September 01, 2008
sf aug sep 2008 - at the de young
so i've been back home for a couple of weeks. dave and vickie came to visit on dave's 50th birthday. this past saturday, we were supposed to go to alcatraz but i didn't know that we had to have tickets in advance until guillermo told me on friday. tickets were sold out for 3 days.
instead, we ended up going to the de young museum in golden gate park. it was my first time there and the chihuly exhibit was still there (lucky me!!)
dave and vickie:

cheryl:

see more museum visit pics in our family photo gallery.
rainier 2008 - laying out lizard ridge
mom's nearly done with her lizard ridge and while i was up in rainier, we laid out the blocks and she got ready to put everything together:



see the rest of the lizard ridge photos in our family photo gallery.
August 15, 2008
August 12, 2008
rainier 2008 - bike ride 3
back on the trail this afternoon with vickie. managed to go 5 miles today with no superhuman efforts -- actually was able to hold a conversation throughout the entire ride. i'm definitely getting to be more relaxed.


rainier 2008 - chopstick flurry
mom prepared "cook your own food" for dinner a couple of nights ago. dad, dave, noah and his friends roberto and kashan had their chopsticks flying:





August 11, 2008
rainier 2008 - bike ride 2
we went on another bike ride yesterday -- this time, going towards tenino on the same trail we took last time. we rode just a little ways past the deschutes river and then turned around. it was about the same distance (4 miles) but a little harder because the trail going back was a slight incline all the way.

rainier 2008 - birthdays
on saturday, we celebrated our birthdays with skirt steak, salad and rice (our longstanding birthday meal) and ice cream cake from dairy queen:

mika and dad:

noah and deb:

dave (taking pictures) and noah (ducking as usual):

mom and dad:

vickie and klaus:

August 09, 2008
rainier 2008 - bike trail
this past thursday, i borrowed my sister's new bike and went for a ride with my sister-in-law, vickie. she rides nearly every day on the local trails between tenino, rainier, yelm and beyond.
i haven't been very diligent about practicing on my new strida at home so i was a little worried that she might be taking a very "short" ride with me because i wouldn't be able to keep up.
but, i surprised myself and was able to ride 4 miles (2 miles from rainier towards yelm and then back again). the weather was beautiful in the early morning and the trail was practically empty. i was tense and nervous but managed to relax a bit after the first mile. good thing we turned back when we did though because i was pretty tired towards the end of the ride back.
did a lot of stretching when we got back and the next morning i was surprised that i didn't really have any aches and pains to speak of... it was a great ride!!!! i have got to figure out how to take my bike with me on the plane next year.
here i am exhausted and draped over the handlebars of my sister's giant sedona:

rainier 2008 - kinja, olympia, wa
i'm here in rainier, washington for my annual birthday party vacation. debbie, mom and i went to eat at a new japanese restaurant in yelm:

chicken yakisoba:

chirashi sushi:

grilled salmon:

all the dishes were very good with generous portions and the ambiance is very pleasant. lunch specials are available on weekdays. kids menu offers a nice selection at a good price.
their official grand opening is aug 22 and 23 and there will be a live band on hand for entertainment. go visit them, eat up and enjoy!
kinja
1304 e. yelm ave. #a-102
yelm, wa 98597
open: m-f 11:30 am-10:00pm, s & s noon-10pm
360-400-4300







