Utah Road Trip

Memorial Weekend this year we headed to Utah for a road trip through national parks and then to Volleyball Nationals in Salt Lake City.



The adventure began in Las Vegas, where we picked up our car, checked out the sign and then drove to Zion National Park.

Once in Zion, we took the bus up to the Court of the Patriarchs and did a small walk up the hill to see the sights. Then it was back down to town for our first night on the road. Our hotel had a lovely view of the red rocks and was right next to a shuttle stop. Both the town and the park have convenient free shuttle service.



The next morning we took the shuttle up to the top of the Canyon. Elsa and Karna had fun mugging for the camera in their matching hats.

Arne took the backpack first and Elsa enjoyed the walk down to the Narrows.

She also liked being free to walk around and play in the water.

Karna carried her back to the bus stop.

We stopped at a stream for Elsa to play in the water and for us to enjoy the great views.



Then we drove off to Bryce Canyon, about 2 hours away.

We had a great morning at Bryce, where Elsa learned to say Hoodoo!

Then we drove along Scenic Highway 12, through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We stopped near Boulder, Utah at Anasazi State Park Museum.

Elsa had fun in the recreated Pueblo.

We had fun together.

Our drive continued through Dixie National Forest to Capitol Reef National Park. We stopped for pie at the old farmhouse.

Then, Elsa got to play in more water!

She loved the water and also wearing Mommy's jackets.

We were very lucky that Elsa was a good sleeper in the car. It is amazing the difference between a sleeping Elsa in the car and a wide awake Elsa in the car.
After a morning of wandering in at the Maple Leaf Grove of the Fishlake National Forest, we arrived in Salt Lake City. It was fun to explore the Temple Square, before heading over to the Salt Palace to see the setup for Volleyball Nationals.

The team did great, coming in 5th out of 20, after 4 days of volleyball.
We had a wonderful adventure in Utah and now know we can do road trips in the future with Elsa.

Easter 2012

Easter 2012 was a wonderful weekend of fun with family and friends.

Arne captured the fun in this year's Easter Video.



It was great to see how Elsa has grown since last year - 9 months old is so different from 21 months old.


Everyone enjoyed watching Elsa gather up her eggs in my Mom's backyard.
I was happy to have my sister Amanda back in California to enjoy the holiday with us.

At the end of the night, Elsa treated us to some music on the piano.


On Good Friday, I dressed Elsa up in my childhood Easter pantsuit for the day. She looked great in yellow playing in the sandbox.


On Saturday, my Aunt Jan came down from Petaluma to visit and we walked over to Arne's garden with Summer. Elsa loves the garden.

It was a great Easter and wonderful to see everyone and enjoy how much Elsa has grown and changed since last year.

20 months of Elsa!

Elsa is just so much fun. She loves the outdoors, going for walks and eating lots of foods. Arne takes lots of great pictures and videos of her for me. She is a pretty messy eater.


Even with the mess, it is great watching Elsa eat her "ninis" - her name for tortellini or really any pasta.



In the mornings, Elsa has taken to dressing herself. Some days she goes to MINI in her swimsuit. Other days she wears 3 pairs of pants. This day, she just wanted to wear tops.



Elsa loves her MINI daycare and does lots of fun things like riding her trike.


She also really enjoys dancing and did some dinner dancing when out with Arne and his parents.



Elsa is very creative and always seems to have a plan. Sometimes it is just moving food from one bowl to another. Other times it is creating a super high chair for herself.


It is so nice at the end of a long day when Elsa peacefully sleeps.

India Travels

At the start of March, I headed off to India for a 9 day work trip. I had a wonderful time visiting 4 of the Cadence sites, in Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Delhi, and seeing more of the amazing subcontinent.

In Hyderabad I had a Sunday to tour around and see sites. I had last been in Hyderabad 6 years before with IBM. There was a great view from Charminar of all the traffic. I enjoyed all the honking and crazy driving.



That night I enjoyed a sunset over the lake from the rooftop bar.



Next stop was Bangalore, which was filled with traffic! I loved the intersection of cultural artifacts and new construction.



One of the fun things here was running into an old Intuit coworker at our hotel. The most fun thing was enjoying the pool and spa.



The last stop was Delhi. I liked that at each of the sites I was given a "cabin" with my own name tag.



I was last in Delhi 15 years ago, visiting my cousin Alex. The area (and my finances) have improved immensely. I stayed at the Oberoi a wonderful grand dames of a hotel with a butler on every floor and an amazing Spa. I enjoyed the view from my room.



My last night I headed out for some shopping at local markets and a view of the India Gate up close (I also saw it from the roof of the hotel.)



It was an amazing trip. I was so lucky to have Arne home with Elsa and FaceTime to talk with her everyday.

Washington DC Trip

The first weekend in February we headed out to Washington DC for work and stayed with Arne's brother Erik nearby in Takoma Park, Maryland.

We spent most of our first day resting and recovering from travel. That evening, we visited our friends Glenn & Nancy who recently moved to DC from Palo Alto. It was fun to watch Elsa and Gavin play together again.

After a great Sunday breakfast (Erik made us 5 amazing meals during our stay), we spent the afternoon at the zoo with friends. Elsa loves the elephants - she calls them lelos - and we loved the lack of crowds (it was Superbowl Sunday).

On Monday, we went to the Capitol to visit the mall. The Museum of the American Indian had great food and a good kid's play space for Elsa to explore.
We then headed over to the Conservatory at the US Botanical Gardens. It was quiet, relaxing and beautiful. There were many amazing plants and flowers to see.

At the end of the day, Elsa was exhausted and it was time to head home.

Erik was a great host, showing us just how wonderful DC can be in the winter.