Here are a couple of pictures of our beloved Clancy.  We are looking for a new Smooth Collie puppy – just like Clancy but with a lot less hair to maintain.

Here is a picture from the Pasadena meet a few weeks ago that one of the other parents sent over.

This is Nikhil running in the 1500M race (I think)!

Annika ran her last track meet of the 2009 season.  She got a big PR in both the 1600M and the 800M events.  Here she is on her way to a 7:34 mile.

Today was the SCMAF state meet in Downey.  Nikhil ran the 800M and Annika ran the 400M and 200M.

Here is Nikhil on the podium after coming in 3rd with a 2:36.

Here is Annika powering her way thru another PR on the 400M race.

She had a 4th place finish and a medal in the 400M but just missed the medal in the 200M.

Mom and Dad had come down from the Bay Area to watch their grandkids run!  This was Annika’s last race of the 2009 track season.  Nikhil still has the Junior Olympics to look forward to in a couple of weeks.

Last weekend, we took advantage of the Disneyland birthday offer and went back to Disneyland.  Here is a rare picture of Vikram and Annika in true harmony!  This is why they call it the happiest place on earth.

Here is Nikhil, Vikram and Anjali on the Matterhorn ride.

Today was the county meet in Laguna Niguel.

Annika surprised us and placed 2nd in the 400M and 3rd in the 200M.  She got a 10 second improvement in her 400M time and another PR in her 200M as well.

Nikhil did very well also finishing 4th in the 800M and improving his time to 2:35.  Both move on the the SCMAF county meet coming up in May.

I just got back from a week in Hong Kong and China.  

This is a view from my hotel room at the Sheraton overlooking the harbor.  In the center on the other side of the bay is the convention center and on the far right is The Peak.

From our base in HK, we went into mainland China to the cities of Shenzhen, Guangzhou and a couple of other smaller cities.

Going into China was much like visiting India or Nepal.  Lots of cars, smog, traffic and people.  Life is difficult with tremendous amounts of construction in every direction.  This contributes to the daily traffic jams and smog.

After a couple of tough days enduring the travel and food, our host took us to Mission Hills for a wonderful lunch. This is billed as the world’s largest golf course with over twenty courses in the complex.  It  is truly an experience reserved for the uber rich in China.  

There are some fabulous homes along the golf course.  It is comparable to Pelican Hills in Newport Beach.

On my last day there, we got to do some sightseeing around Hong Kong.  We visited the Floating Dragon Restaurant by taking a small ferry. We had a quick lunch and continued on to our next destination.

For the next stop, we went to Repluse Bay where I dipped my feet in the water and shopped at the Stanley Market.

Here is one of the many temples.

Finally, we went to the Peak for dinner and a view.

Another picture from the top of the peak.

We took the boys to Laser Quest in Fullerton for their birthday party.  Here are some pictures from the afternoon. Each got to invite four friends.  They had home made cake and In-N-Out for lunch.

Anjali also took them to Disneyland’s California Adventure which was offering a “free” day on your birthday promotion deal.

Last weekend we went to Phoenix for a track meet with Nikhil’s club.  He ran in the 3000M and 1500M.

He PR’d in both events and crashed thru the 6 minute mile pace for the first time in the 1500M with a time of 5:30.

Here he is with his teammates before the 15000M.

His 1500M and 300M times place him in the Top 40 in the country on Elite Youth.  

His two teammates are 5th and 10th in the rankings in the 1500M and 2nd and 3rd in the 3000M.

Today was the annual city track meet.  Annika ran her first ever track meet and won 1st place in both the 400M and 200M events. 

Here she is with her medal collection.

Nikhil also ran in the 800M and 400M and got 2nd and 3rd place.  More importantly, he PR’d both his races from his best times last year.

Vikram spent the last couple of days working the algorithms to solve his first Rubik’s Cube!

Rubik's Cube Solved

Did you know that the cube was invented by a Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture.  It has sold over 300 million cubes to date!

Congrats Vikram!

Last weekend we went on a trip organized by my alma mater (Harvey Mudd College) to the Channel Islands.  These are a group of islands about 22 miles off the coast of Ventura.  We took an Island Packers boat trip to Santa Cruz island which is the largest of the islands and is about 20 miles by 6 miles and has the most varied terrain.  It is know as the “Galapagos of California”.

On the ride out to the island, we encountered a school of several thousand dolphins!  They were literally jumping all around the boat.   This was apparently a rare sighting of so many dolphins.

We landed at Prisoner’s Harbor and did a 4.5 mile hike to Pelican Bay on the The Nature Conservancy side of the property.  There were several steep canyons and about 750 feet of climbing.

There were quite a few native flowers in full bloom.  This is a natural “soap flower”  If you rub it between your hands, it has antiseptic properties.  We also saw (and tasted) the “lemonade berry” plant which is also native to just Santa Cruz.

Here is a picture of the kids enjoying the hike:

This is one of the scenic views from near the top of the island.

On the boat ride back, we saw a blow hole, caused by the low tide and the water being forced thru the tubes in the lava rocks.

The Channel Islands are definitely worth a trip.  The tour guides were very knowledgeable and the Island Packers boating outfit was very professional.  Note that The Nature Conservancy side of the island requires a special permit (which we had access to because of the HMC connection).

The National Park side of the island is available to the general public.

Enjoy!

Today, we had a practice in the rain.  The kids had fun getting wet.

Annika ran about 3 1/2 miles and Nikhil did a 6 mile training run.

Last weekend, Nikhil ran in the Irvine 5K.  He placed second in the 11-12 age group.  He got a 21:11 race time.

The track season has started and little Annika is running.  On Monday, she could barely run two laps.  By Thursday, she ran her first timed mile in 11:30.    

Here she is doing some practice laps around the track.

Before our Universal Studios passes expired, I took the kids for one last day to visit the park.

Here are the boys being arrested by the local cop.  Annika enjoyed her moment in the sun.

The new Simpsons ride got a thumbs down from the kids – too short for the long wait.   Instead, we ended up riding the Mummy Ride three times whch was by far their favorite ride in the park!

Here we are at our favorite Crepe Restaurant.

The kids got the new Rockband 2 for the Wii for Christmas.  We played all weekend long.

Here they are at their Jam session.

Annika also got a couple more Webkinz.

Nikhil tested for his Brown Belt degree 1 and passed with flying colors.

Here he is getting his new belt.

Vikram’s soccer team placed third in the City AYSO soccer tournament.  This coming weekend they will play three games in the regionals against the likes of Yorba Linda, Irvine and several other South OC teams. 

As I was sitting at my desk, a small 5.1 magnitude rumbler just rippled thru here.  It was located about 100 miles north east of here near Barstow.  Here is a link to the USGS website.

Earthquake Details