Well after several years of continuous lessons and many many hours in the pool we have decided to end formal swimming lessons with the girls. We are doing this because they were starting to not be excited (read resistant) to the Saturday morning lessons. Since they are both swimming at a very proficient level (much better than I was when I recall my parents throwing me into the pool with a rock tied around my waste) so they are very water safe.
If some day in the future they want to pick it up again they have a fantastic base. Nicolas will be continuing his Friday afternoon lessons because he still needs to establish the basics. As far as other sports for the kids Lea will be starting both softball and soccer as soon as we can get her organized. They will both continue in the Karate lessons they have been doing and enjoy quite a lot.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Back from the trip -- all is good
As most of you know I returned safely from my trip to the Bahamas. The trip was fantastic and I am just no processing the pictures from the trip. I will be writing several posts with the details of the trip so stay tuned!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Ready to go!
I'm off tomorrow for my 9 day adventure kayaking and camping in the Bahamas. We will be leaving from Georgetown which is in the far eastern part of the Bahamas basically where it runs into the deeper part of the Atlantic ocean. It is on the eastern edge of the Bahama banks which stretches far to the west and is a huge area of pretty shallow water. We will be kayaking from island to island in a marine park and sticking to the Leeward (wind and wave protected) side of the islands. While there we will be traversing and camping through using a "leave no trace" method. This means that when we leave you will not know that we have been there. We will take everything, and I do mean everything, out with us when we leave.
I spent a good portion of today preparing, shopping and packing for the trip. There is a lot of gear for me to bring including common items like food, tent parts, cooking gear and my own gear including a sleeping bag, clothes, rain gear, eating utensils etc. I'll end up with two large duffel bags stuffed with gear.
There is a pretty strict limit to how much personal gear I can take with me in the kayak. For clothes I can have basically 3 shirts, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of long pants, 1 rain shell and one insulating layer and 1 swim suit. That should last me for the 6 days on the water although I am guessing I'll be pretty ripe when I get done!
I'm really looking forward to this trip. Uniformly everyone I have told about it has been both supportive and maybe a little jealous all at once. I'm missing a major event at work and even the folks I would normally be supporting for the event have been very supportive of me going.
I was talking to Melissa about it last night and she said that during the tip I get to be not a dad, not a husband, not a marketing executive, not a Californian, not a techie geek, etc. I've thought about that conversation quite a bit and I am not sure how it makes me feel. I don't really know what to expect from the trip, how I'll feel, what it will be like.
I know I am looking forward to "clearing" my head as far as work is concerned. I know I haven't been away like this for a long time. I don't really know the people I am going with so that should be interesting too. I am sure they are all nice people and hope we all will get along. Someone who I know who went on the trip last year said they "had time to think about things they normally don't get around to" so I am looking forward to that too.
I am trying to keep a very open mind with no expectations, which I think is the right way to go.
I look forward to reporting back after the trip with pictures and blog posts.
I spent a good portion of today preparing, shopping and packing for the trip. There is a lot of gear for me to bring including common items like food, tent parts, cooking gear and my own gear including a sleeping bag, clothes, rain gear, eating utensils etc. I'll end up with two large duffel bags stuffed with gear.
There is a pretty strict limit to how much personal gear I can take with me in the kayak. For clothes I can have basically 3 shirts, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of long pants, 1 rain shell and one insulating layer and 1 swim suit. That should last me for the 6 days on the water although I am guessing I'll be pretty ripe when I get done!
I'm really looking forward to this trip. Uniformly everyone I have told about it has been both supportive and maybe a little jealous all at once. I'm missing a major event at work and even the folks I would normally be supporting for the event have been very supportive of me going.
I was talking to Melissa about it last night and she said that during the tip I get to be not a dad, not a husband, not a marketing executive, not a Californian, not a techie geek, etc. I've thought about that conversation quite a bit and I am not sure how it makes me feel. I don't really know what to expect from the trip, how I'll feel, what it will be like.
I know I am looking forward to "clearing" my head as far as work is concerned. I know I haven't been away like this for a long time. I don't really know the people I am going with so that should be interesting too. I am sure they are all nice people and hope we all will get along. Someone who I know who went on the trip last year said they "had time to think about things they normally don't get around to" so I am looking forward to that too.
I am trying to keep a very open mind with no expectations, which I think is the right way to go.
I look forward to reporting back after the trip with pictures and blog posts.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Diversity continues
Yesterday Nicolas' kindergarten class when on a "field trip" to the local Jamba juice up at the shops near our house in Rivermark. A Jamba juice for those who have not tried one are yummy fruit and yogurt smoothy that this store sells and our kids love them. They come in a wide range of flavors and you can get a free "boost" including vitamins and energy and immunity boosting stuff added in.
One of the parents who went as a chaperon took a couple of pictures of the class and much like Julia and Lea's classes I was struck by the enormous diversity in the class and therefore in our neighborhood.
Here is the picture, Nicolas is 3rd from the right and I must say he looks like a giant compared to some of the kids:
Monday, November 9, 2009
Cold kayaking
Yesterday I had my mandatory kayak safety training prior to my big trip. The kayak safety training is designed to give us experience with both being rescued and rescuing someone who flips in their kayak while at sea and needs assistance getting back in.
Most of the people going on this trip had this training back in September and October when the temperatures were a bit warmer. I was never able to make any of the other training meetings so I had to go with our fearless leader Steve over to one of the other kayakers homes and use their pool along with her daughter Anna who is also going on the trip. They live in the Los Altos hills (as opposed to Los Altos Hills which is another town) and the evening temperatures there are dropping into the chilly 40's and 50's. Their pool is not heated. This means that their pool was a very cold place to get wet yesterday.
