William Tell, New Friend, Working

One of the best things about having a Swiss friend is that you've always got a place to celebrate Swiss heroes, like William Tell. Here are Markus and Sabrina just before we sat down to enjoy raclette--yes, there's melted cheese involved. It was a good time. We were excited to hear about the legend of Tell (apple on the head, crossbow, etc.) and how the Swiss taught those mean Austrians a lesson back in the 1400s.

Here are the NorCalAllens about to enjoy some food.
This is a cute shot of Daphne and Jack, her new friend. They are only about 1 week apart in age, which is exciting.
Finally, here is a picture of Daphne at work with her Dad. Very cute!

Some other fun times

August is almost over and the NorCalAllens are gearing up for birthdays. Cortney's birthday is actually today (happy birthday!) and Ben's is in a week and a half. During this 10 day period, Cortney is officially 1 year older than Ben, so that's exciting.

We're enjoying summer so far but the signs of Fall are slowly appearing. The star jasmine that makes some parts of Berkeley smell so good is starting to peter out. The leaves of the sweet gum trees in our neighborehood are getting a little red. And, football season is about to start (just in time--I won't even mention the last few weeks in baseball).

We're about to head out to Jersey to see the McConnell family, so I've got to keep this brief. Here are some pics from the last few weeks. Below this post is another post with shots of the NorCalAllens in the mountains with Dan and Gwenna.

Here's a shot of Daphne and Grandma. Both were wearing tank tops because it was hotter than...Texas in Sacramento this particular day (I was going to say "Hell" but I couldn't resist the opportunity to rip on Texas even though I've developed a soft spot in my heart for that place...long story).


Here's Cortney celebrating our wedding anniversary. Daphne's present to us was a nice nap so we could eat dinner like civilized people.

Dan and Suzanne from Contra Costa county holding Daphne. Not sure why Dan is clentching his fist in this shot.

Here's a picture of Daphne doing some push ups. That's pal Freddie the Frog behind her on the bed.

OK. We're off to big Jersey. Daphne's fired up to see her McConnell clansmen and the beautiful Atlantic ocean.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Alright, so we didn't fight Mexican federales, we weren't looking for gold and I am not Humphreh Bogart, but the NorCalAllens were three gringos in the mountains a couple weekends ago. This was a great time in the Sierra (Nevada) mountains, by the town of Truckee. We went of a nice long hike in the woods and got some good clean air in our lungs. Here's the NorCalAllens in the woods.



In the next picture, we're in the Howard condo up in the mountains. Daphne and I are looking at something very interesting. Meanwhile the Scotch Whisky (hold the "e" please) sign in the back hangs seductively.

Just veggin' out...Daphne's a vegetarian (so far) like her parents. She eats milk though. When we prepare dinner, she seems interested in the vegetables. Maybe she help us scrub our potatoes and carrots some day.

Action shot of enjoying Daphne in the condo.