April 2008 - Oahu, Hawaii

In April we went on a week-long trip to Oahu. This was the second time we visited Hawaii and it was exactly as spectacular as the first time we went. This time around we spent each day with the same three basic activities:

Some quality time at the beach...
some sightseeing (here we are at the famous Shaved Ice place: "Matsumoto")
and some serious tasting of the local cuisine - our best stop was the famous Giovanni's Shrimp Truck on the North Eastern coast of Oahu. The shrimp was fresh and LOADED with garlic! Yummy!

February 2008 - Yosemite in Winter with the Hougesens

In February our good friends Morten & Hanne from Denmark visited us with their two daughters. We went to Yosemite - the first time we had seen the park in the winter time. It was a very different atmosphere than in the summer, but very pretty.

Here are the three girls: Laura, Caroline and Signe in front of "El Capitan".

and the "Tandrups" in front of Yosemite Valley...

The winter landscape created some fascinating views.

January 2008 - Ski trip to Lake Tahoe

In January we spent some gorgeous days in Lake Tahoe skiing the Heavenly Ski Resort.

The weather was spectacular and the views from the ski slopes are amazing.

The weather changed a little bit the last couple of days, and Caroline enjoyed every second! She is becoming quite an avid skier.

After a long day on the slopes, there is nothing better than a warm hot tub with a view of the slopes and the snow.

December 2007 - Trip to India & Bangkok

In mid December 2007, I had to go to India again. The destination was - once again - Mumbai, but this time I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Goa before my 5 days in Mumbai and a short week-end in Bangkok on my way home. Here are some impressions from Goa:

I stayed close to the beach at a nice vacation resort. The beaches were not super inviting for swimming.On my second day I chartered a local taxi-driver and had him drive me around and show me some af the amazing architecture in Old Goa. This is a monastery where I stopped and talked to one of the munks - he was about my age and was from the UK and had lived at the monastery for 16 years.Above is a picture of the Se Cathedral in Old Goa.

And this is what Goa looks like right outside of the churches.

Back in Mumbai, I spent a day sightseeing - I took a boat trip out to Elephanta Island right off the coast of Mumbai. Here are the two famous landmarks that suddenly became the centre of the world's attention due to the terrorist attacks not too long ago: the "Taj Mahal Hotel" and the "Gateway to India".

Elephanta Island is famous for its magnificent caves that are filled with religious displays that are up to 4-5 meters tall. All carved out of rock in the walls of the caves.

On my way home a made a quick stopover in Bangkok - and took a tour of the city. The Royal Palace was one of the highlights.

The Royal Palace is home to the "Emerald Buddha" which has a very important political and religous meaning in Thailand. Three times a year, the king changes the clothing of the buddha in a ceremony.

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.