27

On Saturday I turned 27.

Jake planned a wonderful birthday weekend in the Kings Canyon National Park(only 70 miles from our house!)

Although Yosemite is a must when visiting California, I'd say Kings Canyon is one of the state's best kept secrets.

On Saturday morning we woke up from our stay at the Wuksachi Lodge, had a huge breakfast, and set out to hike (with SNOW SHOES) to Tokopah Falls which is said to be a 1200 foot breathtaking waterfall .

Bellies full, and snow shoes in tow we were off to create new memories. 

We knew there was fresh snow (6-10 feet in fact, but we didn't expect this)

Oops. that's the trail head. Buried. 

We proceeded  with caution, using our fancy ski poles (that's what I kept calling them) and evaluating every step. Fresh powder plus 60 degree weather = oops I fell and twisted my ankle because I stepped in a place where soft snow was melting and now I am stuck between two large rocks.

 

The view was spectacular. 

Jake was getting annoyed with me because I wanted to stop every 10 minutes to take pictures. I told him he was the Rabbit and I was the Tortoise and he told me that the Tortoise wasn't slow because he stopped to take pictures.   

Touché

*You want to know what Jake said at the end of the hike when he was reviewing my camera? "That's all the pictures you took? Really?"

HMMMMMM.

Since we had no trail to follow, we followed the river to stay on course. The sound of flowing water was with us the whole time. It's the kind of noise that is so loud to forces you to shut up and hum along to its tune.

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This part of the hike we had to take off our snow shoes and scramble up this rock. It doesn't look very big but it was, on top of the fact that everything was slick and wet... scrambling up with your 7th grade snow boots made it a little difficult. Jake kept instructing me where I snow put my feet next... I kept telling him, "I'M NOT 6'2" I'd have to jump to get there.. and don't tell me what to do!!"

God bless everyone who can put up with us :)

With 1/3 of the hike left (this was a guess, we really had no way of knowing since we were off course of the trail) we were stuck on a bridge engulfed with melting snow. And when I say stuck, I mean it, we somehow shimmied on one side of the bridge sans snow shoes only to cause a miniature avalanche on the banks of the river. The other side of the bridge that brought us back to the fake trail was unsafe to cross, even to my husbands standards who told me that the local who informed us that it was not wise to do this hike this time of year due to REAL avalanches was full of it.

Right when we decided to turn around with out seeing the beautiful waterfall, the clouds rolled in, the winds came and my 7th grade snow boots busted open with a hole due to the pressure of the straps on the snow shoe case. 

Needless to say, my feet were cold and wet on the hike back to our car.

The whole way back we talked about how we would come back and finish this hike when the snow was fully melted. We discussed how fun it would be to bring friends, and how easily accessible coming up here for the day would be. I normally HATE unfinished business. Leaving something, ANYTHING, half done usually induces poor sleep and angst until I am satisfied what I accomplished.

But that day, on my birthday, it was a different story. I was thankful to have such a wonderful person I called my partner, I was thankful for our beautiful daughter,  for my family and my friends who are like my family.

I couldn't ask for anything more. 

27 years has treated me well.

digi fast.

I've done it again.

During Violet's nap I started rummaging through boxes of (film) photos.

I said I wanted to go on a digital fast, but as soon something caught my eye, what camera did I grab?

My canon t1i.

But then, this afternoon I came across these. I haven't seen these pictures for at least 4 years. All taken with film.

Our first camping trip together, not even engaged! Jake was living in San Diego and I was in Fullerton. It was SO hot this weekend that I slept outside of the tent (at night it was 80 degrees). The day after we left there were  natural wild fires on our camp ground.

i wish jake took more pictures (not particularly of me) he's great at capturing the moment. 

our backyard in the green house, tiny, but bountiful.

Our first little home (we call it the green house) with the honey bee bathroom, with arched doorways. It had two entry doors, one locked and the other didn't. If someone came in through the back of the house, the bathroom door that didn't lock would swing open. very embarrassing. I used to put the trashcan up to the door so it wouldn't involuntarily open. no, we never fixed it.

Jake and I used to frequent San Fransisco it's only 2 hours away from where we live. My aunt was a long time resident and owns a beautiful house in the Mission District. We have so many great memories in that crowded little (small in area large in population) city. I love this picture. It feels like it could be taken in the 1950's, if the car was replaced with a '52 chevy, or something like that.

