Happy Birthday Brianna!

Best Friends forever, for a life time. That's what Alexa and Brianna talk about all the time. Our daughter Alexa met Brianna when they were both 2 years old, taking a ballet class at the San Elijo Dance Academy in San Diego. While they danced, they really didn't get to know each other well until they were in Kinder together. And even then the relationship didn't really blossom until they were in first grade.

And now, they can't be separated, sure they are physically far apart, but in their minds, they will always be best friends, no matter the distance. So as it were, we headed back down to San Diego to attend Brianna's 9th Birthday Part at the Belmont Park in San Diego. They have some terrific rides, games and other fun things for children.

Here are just a few of my favorite pictures.




Best friends forever...



Happy Birthday Brianna!!!

Del Mar Beach

It isn't a Beach in Del Mar, but actually located on The Camp Pendleton USMC Base in San Diego County. Our first time here and we love it, it was clean, not crowded, terrific large waves and great sand to walk on. I wish we had known this beach before we left the area. Nevertheless the children had a fun time of it today, frolicking on the wet sand, making half castles and burying Andrew's feet so he couldn't walk.

The kids weren't the only ones who had a good time, check out the new friends Charlotte and Sherry Ann met this afternoon.



beach walks with the kids..




Tomorrow we hit Belmont Park in San Diego for the birthday party!

Family Shot at San Francisco

I've had this picture as my wall paper on my laptop for the past week and it's one of my all time favorite pictures I think. I just love it. I'm not sure why, maybe because my family is there together against a strong wind on top of a hill over looking my favorite city in the entire world. I just love it, I really do.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Tonight, I got to take Alexa and Andrew out to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Having read the book I knew of course the movie wasn't going to be as good and of course it wasn't, but it was decent. I was although disappointed of two things, that there weren't enough scenes of Tom Riddle's memories, as this was very key in developing the relationship between Voldemort and Harry Potter. Secondly, there wasn't really the big fight between the Death Eaters and Hogwarts teachers and students. In the book, there was a huge battle in the school but in the movie it was definitely rushed.

However, you can't have everything in the book, because then the movie would be 6 hours long :) It was a good movie, looking forward to the last book, which I hope will be at least 4 hours :)

Ann C

Would you believe Ann is my niece. You're probably saying, Alex, you really are old! Actually, Ann is the grand daughter of my Dad's oldest brother, which would make her a niece in Philippine terms. My father had 13 brothers and sisters and the age gap between oldest and youngest is quite large as you can imagine.

I'm so happy I have at least one relative in the Sacramento area and it was good to finally meet Ann in person. Ann and I stepped out after dinner yesterday and took some shots at a local park in the area. Say hello to Ann!

Villaflors in San Francisco

Our cousins from Los Angeles came up this weekend to spend some time with us. They wanted to go to San Francisco, since they had never been there before. We of course will always say yes to SF, we adore the city.

However, took a quick stop by Napa to check out a Vineyard, called Stags Leap, then to the Palace of Fine Arts, then lastly Twin Peaks which has a wonderful overview of the City.

Leni and Cheryl in San Francisco

It was so good to spend time with our good friends from San Diego, Leni and Cheryl. If you recall I had posted some pictures previously from our quick trip to Lake Tahoe. These pictures are from our visit to San Francisco the day after.

Thanks again Leni and Cheryl for spending time with us, we hope to see you again soon!!

Palace of Fine Arts

I first saw the Palace of Fine Arts in the movie "The Rock" with Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage. I thought it was beautiful then, but seeing it up close and personal for the first time, it was quite a sight. This was our first time there, taking some relatives around San Francisco and it definitely won't be our last. What a beautiful place to take pictures, parking was a bit difficult, but well worth it.

Love Lake Tahoe

The first time I set eyes on Lake Tahoe, I was but a little boy traveling with my family cross country from Ohio. I have a vague memory asking my father if Tahoe was actually an Ocean, because it was so vast, so large with grandeur, a majesty I had never seen at that point. What an impression it made on me, and still does today.

Last weekend, our good friends from San Diego, Leni and Cheryl took the time out of their busy signals to pay us a quick weekend visit. Our first stop was the Capitol Building in Sacramento, hoping to catch a glimpse of THE Governor.

We then preceded to Lake Tahoe, this was Cheryl's first visit, and this her first picture of this incredible view from Emerald Bay Park.



I begged Fe Lyn to pose for me, and she agreed.



This bridge is just up highway 89, heading North on the west side of the lake.



The girls posed by a waterfall nearby.



We ended the day next to this tile wall by the beach, built of pictures created by children.



Such fun, next up, San Francisco, my favorite city!

4th of July

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Our family spent the day in San Francisco then decided to hang out with the thousands of bay area enthusiasts for the Fireworks. I have to say I was a little disappointed, we expected that there would be fireworks in the Fisherman Wharf's area considering there were thousands of people there expecting the same thing. We decided to watch it from Treasure Island (island across the city) and there were thousands there too with all their camera's pointed at Pier 39 with the same expectation.

It never came, there were fireworks all around the city, by Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito and other areas, but not at the wharf. Oh well, I guess I should have read up first to find out when/where, lesson learned!! Below is a quick video I took of the FIreworks near Golden Gate Bridge.

4th of July Fireworks - San Francisco from Alex Canada on Vimeo.

Alexa's First Photo Shoot

Here's a quick video I put together of some of the pictures Alexa took last week in her first photo shoot. So much fun, I'm really proud of how some of her pictures came out. Check it out.

Alexa's First Photo Shoot from Alex Canada on Vimeo.