Berlin Day #1

For the New Years holiday, Claron, Eliza and I rode with Claron's labmate, Florian, to Berlin. We stayed in Rohrdamm, which is in the former West Berlin.

The subway stations here are really quite bright; however, they are much dirtier and less accessible (fewer escalators and elevators) than Munich.

 Yes, I look really prego here, but it is to be noted that I am wearing two bulky sweaters in addition to my coat.

 This is the Fernseherturm (TV tower). It is the former East Germany. We waited in line for quite a while to go up.

 Views from the Fernseherturm. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy.

 This is the German Reichstag (Congressional building). See the dome on the top? To enter the Reichstag and walk the dome, you have to have an appointment. We had a 1:15 p.m. appointment. After the lines at the Fernseherturm, we had to RUN to our appointment here.

 This is walking up the dome. See Eliza?

After the Reichstag, we went to a festival at Brandenburg Tor. Unfortunately, I was too tired to take pictures by then. Eliza enjoyed TWO nutella crepes (aka "chocolate tacos"), hot chocolate, fries, and a bratwurst. It started to get cold, so we went back to the hotel and rested for awhile. We had noticed a steak restaurant by our hotel. I looked at the menu and it was only 10 Euro for a filet! So, we tried it, and surprisingly, it was excellent!

A Christmas Message from Claron

This is Amanda. Claron hates, hates, passionately hates cheesy Christmas songs. I'm not talking the traditional Christ centered songs. I'm looking at you "Christmas Shoes" and even "Mary Did You Know?" Yes, Mary did know. An angel came and told her! In that spirit, here is this years' Christmas message from Claron:

Hiatus

Sorry for the "break." The last few months have been a bit difficult. I've spent most of it in the bathroom. Thankfully, I don't have a tape worm... it's just a baby. Well, I hope it is a baby:

I am due May 2012. Eliza says that it is a girl, and her name is "Joshua." Well, at least part of that will be proved to be incorrect. I am feeling a bit better and hopefully, I will update the blog (from the past few months as well as going forward).

Englischer Garten: Monopteros

In 1832, they used leftover building materials from the building the Residenz (Royal Palace) to build a small Greek temple in the Englischer Garten. The temple is called Monopteros. It was completed in 1836. The English Garden is the "Central Park" of Munich.

The view from Monopteros

The View from Monopteros

Ridge 2010 Year in Review

A Day in the Life

Conquering Timpanogos

While we were still in Utah, Claron climbed Mt. Timpanogos to the summit with Aaron, his dad and his niece, Amanda. Here's the kicker though. He did it in FLIP FLOPS!

Pictures taken by Aaron. The last picture is a panorama made of 4 different pictures. Click on it to see it larger. It is the view of the Utah lake and the whole of the valley (Provo).

Sunday Pictures: March 28

Valentine's Solution

I don't want to give anyone homework. Here's the solution.

When Nerds Marry Nerds

Here is Claron's Valentine:

Simplify.

For you non-math lovers, I'll post the solution after V-tag.

Hands

It is amazing what your hands show.

These are the hands of Claron & his 93 year old grandfather, Grandpa Brown.

Grandpa has done amazing things with those hands. He worked making tools for Kennecot. He built a house from the ground up. He raised three wonderful women and one man. He's held numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. He's guided two ladies through senility... and the list keeps going. He's still as sharp as a tack and the most healthy person of his age that I have ever met.

A Special Message from Claron

Claron loves this song. He thinks all should partake.

Anniversary Follow-up

Claron and I had a great anniversary. We went out to dinner at Fresco Cafe, while Eliza stayed with our friends and played games by fire light. I also made Claron a card this year. Claron is famous for his homemade cards. I am famous for recycling Claron's cards without his knowledge. It is a long standing joke of ours. Claron also got me some lillies and perfume. I got him a tie... oh and a daughter.

7 Years

Seven years ago today on a cold, snowy December morning, I married the love of my life. He is caring, kind, sweet, forgiving, loving, passionate, tender and giving. I am thankful every day for my dear Claron. Happy anniversary, honey!

In a strange turn of events, my friend, Kristy and her fiance (now husband) Chopper, also got married that day... in the same temple... at the same time! We did not plan this. Happy anniversary, Kristy & Chopper!

Monsters Vs. Aliens

Eliza loves the movie Monsters vs. Aliens. I would rate it just alright. The other day she was casting for the movie. Here are her decisions:

Girl knows what is going on. Raaaawwwwr!!!

That's Doctoral Candidate Ridge to you...

Excellent News!!

Claron is officially a doctoral candidate. He passed his PhD Candidacy exam (also known as orals). He did a great job. We are very proud of him. Here is a picture of him in action (well practicing anyway).

Being the wife of a pre-doctoral candidate can be difficult and stressful. To diffuse this stress, I baked, and I contributed the goods to the PhD Candidacy Exam Committee. Here is the evidence:

Water, Lemons, Limes, Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Carrots, Ranch, Cheese, Crackers, Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies, Brownie Buttons with Toffee Pieces, Nutella Cupcakes

I am so proud of my husband. The only down side is that we are closer to leaving Santa Barbara.

Claron, Eliza & A Fountain

Reasons Why I LOVE This Picture:

1. The sheer joy on Eliza's face

2. The cool effect on the colors from the twilight

3. The look on Claron's face. He looks like he has his hand in the cookie jar. Why you ASK?

Well, this picture is taken at the LA Temple.

Tsk. Tsk.

Catch-up: Father's Day

Now that it is September, it is finally time to write about Father's Day. We had a lovely Father's Day this year.

Eliza made a tie for Claron in nursery at church the week before.

Claron had donuts for breakfast before church.

Claron's dad and Clark, Lilly & Violet came to visit, and the girls wore matching dresses to church.


The whole crew after church.

We had a great day. A funny aside from that day... Eliza is very territorial about her chair. Violet found a work around though.... Camouflage!