Anna (who was wearing a wetsuit) went first. Now there was only room for one kayak in the pool so that meant the rescuer had to "simulate" being in a kayak meaning standing in the pool while the rescuee flipped over, performed the wet exit and then got back into the kayak. I was only wet from chest down for this part of the exercise which lasted about 10 minutes.
During the rescue the rescuer has to maneuver their boat up to the flipped boat and help drain the water, manage the paddles, flip the boat and help provide a stable platform for the other person to climb back in. Fortunately Anna was comfortable and she only needed to practice her exit once.
Then it was my turn. I got all of the now wet spray skirt and PFD on and climbed into the kayak. The appropriate procedure when you flip calls for banging on the boat three times to alert the other boaters that you have flipped, then locating the release strap on the front of the spray skirt, releasing it, sliding out of our kayak while keeping a foot in so that it does not float away. All of this while keeping hold of your paddle. In general it is not too hard but the water was cold and that does tend to focus the senses. When I rolled the boat I did my requisite three taps and then started reaching for the skirt release to find that it wasn't as clear as it seemed when I was above the water (where it is easier to breath btw). On the spray skirt there are also other straps and a mesh bag for convenient storage. I was holding the paddle under my arm and hunting around for this strap and ever so briefly I started thinking "what if I can't find this damn thing". Fortunately in what was certainly seconds I found it and out I came. I completed the rest of the exercise without incident and we were done in the pool.
After 20 minutes in the pool I was cold to the core so much so that I was still cold when I came home almost an hour later.
Fortunately all of the temps, water and air, will be higher when we are in the Bahamas in a week and I am glad to have gone through the training.
Most of the people going on this trip had this training back in September and October when the temperatures were a bit warmer. I was never able to make any of the other training meetings so I had to go with our fearless leader Steve over to one of the other kayakers homes and use their pool along with her daughter Anna who is also going on the trip. They live in the Los Altos hills (as opposed to Los Altos Hills which is another town) and the evening temperatures there are dropping into the chilly 40's and 50's. Their pool is not heated. This means that their pool was a very cold place to get wet yesterday.
Anna (who was wearing a wetsuit) went first. Now there was only room for one kayak in the pool so that meant the rescuer had to "simulate" being in a kayak meaning standing in the pool while the rescuee flipped over, performed the wet exit and then got back into the kayak. I was only wet from chest down for this part of the exercise which lasted about 10 minutes.
During the rescue the rescuer has to maneuver their boat up to the flipped boat and help drain the water, manage the paddles, flip the boat and help provide a stable platform for the other person to climb back in. Fortunately Anna was comfortable and she only needed to practice her exit once.
Then it was my turn. I got all of the now wet spray skirt and PFD on and climbed into the kayak. The appropriate procedure when you flip calls for banging on the boat three times to alert the other boaters that you have flipped, then locating the release strap on the front of the spray skirt, releasing it, sliding out of our kayak while keeping a foot in so that it does not float away. All of this while keeping hold of your paddle. In general it is not too hard but the water was cold and that does tend to focus the senses. When I rolled the boat I did my requisite three taps and then started reaching for the skirt release to find that it wasn't as clear as it seemed when I was above the water (where it is easier to breath btw). On the spray skirt there are also other straps and a mesh bag for convenient storage. I was holding the paddle under my arm and hunting around for this strap and ever so briefly I started thinking "what if I can't find this damn thing". Fortunately in what was certainly seconds I found it and out I came. I completed the rest of the exercise without incident and we were done in the pool.
After 20 minutes in the pool I was cold to the core so much so that I was still cold when I came home almost an hour later.
Fortunately all of the temps, water and air, will be higher when we are in the Bahamas in a week and I am glad to have gone through the training.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Melissa's show now listed on the web
A quick post to let everyone know that Melissa's upcoming show this Friday is now listed live on the web!
http://www.southfirstfridays.com/
Here is the entry below, there is a photo of one of her pieces there two but it did not copy over:
Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map
Opening reception: Shimmer by Melissa KreisaJoin us after Candlelight Yoga (6:45-8:15) as we open our doors to welcome the Art Walk patrons and the downtown community. Our featured artist is a painter, mother, yoga practitioner and volunteer who helps new refugees adjust to life in the Bay Area.
For Melissa, painting is her chance to breathe. It forces her to slow down and find beauty in the smallest spaces. In this show called, Shimmer she invites you into a moment of reflection. Her work reminds us that nature continues to go about its beautiful and mysterious business, even when we are not paying attention. All proceeds from this show will benefit Refugee Transitions (and are tax deductable).
http://www.southfirstfridays.com/
Here is the entry below, there is a photo of one of her pieces there two but it did not copy over:
Downtown Yoga Shala – 450 South First St. map
Opening reception: Shimmer by Melissa KreisaJoin us after Candlelight Yoga (6:45-8:15) as we open our doors to welcome the Art Walk patrons and the downtown community. Our featured artist is a painter, mother, yoga practitioner and volunteer who helps new refugees adjust to life in the Bay Area.
For Melissa, painting is her chance to breathe. It forces her to slow down and find beauty in the smallest spaces. In this show called, Shimmer she invites you into a moment of reflection. Her work reminds us that nature continues to go about its beautiful and mysterious business, even when we are not paying attention. All proceeds from this show will benefit Refugee Transitions (and are tax deductable).
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