Ruth  (Jake's mom) doing what she did best, talking story with randoms!

I'm challenging myself, baby steps. 

no digi for a week. We'll see how it goes, wish me luck!

Mullets, Snow & Josh Ritter

Last week, was one of "those weeks".

Sheer frustration. I guess we are entering into the stage of terrible twos involving meltdowns, tantrums and unavoidable tears. At the end of the day I am exhausted from finding 27 different ways of saying "no Violet, thanks not a good idea", "sorry Violet, its 32 degrees outside we're not going to go for a walk", "Violet, you already drank almost a whole carton on milk today, let's try water".

I find relief at the gym. YES the gym, I  never thought I would be a gym person. 

I have avoided the gym culture my whole life. While friends would hurry home from work or class to meet each other in a boxed room full of testosterone, biker shorts, and & ipod holders that go around your arm... 

I'd go for a run.. OUTSIDE.. the largest most beautiful FREE treadmill you nature gives us.

Nonetheless... times have changed. I meet my dearest friend Nikki there almost every other day to let off steam, have an adult conversation and of course...

PUMP SOME IRON

(you can't hear my voice but I'm totally mocking...)

I fought through the week tears and tantrums, because I knew the weekend brought redemption. 

Redemption found in a baby free weekend in Los Angeles with my husband and Josh Ritter (one of our favorite musicians)  and the Music Box.

So we got up saturday morning, packed and headed to my parents to drop off violet. Before we got too far I had some business to take care of. 

Business by means of Mullet.

My sweet one's first hair cut. 

One snip and the mullet is gone.

May it RIP and only be found places like, WalMart, the Fresno Fair, the Mid West and the Clovis Rodeo.

*****************

So like I said, Josh Ritter, LA, just the two of us.

We get to LA, through some rain, snow and shine (which is fairly typical because from where we live we drive through a miniature mountain rage to get to the valley) meet up with some family for dinner and while we are driving it STARTS TO SNOW.

Snowing, in Burbank California...

it's the truth.

After dinner we head on over to The Music Box in Hollywood and waiting in line.

It was COLD. I mean, frigid. At least 33 degrees, with wind, and slushy wetness on the ground. IT'S LA EVERYONE, I wasnt prepared. I wore skinny jeans, those gold flats seen above a tank top and a leather jacket. COLD. very cold.

Finally we get in. 

We bought general admission tickets it's a floor venue. We heard from a friend to try and go tot he balcony because the acoustics were great up there.

I was all for it, because standing room only, at a concert, when you are 5 feet tall is sometimes, always frustrating.

Entrance denied. We had to have special tickets to get up there. 

Oh well.

I found a cozy stop on top of a ledge of the entrance stairs leaning against the railing.. even if someone stood right in front of me I had a clear view of the whole band.

Since Jake is 6'2'' He had no problem standing in the middle of chaos. So we split up for part of the concert.

by the way,  Jake CAN spell... he does that to annoy me.

Josh was amazing. AMAZING. Can I emphasize that enough?

He had a great play list, and sounded superb live.

I can't really explain anything more.

And of course, He played, the kathleen song. What else do I need?

The next morning we got up, and went to Pasadena to Le pain de quotidien an all organic restaurant we used to frequent when Tim and Nikki lived in Pasadena.

I talked about this place the whole way to LA. Jake said I was more excited about eating there than seeing Josh Ritter.

I'd say... equal parts. There food is FRESH, not over done with ingredients...mmmmm salivating now.

I ordered carrot soup, and black bean hummus over wheat bread with spicy tahini sauce. 

We did some shopping and heading back into the central valley.

Our stomach, ears and hearts full from such great things.

Love.

To my sweet husband:

 5 years together,

feels like so much more.

To the next 5 years, and all the more years to come, I'll always love you.

to know more about our story click here

nights when your mind won't quiet down...

you find videos like this:





and you get to remember, a long long time ago..

This is a snippet from our honeymoon, we happened to be in hawaii on fourth of july weekend. This is us, in classic jake & kathleen form.

By the way after a couple of minutes of zooming in on other people's behinds you should probably just stop the video.

