we’ve taken ellie to tilden park several times since she was born, but we never managed to make it over to the little farm until last friday. my mom, ellie and i met our friends yvonne, tam and fiona at the little farm *first* to ensure we’d make all the stops, and just as we suspected, the girls loved it.

we saw cows, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, roosters and ducks. it was so cute watching the girls feed the cows. they were so brave! not at all afraid of those big, pink tongues … of course ellie has had lots of practice from giving riley so many treats at home ;)

when we reached the pigs, she snorted!

after all the farm animal fun, we drove to the merry-go-round. it was ellie’s third or fourth time and she definitely likes it more as she gets older. we rode it twice and she cried when it was time to get off!

then it was time for fiona’s nap, so yvonne and tam took off and my mom, ellie and i headed over to the steam train … because a visit to tilden park just wouldn’t be complete without a ride on the train!

we had a great time at tilden, as always, and are looking forward to our next visit <3

thanks to a friend of my dad’s, he and i were lucky enough to see james taylor and carole king in concert together on monday night in oakland. it was the second-to-last stop on the singing duo’s troubadour reunion tour and it was AWESOME.

my dad plays softball with a cool guy named john who also happens to be the director of concessions at oracle arena. he met us at the box office with tickets and sent us up to the mezzanine where we sat in the first row of a suite complete with our own bar :) it was super cool, total v.i.p. status.

they started right on time and played a three-hour set with only one 15-minute break, which was pretty impressive for two older folks, even if they *are* legends ;) my favorites included taylor’s fire and rain and mexico, and king’s so far away and will you still love me tomorrow. honestly, i had no idea carole king had written so many classic songs. i was able to sing along a lot more than i thought i’d be able to, which made it all the more fun.

(it was pretty cool to share the experience with my dad, too) :) thank you for inviting me, BILL! and also to mr. john carillo for hooking it uuuuup.

now go listen to my veeeeery favorite james taylor song from when i was little, jelly man kelly. do it!

while very late, i’d be remiss if i didn’t highlight officially the very thoughtful father’s day give i received from bryn’s dad, bill (aka “pop”).

about a month ago, bryn, leslie (bryn’s mom), bill (bryn’s dad), ellie and i took a trip to yosemite. the trip itself had some ups and downs, but the highlights were still captured on film, one of which bill took some liberties with.

like any photographer, amateur or otherwise, i sought *the* image of the weekend for the entire weekend. it alluded me until the very last day when we made our way to the o’shaughnessy dam. it was there that (after numerous attempts) i captured that image.

as you can see, bill blew up that picture and matted it. we grabbed a nice frame on sale at aaron brothers and voilà! an awesome wall-hanger.

it wasn’t the only thoughtful gift on that day (hot sauce!), but as you can tell, i’m pretty happy with it :)

thanks, bill!

yes, another wedding! ryan’s uncle bob’s stepdaughter crystal (did you follow all that?) and her fiancee-now-husband anthony got married on saturday in a catholic ceremony at st. bede’s church in hayward. happiness was written all over their faces as they exchanged vows in front of a large crowd of friends and family.

despite the long ceremony (nearly an hour and a half – whew!) ellie was amazingly well-behaved and we never had to take her outside. we had plenty of snacks handy and she was even fascinated by the spanish bible for a little while. gloria a dios en las alturas! ;)

the reception was held at the newark community center, and we felt like VIPs because uncle bob kept delivering bottles of wine to our table. score! :D dinner was delicious … there was even an entire roasted pig, which … i declined to eat. i’m sure it tasted good, i just don’t like seeing what my dinner used to be :\ ignorance is bliss.

one of the best things about the day was that ellie’s auntie danielle flew up from southern california to be there. we haven’t seen her since christmas and ellie loves her, so it was nice for them to reconnect <3

ellie had a bit of a breakdown near the end … it was a long day and she took an early nap, so i don’t blame her. we came home and let her run around for a bit, and when we put her down she fell right to sleep.

a very big congratulations to crystal and anthony. we wish them a long and happy life together :)

“there’s something like a line of gold thread running through a man’s words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself.” -j.g. brown

bill & bryn, c. 1981

ryan & ellie, c. 2010

happy father’s day to all the incredible dads out there, especially my two favorites <3

“yosemite valley, to me, is always a sunrise, a glitter of green and golden wonder in a vast edifice of stone and space…”

our yosemite weekend has come and gone, and we have some beautiful photographs to show for it. the trip had several high and low points, but the highs absolutely overshadowed the lows.

letting ellie jump for joy on the bed when we first got to the cabin, seeing her face light up as she pointed to the water at the base of bridalveil fall, watching her run and do hip-hip-hoorays on the o’shaughnessy dam … there’s nothing quite so amazing as seeing the world through the eyes of a child, and i never *truly* understood that until now.

“as a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unself-consciously to the soughing of the trees.”

to see a world in a grain of sand
and a heaven in a wild flower
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
an eternity in an hour

study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.
it will never fail you.

definitely looking forward to taking her back again someday <3