A Walk in the Woods

In mid-March we met up with a few friends at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the forest. I had expected more of a hike, but the trails were well-groomed and fairly flat, so we were able to really take our time exploring and marveling at the giant trees. We picnicked at some tables set in a grove of redwoods.  

 

Here's one that the everyone could go inside! Adah was the photographer and the other kids are here with one of their friends.

 

 

 

 

Do you see the spider webs in the crevices of this tree? Adah spotted this and took the picture. Damon & I only saw it when we saw the photos later at home. So cool.

We eventually happened upon a little river and the kids and dads had fun throwing and skipping rocks.  It amazes me how throwing rocks in water is a source of endless entertainment.

 

When a horsewoman rode by on the trail above us, Damon asked if she'd bring the horse down to the water, not expecting her to agree. Well, she plunged right down the slope to the water's bank, and then that horse would not budge. We were waiting there for a good 30 minutes as she repeatedly tried to coax the horse off the bank and into the water.

Eventually, she hopped off and tried to lead him in, asking Damon to give him a little flick from behind, something he wasn't too keen to do. We were all feeling awkward and Damon guilty by this point. Since the horse was still being trained, the woman was determined to not let it win, and we felt obligated to stay and watch. However, she eventually had to take him back up to the trail where she proceeded to find another entry into the river. We found her a short time later, with the horse up to its shoulders in the water, presumably learning that there was nothing to be afraid of.

We finished our visit to Cowell State Park by discovering a sandy beach by the little river. Our friends who'd invited us on the outing had been to the park before, but never seen this beach. Some other kids were swimming there and ours eventually turned wading into being wet up to their waists! There was a rope swing that was a big hit. This would be a fun place to revisit when properly equipped with swimming attire. Our children, who insisted they wouldn't mind the drive home in their wet, sandy pants, were not too happy with the realities of their discomfort when the time came. Still, we made it home just fine for baths, dinner, and bedtime after a full day.

The Kazam Cafe

About a month ago, after coming home from a full day's outing, Adah and Gunnar worked together to set up the Kazam Cafe. Adah was the chef, and Gunnar was the waiter.

The chair was roping off the cafe--please wait to be seated, you know--until she was ready for us.  And, everyone had to stay out of the kitchen:

The menu:

Here's the inside of the menu, where we were instructed to choose something from each group (A or B, on the right and left sides). This pretty much represents the entirety of Adah's cooking repertoire. Not bad for 10 years old. Do you like the section "The Sand-which-is on the Seashore"? Get it? (Read it aloud.)

 

You can't read this one very well, sorry. It says at the bottom, "FAMILIES MUST decide on a certain meal." In other words, we all had to agree on our order so that she was just making one dinner. : ) We chose "Salad Surprizes" and "Special Spagetti."  Adah's still learning a bit about the restaurant business. She knew that meals were prepared to order, but didn't understand that that meant the kitchen had many things staged and ready for final preparation. We were excused from the table while she got our dinner cooked, as she didn't even have water heating in the pot yet. Nevertheless, it was such a treat to have Adah mastermind our meal and to include her little brother in the process. The spaghetti and salad were just perfect that night.

Adah's Piano Recital

Adah began piano lessons here in California in January. We were lucky enough to find a piano teacher right across the street! It is so convenient and easy for me to just send her out the door. Damon actually discovered the teacher because her next door neighbor was playing the piano and Damon knocked on the door to ask where they took lessons.

After just  a few weeks of lessons with the new teacher, Li Ping, it was already recital time! Because of some scheduling confusion and miscommunication we only found out about the recital about three days before it happened. Adah knew it was coming up and was prepared to play, but we had to really scramble to fit it into our already overly-scheduled Saturday.

We finally made it to the recital hall at Santa Clara University and got to listen to Adah play all of her pieces perfectly! Shortly after she played, we all had to sneak out to make it to the next event, but Adah stayed and got a ride home with her teacher, who took these photos for us at the end of the recital.

Adah is progressing well in her piano studies under Li Ping. Adah is a great performer and has always been able to learn difficult songs and play them with feeling. She's quite good at memorizing pieces and never had to rely much on reading music. Li Ping is really working on that with Adah, which can be a struggle at times, but I'm grateful that she's learning that skill. It will combine with her natural talents for memorization and playing by ear to really broaden her options and abilities as a pianist. I'm proud of Adah's commitment to playing and practicing, even when it's frustrating for her. Well done, Adah!

Side Note: We were pretty bummed that we didn't remember to bring our own camera, especially during the pre-recital photo op with all of the students. Adah was one of the younger students, happily grinning amidst a sea of dark-haired Asian kids. She was the only blonde and I think only one of two white children in the group. It was quite a representative image of our community's make-up.