"freedom" weekend

For the first time in nearly 16 months Jake and I had the change to spend an entire weekend together, ALONE.  We've had a share of date nights, but there is something about having a few days to regroup and in so many ways reconnect with your partner that a single date night just doesn't do.

My roommate from college, Rachel, was getting married in Newport Beach CA and I was honored to be in her wedding.

At first we were going to bring Violet along with us (and why not, she is part of the family) but the more we realized the details of traveling, being in the wedding party etc we decided it was best to leave her with my parents (who so graciously watched her for the entire weekend).

Before we left I had mixed feelings about leaving her behind. On one hand, I knew she was in great care, there is almost no one else I could leave Violet with and not have a second thought. On the other hand, I hadn't been apart from her since December of 2009 when I first found out I was pregnant.

At a certain point in my life (though brief) I only thought in black and white. As I grew wise with age (yes there is still much more growing to be) I realized GREY is not an ambivalent colour (practicing my Canadian). It IS possible to feel two contrasting things at once, and it IS possible that both your black feeling and white feeling are 100% valid. One does not rule over the other and visa versa.  What I am trying to say is, I felt 100% guilty leaving Violet behind, and 100% THRILLED to leave Violet behind.

Come noon, Jake and I were off on our first weekend a way. When we were dating in college, I was in school in southern California (where the wedding was) and Jake was at Fresno State. We only saw each other on the weekends, sometimes I would travel to Fresno and other times he would travel to Fullerton where I lived. We have a ton of memories flooding in and out of the LA area and we were both excited to revisited them for the first time since December of 2006 (the month and year I graduated college and moved back home.)

This is a picture that was taken on one of our first dates.  We took Louie (RIP) for a walk at Craig Park in Brea, CA. *sorry it's blurry this is pre-digital era (you know, film, shutter spead, aperture(  in our life and the picture was scanned on a not so great scanner.

So like I said, we were going to Newport because my roommate (my very FIRST roommate the one and only year I lived in the dorms) was getting married. Rachel is one of my best friends and even though we only lived together for one year, I have kept in touch with her the most since I graduated college 4 years ago.

Rachel and I are like night and day.  She sees things black and white, I see gray,  she loves to talk and talk and TALK things out, I like to let things settle on their own, she is the Psychoanalytic theory to my cognitive behavioral theory. What makes our friendship so great is that, we see past those differences and actually appreciate and respect them.

Even though Rachel and I lived together, we had different groups of friends (which I think makes a perfect roommate). I was an athlete, always away at a game, or practice, or doing things with my team, Rachel was in the choir and had her own group of friends. But when we were in the dorm together, we got to vent and talk about whatever was going on, and go our separate ways. What Rachel and I do have in common, is that we are both highly independent, I think this is why we were so compatible; we never felt obligated to each other just because we lived together.

We did have some amazing adventures. One time, we decided we wanted to drive to the Getty Museum at 3:00 on a Thursday night. Not the best choice on our part, we were stopped DEAD in traffic, not only was everyone in LA on their way home from work, there also was a LAKER came starting in a couple of hours. We decided to get off the freeway and go back home by side streets. Yet, another poor choice, we got lost, ended up in Seal Beach somehow and decided to sit in Vons and read trashy magazines until we could regroup.

Rachel and I had a few classes together but were often found at the beach in stead. Look how brown I was. wow.

The girl to the left was our other roommate Casi. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my pinky.

 

Saturday was the wedding and I was prepping all day with the other bridesmaids. I wish I took more pictures, but I wanted to be part of the event instead of behind the camera. Does this happen to anyone else? I love taking pictures, and most of the time I am the face behind the camera but there are certain events where you just would rather experience with out a piece of plastic in front of you.

There was something so personal and beautiful about their wedding. You felt like, everyone who was invited was there for a reason, not for obligation. The whole room was full of love for Rachel and her now husband Dave (sorry I did not take a picture of the couple! argh!) 

Rachel's dad gave one of the best Father of the Bride speeches I have ever heard.  He seasonably quoted the movie, It's a Wonderful Life:

" Bread... that this house may never know hunger.
[hands Dave and Rachel Bread]
  Salt... that life may always have flavor.
[hands Dave and Rachel salt]
  And wine... that joy and prosperity may reign forever. "

[hands Dave and Rachel wine]

That night, Jake and I went back to our hotel, ordered room service and snuggled to It's a Wonderful Life which happened to be on TV.

