Mountain Biking

We tried something a little new this weekend, mountain biking. Steve went last weekend with the first counselor in our bishopric, Levi Heath, and I thought it sounded like fun. So yesterday Steve took Robert and I up to Sullivan Canyon in the Santa Monica Mountains and we randomly ran into Levi when we got there. Thanks to Wendy we were saved a couple miles of uphill biking because she was able to drop us off at the trail head. We still got a good workout with all the uphill we did have to bike up, but it was pretty and it was nice cool weather. At the top of the mountain was an old NIKE missile sight. It used to be a lookout to spot bombs before they hit L.A., so we could shoot off defense missiles. Of course, after the top there was no where else to go but down, down, down the canyon. I did not emerge unscathed as I took an embarrassing little fall and scraped up my leg. But as I told Robert a million times, "I'm okay!" I was a lot more careful after that as you can tell from the video below.

Happy Birthday Robert!

Today Robert enters the later half of his twenties, he is 26! I offered to take him out for dinner, but he said what he really wants is to come home from work at 5:00 for once and sit at home and relax. So our plans for his special day? Do nothing!

Kite Flying

Robert getting his kite up (above) and me not getting very far with my kite (below)

Steve and Robert (above) and our kites slowly getting high in the air.

Packing Up

Welcome Spring!

Power Windows

Advice to Future L. A. Tourist

The beach is nice, I know. It's fun to walk along the beach and enjoy the breeze and pretty vistas. But for all of you who may be thinking of visiting I offer this one advice: Stay off the bike paths! This has been a pet peeve of ours since we started riding bikes along the bike path. The path is clearly marked as bikes only, yet we are constantly having to dodge people who are strolling down the bike path on foot. This is especially a problem from Venice to Santa Monica beaches where it can get very crowded. We don't want to mow down unsuspecting tourists, but they are on our path! There are usually separate walkways for people without bikes, so when you come out, take note of which path you are on.

If you go down farther south towards LAX the beaches are not so crowded, especially right now. It has been nice to ride bikes down where there are not so many people. There are a lot of people in L.A., but I am starting to see that you can find places that are not so crowded. As further proof I give you the picture below, from a bike path along a canal. It reminds me of the canal up the street from where I grew up where I used to ride my bike when I was younger. Except this one is paved. Sweet, no bumps!

Another Reason Why I Love Google

Remember when Mapquest first came out with satellite view of their maps, and you could look up your house and see your house. Wasn't that so cool?! Now Google has street view (for select cities). It's as if you were there driving down the street. Way cool.

My parent's house in Magna

For more cool things google does check out http://www.thegooglemaven.com/

No News= Good News?

There is not much new going on with us recently, which makes for a boring week in the blogging world. So in the spirit of busy season, here is a comic for your enjoyment. (I don't know how to make it bigger, so you will probably have to click on it so you can actually read it.)