Why do Californians have big trucks?

You may have already seen this picture on Chris' facebook page. Chris can't understand why anyone in California needs a huge truck. In his mind they are big, loud, use up a lot of gas, take up extra parking spaces, get in his way when driving on the freeway, and people in California obviously don't use them for hauling stuff. So why have one? I'm supposing he thinks everyone should have a small convertible sports car or motorcycle to fit the SoCal style. One thing is for sure, though. We haven't seen one other car here that looks like Chris' subaru with the sticker-laden rocket box on top. It makes it easy to find our car in the giant parking lots.

Visitors and DisneyLand

Rich, Heather, Tyler and Ainsley came for a quick trip to California. We were so excited to have some visitors. They came and hung out at our apartment for a day giving them a chance to relax. We did some shopping at Heather's favorite store H&M and spent some time in the hot tub. They have both been uber busy so hopefully they were able to enjoy a little bit of down time in their packed trip. We also spent a day at DisneyLand - which was mine and Chris' first time there since we've been here.

Heather and Ainsley. I couldn't believe how big Ainsley is. She is one of the cutest little girls out there.

What is DisneyLand without some Mickey Mouse ears.

Rich and Tyler at Tinkerbell's house. Tyler was so excited to see all of the fairy homes and everything associated with the Tinkerbell movie. When the light parade came around Rich hoisted Tyler onto his shoulders so he could see all of the characters come by. Tyler was so cute waving at everyone. He was especially excited to see Woody and Buzz.

Chris and I had to wait around a bit to meet up with everyone so we went and hung out with Santa's reindeer in FrontierLand.

All we did in Toon Town was get some yummy pizza and use the bathroom.

It's a Small World, but all dressed for Christmas. It was great to have the 'It's a Small World' song broken up with Christmas carols so it wasn't so monotonous. This is one of the few rides Tyler didn't get scared on. He was trying to hard to talk Richard out of taking him on Pirates of the Caribbean before he even got through the line. His favorite ride was Winnie the Pooh. I think because it ends with everyone throwing Pooh a birthday party and Tyler loves birthday parties. We actually went on it twice.

I have to say that going to DisneyLand with Rich and Heather with their kids and Heather's friend Erin and their kids, was a learning experience. It convinced Chris and I that we probably won't be taking our kids to Disney until they no longer need naps in the middle of the day, and until they are old enough to know what Disney is and they actually ask to go. And, when we do go, it will be in the middle of January on a Tuesday - supposedly the slowest time of the year. So, it will be a while before we even have to worry about it.

Holes In Socks

Holes In Socks!

Holes are good in donuts
and for putting keys in locks.
Holes are good in some things,
but holes aren’t good in socks.

Holes taste great in swiss cheese.
We need holes for wearing rings.
But how do holes get in my socks?
Holes belong in OTHER things!

Holes work fine in inner tubes
and to put mail inside the box.
Holes work fine in things like that
but holes don’t work in socks!

Holes make scissors cut right
and open pockets for my rocks.
I DO need holes in special things,
but who needs holes in socks?

Holes have to be in noses
and our ears to hear friends talk.
Holes have to be in body parts,
but WHO put HOLES in socks?

Holes do let the puddles fill
to splash in on our walks,
but HOLES IN SOCKS JUST GRAB MY TOES ...
I Hate Holes In Socks!

Just like the girl with one hundred dresses, Chris has at least one hundred pairs of socks, but he has just a couple favorites that he wears over and over again until they wear out. This pair still has a ways to go before we toss them out.

Happy Anniversary

On November 10th Chris and I celebrated our 3rd (Leather) wedding anniversary. Chris is always fabulous and got me one of the most beautiful bouquets I have seen. I am so amazed that I somehow got lucky enough to end up with such an incredible guy. He is the perfect one for me and I only hope that I can be as great to him as he is to me. We are super excited to be three years into our marriage and expecting out first baby. More trials and growing experiences to come, but there is no one better to take on such challenges with than Chris.

Tri Carson

Chris had been wanting to do some sort of competition and came across Tri Carson, which was sponsored by Kaiser Permanente - the healthcare system his fellowship is associated with. It was a very early morning, and a wet one at that. It was the first time this triathlon was being put on so it was a little disorganized and chaotic. It was a reverse tri so the run was first. I was waiting by the transition area so I could see Chris come and go. When the first group of runners came in they came from a completely different direction that the rest of the racers, meaning they added some extra distance to their run. The bike course left from the transition area, went over 8 slippery speed bumps and then required 4 loops on some streets away from the transition. Most people had no idea how many laps to do or how many they had done. The swim was a short, about 150 meter pool swim - and then it was done. Chris was super fast and placed 8th overall and 3rd in his age group. However, considering how crazy the course was who knows how anyone really placed. It was fun to see Chris compete, but tough being on the sidelines and not in the midst.

I had great timing with the camera and kept catching Chris with his eyes closed.

This is some kid cheering on his dad - but I thought it was great for my Chris as well.

LA Triathlon

Chris and I helped out the other Fontana and Kaiser Permanente sports medicine fellows and residents in doing medical coverage for the LA Triathlon. The whole system was amazingly organized and elaborate, and thankfully, not very necessary as far as injuries and accidents were concerned. Chris and I were very excited to be able to take part in covering the race and seeing some professional triathletes as well.

Here is Chris in the medical tent during our morning debriefing. Chris and I were in van#1 with Slim, our driver. After following the bikers on the course for a time we were stationed at the turnaround for the run. We had fun cheering on the runners and taking pictures.
Chris, Tanya, and another volunteer hanging at the start of the race. Of course with my timing I get Chris with his eyes closed.

Chris got some great shots of the riders on their bikes.

It started out as a foggy and chilly morning, but toward the end of the race the sun came out and we really started to heat up. I'm sure the racers did as well.
This is one of my favorite photos from the race. This is Sarah Haskins, a professional triathlete that competed in the 2008 Olympics and is a very accomplished racer. She entered the LA triathlon with an injury knowing she would have to walk on the run portion and that she would get last place out of the professional women, but because of the way the points system works she would still get some points by at least placing. I thought it was inspiring as you rarely see professionals walk, and often times if they are far behind they don't even finish a race because they are racing to win. I liked how in the photo she is the only one you can see on the course and she is obviously walking but looking up and not down.
This is the photograph I used for the camera class I was taking. It is the water station at the turn around point of the triathlon. I had to use the aperture setting, but still didn't really figure it out very well. It is where the images up close are in focus and everything behind is out of focus. I still have a lot of practicing to do.