Coincidence ?  I think not.

The next morning, we woke up and met another former roommate of mine (Natalie) for breakfast in Huntington Beach. It was great to catch up with her. I love relationships with good friends never seem to change, you can pick up right where you left off.

It was unseasonably warm in Huntington, so we made our way to the beach. Sat out on a blanket and enjoyed 84 degree weather in the second week of December. Am I celebrating Global Warming?? Unfortunately so.

While we were on the beach I was approached by a woman. We noticed her earlier, she was taking pictures of her two sons and husband surfing. She asked me if I knew anything about cameras. I said a little. She asked if I could get some pictures of her sons surfing for their Christmas card.   

I tried for a while with her camera, but it wasn't an SLR so it was nearly impossible to get the boys standing up on the board like she wanted. I offered to use my camera and email her the pictures when we got home that night.

I asked if she was from Huntington, she said she lived down the street but she was originally from Bakersfield. Bakersfield? My husband is from Shafter (neighboring cities). Shafter she said? You probably know my family, do you know the Handle's? 

Why yes she know the Handle's, they are a very large farming family in Shafter, Bakersfield Arvin.

Then we proceeded to play the name game and proceeded with great success.

It's a small world after all.

Lisa (that was her name) invited us over to her house which was less than a block from the beach. We obliged and I uploaded her pictures on her computer.

She told me her friend was a bathing suit designer and she wanted to give me some bathing suits that she thought I would like.

I told her I didn't want her to feel obligated to give me something just because I took pictures, really... it wasn't a big deal at all.

She insisted, and how could I refuse?

She told that when we come back to Huntington Beach we had a place to stay and to feel free to stop by anytime. The boys were so sweet and the family was so gracious. I love meeting good people in this small big world we live in.

After our visit, Jake and I made our way back home. We took our time, stopped to eat dinner. Once again, southern California has left my heart warmed not only the sun, but it's adventures from the past, present and future adventures to come.

I once called LA my home, but home.. really is where your family is.

Her "cups" may be half empty, but with her, my cup is overflowing.

That's where home is. 

Where your cup is completely full.

Southern California.

A full update from our weekend coming soon!

Yosemite

Yesterday (Friday) Jake and I were able to sneak away for another little day hike. This time Yosemite National Forest, which practically feels like Fresno's back yard. I forget how close we are to such a beautiful place.

Jake and I have been trying to plan this for weeks, he even took the day off which doesn't happen too often. We are SO lucky that our friend Sara Jo graciously offered to babysit Violet for the day (and may I add she has a 6 week old). I know she understands, from one parent to the next how important/exciting/monumental a trip like this can be for young parents.

Our day started around 9:30am, in our little black Jetta "Gretta", just the two of us, some NPR, a sack lunch, our make shift hiking gear and a national forest to conquer.

We knew we didn't have much time, and even though my mom agreed to come "relieve" Sara Jo from her duties, we wanted to be home at a reasonable hour. We chose three short hikes that had "magnificent" views rather than one long hike.   So off to Taft point we went. A short, quick 1.1 mile jaunt to a few of half dome.

The view was amazing.

Jake and Half Dome. We which will be our next hike. 

I didn't want to wait, so I conquered half dome that day.

Even though the view from the top of sentential dome was amazing, we didn't feel like we really "hiked". We had to reevaluate where we wanted to go. And of course, we chose to road less traveled. 

Which is always the right choice in my book.

I didn't know where we were going. I just was kind of along for the ride, trusting that Jake had (hopefully) and purpose for our wandering into the wild. I kept asking, "Do you know where you are going?". He would reply "yes". Then 20 minutes later I would ask again, "Ummm.. where are we?" Jake would reply, " I don't know babe that's the beauty of it".

We ended up here, at Taft point. Or... was it Truman point? I can't remember. But it was named after a President. and it was beautiful. This picture does no justice, and my camera was out of memory. But these are called Fissures. I kept called them (pardon my colorful language for some of you readers) anal fissures which is a lesion crack or tear in (at least in this case) land. the drop looked like thousands and thousands and thousands of feet.

We had a great time, and ended up hiking over 5 miles which was perfect for a half day trip.