a little bit early so we could all go to bed.  I know, a bunch of party poopers.

 On January 1st we all attended our ward sacrament meeting for Logan's blessing and then took pictures out in the backyard.

Rudy Travels

I know it has been a while since we added to this story.  Here is a quick update on Rudy's travels.  Tomorrow, Mom and I will add another update or two.  In October, I spent a few days in Disneyworld at a convention.  I always carry my camera with me, and could not resist this evening shot of the Epcot dome.

EPCOT over the lake

Sunset at Disneyworld

As you know, I fly to/from Bellevue every week.  Once in a while, I get wonderful views, like this one of the Golden Gate, shot on a Friday flight returning from Bellevue.  Or the following one of Mt. Rainier and Crater Lake.  One for each state I fly over.  Usually, pictures turn out a lot better in the afternoon - so that is typically on the way home.

Golden Gate at sunset - flying back from Seattle

Mt. Rainier - flying back from Seattle

Crater Lake - flying back from Seattle

Finally, here is a sunrise, Bellevue style.  You can't get this in those boring latitudes where it is always sunny!  Great sunrises need clouds - not too many, not too few.

Sunrise in Bellevue

July 4, 2011 roughly

We tend to spend our July 4th at Lake Tahoe, inviting as many family or friends as will fit. this year, we had a blast, with the entire family there, at least some of the time. This year, we also had our granddaughter, Kayla with us. Obviously, we all had a lot of fun - boating, wake boarding, paddle boarding, hiking, playing on the beach, and just plain relaxing.

Kayla had a lot of fun on the boat. She clearly enjoys getting ready for the boat, but as you can see, she really enjoys steering the boat!

Getting ready for her first journey onto Lake Tahoe!

Clearly likes to be in charge!  And yes, she actually was steering the boat.

The whole family was able to attend church together, so we have our family picture below.  Actually, we are all getting pretty good at posing - except with Kayla, we need to take a few more shots than we used to take.  Thank goodness for digital camera!

Monday, we tried paddle boarding.  Tons of fun - and much more exercise than what it looks like.  Of course, one needs to contemplate going into water that is run off from the snow in the mountains.

Speaking of paddle boarding, some folks were just glad to make it back to shore:

And because we are so tough, and 2010-2011 was such a long, wet, cold winter - the same day we played in the water in the morning, we played in the snow that afternoon!

Evening of July 4th is always fun.  Here are Ashley and Kayla posing, and most of us in the back of the boat waiting for the fireworks.  This picture is a tradition as we celebrate the 4th.  Trick is to not have so many in the back that we start to take on water if the waves are big - which they weren't this year.

This summer, we found a new way to enjoy a day on the lake.  Leave early, find a small, isolated beach, and position the boat so you have some privacy - then enjoy the day on your own private beach.  This is probably one of the most relaxing days we had during the week.

Our private beach on the lake!

We also went for hikes.  With Kayla, they tend to be a bit more exercise than a normal stroll through the woods.  If it was a rock, it was a launch pad.  It was just very important that someone is around to moderate the takeoff and landing!

After an evening stroll, the next day requires another boat trip.. we looked for a private beach again, but alas, we were a bit too late, and the lake was a bit too high, so the beaches, what few remained, were all taken.  This year, the lake is approaching record high water levels.  After driving around much of the lake, Rudy needed to take a break.. so he turned the helm over to his trusted second in command.  Just to prove how accomplished her steering skills are, she used a most unusual technique.  Yes, the boat really was moving - but it is a big lake, with few boats, and no safety issues.

Because we had several days, we finally did have another day on the beach.  We also have a favorite go anywhere camera - water, sand, drop proof, and apparently - kid proof.  What it is not able to do is take a clear shot with a finger in front of the lens:

Seems like we still need some  technology improvements before we can call it truly kid proof!

Tahoe in June

So this weekend I was at Lake Tahoe with two business associated (founders of Ring-o-Rang).  We had a good time making minor fixes to the cabin, cleaning up, and testing the boat after the winter layover.  The good news, the cabin and boat are ready for the summer.  The lake is really full, and likely to get more full, as authorities are not letting water out of the lake.  Apparently there is so much runoff from other rivers, they are afraid the Truckee river can't take that additional load of the lake spill.  So, we should enjoy this high lake time.  We went in and out of some wonderful coves below Thunderbird Lodge.  One of my favorite pictures of the trip.

We'll need to go to this one and just hang around for the day.

While we were on the lake, I wanted to get a picture of Robert and Brent, but the usual angle was just not good enough, so I decided a shot from lake level would be a more unique perspective.

Of course, the problem with that is that I actually had to be at lake level, so yes, I got into the lake.  This will redefine cold for quite some time!

Yes, it was very refreshing... to say the least.  For the record, Robert and Brent were so excited, they wanted to go for a tube run, which they did, but with wet suits... still did not stop them from getting cold and wet, especially when they fell off the tube - three times.  All in all, a good day at Tahoe.

Northwest Spring - May 2011

Laurie and Ashley came up to Bellevue for a few days before and over Memorial Day weekend.  It gave us a chance to celebrate two birthdays with Braden, Tiffany and Kayla.  Kayla, being the young woman that she is, of course had to have makeup and lip gloss, and fortunately, she has a willing aunt to help her.  In return, she "helps" her aunt Ashley!  How much fun is that!

Kayla loves Cinderella.  So Tiffany made this remarkable cake to celebrate Kayla's birthday.

Tiffany also made this beautiful tutu for Kayla, handsewn.  Is she cute, or what?

Two beautiful girls!  Kayla got to blow out the candles held for her by Cinderella.

Kayla Loves her sunglasses, but is not too good on the two thumbs up, yet.

Bubbles anyone?

On Saturday, we took the touristy trip to Pike's Place market and the Space Needle.  It was a great day for sightseeing.

Later that day, Grandpa got a little silly with the tutu... but the grand daughter loved it, so who cares about the silly.  I can see why older folks get less inhibited, what's not to love about getting that smile from Kayla?

We finished the travel day at our favorite family restaurant, where Kayla was exceeding busy with intense coloring!

That night, we also pre-celebrated Ashley's birthday with a wonderful ice cream cake made by Tiffany.  Another wonderful few days in the Northwest.