December 2007 - Mount Burdell

The first week-end of December we spent an afternoon hiking up Mount Burdell, which is the "hill" behind us. I don't know if hill is the right word - after all it's three times as high as Himmelbjerget ("Sky Mountain") in Denmark. Here is the view from halfway up back on Novato. Caroline and Ulla are taking a rest - looks like Caroline has spotted something interesting?

November 17th 2007 - Caroline's actual birthday

After a looooong countdown Caroline's birthday was finally here. We took her out of school a couple of days and drove down to Disneyland. In the morning she opened all her presents in bed.
After breakfast we went to Disneyland and she received a badge that said: "Happy Birthday - Caroline 8 years old" so that everyone could see it was her birthday. Every Disney employee wished her happy birthday all day long.

And at night she "cashed in" one of her presents: A giftcard from Luise, Martin and Mathilde to the "Build-a-Bear" workshop next to Disney. She spent at least 2 hours in there figuring out what teddy bear to pick and shopping for accessories. She had a blast!

The photographer was having some fun with the christmas ornaments. Did anyone say "Fish-eye?"

November 2007 - Caroline's Birthday party

In the beginning of November Caroline had her birthday party. She had picked a place called "Pump it up" and had invited 25 friends.
Time for the birthday girl to sit in the birthday chair - ready to open presents.

...and blow out all the candles on her birthday cake.

Halloween - October 2007

The last day of October has arrived - and that means: Scary ghosts, monsters, witches and vampires get ready for Halloween.

Caroline's school had their annual Halloween parade. 2007 marked the turning point for Caroline in terms of what she wanted to be dressed up as. The previous years she has been a cat, a dog and a princess - but this year she wanted to be something spooky: A vampire.
At night all the kids go "trick-or-treat"-ing. Dad stays at home and hands out candy to all the kids that ring the door-bell. Late at night Caroline returned and here she is admiring the "harvest" of 2007. Notice her eye-lashes - they were 2 inches long!

Horseback riding - Five Brooks Ranch - October 2007

Last week-end we met with a group of approximately 30 other Danes on a "ranch" with horses in West Marin - close to Point Reyes. One of our Danish friends owns the ranch and she had organzied a day for all the Danish children in the Bay Area, where they could ride on horses.

Each child got a trip around a small lake - with a parent close by...

Caroline on her horse.

Even the youngest ones got a BIG horse..."Ikke bange", "Ikke bange", "Ikke bange"....

Caroline and her Danish friend Smilla who lives here in Novato as well found a new little friend. The poor little guy had to put up with his two new "sisters" dragging him around all afternoon. The day ended with a picnic - a great day for the kids - we hope it's going to be an annual tradition from now on.

Gettting ready for Halloween - October 2007

Halloween is closing in on us - and Ulla and Caroline spent most of the morning today Sunday October 14th decorating the house inside and out.

We also went out and got a costume for Caroline to wear. This year she is going to be a vampire countess. Sounds really scary....

Caroline's big Lego-day - October 2007

Caroline spent an entire Saturday outside building a Lego house, playground etc.

She was absolutely sure that the Lego dolls would look like real people if I photographed them up real close... Every little piece of detail was taken care of in the living rooms, bedrooms etc.

Trip to Manila, Philippines - October 2007

In early October I went on a short business trip to Manila to visit the Accenture facilities in the Philippines. It was a very short trip and I probably only spent 36 hours in Manila - but I managed to get some work done, do some shopping and a little bit of sightseeing. First stop on my sightseeing tour was a cemetery that paid tribute to the fallen American soldiers in World War II.

I also saw "Intramuros", located along the southern bank of the Pasig River that divides Manila. Intramuros was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century and is the oldest district of the city. Its name, taken from the Latin, intra muros, literally "Within the walls", meaning within the wall enclosure of the city/fortress, also describes its structure as it is surrounded by thick, high walls and moats. Inside the walls there is an old defense fortress "Fort Santiago" - also built by the Spaniards.Fort Santiago is famous because Dr. Jose Rizal - the national hero of the Philippines - was held prisoner here the last days leading up to his execution in 1896. Dr. Rizal was the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. All the way from Fort Santiago - i.e. his prison - up to the place where he was executed, a series of footsteps made of Copper shows the route he walked.

"Hoestfest" in the Danish Club - September 2007

In the last week-end of September we participated with a lot of other "local" Danes in the yearly "Hoestfest" to celebrate this year's harvest (of grapes) in old Danish traditional fashion. The Danish Club consists of several hundred Danes in the San Francisco and Bay Area.

"Hoestfesten" was held at a Winery in Napa Valley called "Monticello Winery" and the weather was really nice for our outdoor BBQ - served buffet style.

It is always really interesting to talk to fellow country-men and -women that have similar experience with moving abroad, missing Denmark and living in a different country.

Football season is here - September 2007

On September 10th the San Francisco 49ers played their first regular season game against the Arizona Cardinals. It was the first Monday Night Football game of the season and we had great seats! The 49er players are presented - American style...

Here is the SF 49ers quarterback Alex Smith in action.

and some more play action....
and entertainment - also American style!

Corporate Outing - South Lake Tahoe - September 2007

On September 8th and 9th, the Accenture team + spouses spend a week-end in South Lake Tahoe.

Here is a view of the blue lake. Lake Tahoe is America's 2nd deepest lake and the biggest Alpine lake in the world. The lake is 6000 feet above sea level.

We took a gondola up to Heavenly Ski area at almost 10,000 feet above sea level. There were great hiking trails and seeing the ski slopes without snow was fascinating. I guess the rocks and trees are there to keep the snow in place.

Ulla "caught" this chipmunk ready to escape...

One of the most beautiful places in South lake Tahoe is Emerald Bay. Here is Caroline in front of the bay - with Lake Tahoe's only island in the background.

Luise and Martin visiting - August 2007

In August my sister Luise, her husband Martin and their daughter Mathilde came to visit us. It was their first time in California and even though they only stayed with us for two weeks, we got a lot of sightseeing done. One of the first stops was a trip to Wine Country in Sonoma. Here is Caroline sniffing a Pinot Noir at the "Gloria Ferrer" winery.

We also went to Point Reyes - we are amazed by the scenery every time we go out there.

and we climbed the many, many steps down to the lighthouse.

On our way home we stopped by the Oyster farm at Sir Francis Drake's Bay and prepared some nice BBQ'ed oysters that evening. Of the last days of their visit, Martin and I went to an American Football game to see the San Francisco 49ers take on Denver Broncos.

Cruise to Alaska - June 2007

We started out by flying to Vancouver where we spent 4 (rainy) days. Here is a photo Ulla took of Caroline and me on our way home from a daytrip to Squamish.

Then we boarded the cruise ship and sailed Norh. The light at night was unbelievable - I must have taken at least 1000 shots from the deck of the ship before we even got to our first port of call. This shot was taken very late at night.

After having sailed a couple of days we passed by "The Hubbard Glacier".
and we went on a whale watching trip and saw a lot of Humpback whales. It's pretty difficult to photograph these creatures when you have no idea where they are going to breach the surface the next time - but I managed to get a couple of decent shots.

New Car - June 2007

After having searched and searched for my new car, I finally found one with the right color combo at the right price

Lake Tahoe - March 2007

In March we went to the north side of Lake Tahoe with our good Danish friends from Napa, Jens and Charlotte and their son Mads. The weather was really nice and we got to experience really warm weather at the lake...

and great spring-skiing at Northstar:

Later in March we went on a trip to San Diego, Anaheim and last but not least: Legoland, California.