Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Visiting Scott, Lindsay and kids

Scott makes like a carnival ride with Hunter and Jake.
Dogs think they've found a soft touch. OK, they're right...

Jake's 2nd birthday cake.
Taylor comes down for breakfast, only to be met with a camera.

Grandpa with Jake, Taylor (peaking from behind) Scott and Hunter.

Scott & Lindsay's backyard is "L" shaped. This side leads to the front gate. Their front door is actually inside the gate.
View of backyard and the back of the house. It has a real nice patio and although not as big as the yard in Las Vegas, this has enough room for the little guys to play.
Hunter and Jake playing with what's left of their Hot Wheels set. Imagination makes up for the missing pieces.
Hunter shows how old he is. That, or he's doing his Nixon impression.

Jake, flying solo with the Hot Wheels.
Scott and Lindsay went to Napa Valley and bottled their own wine. Lindsay is opening another for us. It's darned good wine. I even had a couple...ok, more than a couple, but Scott and I were pacing ourselves. We sat on the patio solving the world's problems until 2:00 AM.

Taylor is making one of her pretty Friendship bracelets. It takes patience and nimble fingers.

Here's Taylor as a brand new 10 year old, wearing her sapphire birthday necklace.

Tigger doing what Tigger does best, sleeping. Here she cuddles with Jake's dinosaur.





Saturday, we took a trip to downtown Danville. The small town feel is maintained and loved by everyone who lives there. Shopping downtown and small cafes are still very popular. Very much like Denmark.
The clock says it's 1:00 PM, but the shadow says 2:00PM. Guess it's Daylight Savings. Cool clock though.

A view up the street. Yep, this is downtown!

Another view. I love the trees and big
planters.
We stopped for a burger at Pete's Brass Rail & Carwash. The server's tee shirt says "There is no Brass Rail, there is no carwash and who the hell is Pete?"




Later we went to a Disaster Preparedness Fair. The theme was how to protect yourself and family in case of an earthquake. They are common in Northern California, so the fair was well attended.
They had one of their first Squad cars on display.
The Fire Department displayed a Hook & Ladder Truck and an Emergency Response Truck.
Here a fireman has recruited Hunter to be a Junior Fireman. Hunter is working on getting his Official-looking gold badge seperated from the paper backing. He wanted to do it himself.

Mission accomplished! Hunter displays his (almost visible) badge.

The boys wait patiently in the double trouble stroller while Scott talks to the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) people. The organization makes sense. Basically, they try and get radios with a preset frequency in the hands of at least a few residents in each neighborhood. That way, they can receive status updates from everywhere in the community immediately without having to wait for Emergency Crews to canvas the town.
Lady in waiting. Taylor waits with the boys for Scott.

This was pretty impressive. It simulates what a 8.0 magnitude earthquake would feel like. It resembles the mechanical bulls in its bucking capacity. I can't imagine anything put together with wood and nails surviving for very long.