Events of 2006

After the many events of 2005, the year 2006 is shaping up to be a little less adventurous, but nonetheless fun and exciting. Follow the links to see what we have been up to.

Legoland

In February we had the opportunity to explore Legoland, about an 1 1/2 hours south of Rancho Cucamonga, in Carlsbad. It is not as large as Disneyland, but it was the perfect size for us to spend a nice day. Many of the props, as you can imagine, were built from Lego blocks. The pictures below give you an idea of the wide variety of things that can be built from Lego blocks.

For Stefan the most enjoyable part of Legoland was the train ride. Jana and Marc had to ride at least 10 times with him, and even after that he didn't really want to go home.

Photo Gallery from Legoland

Mommy and Stefan are looking forward to the park	May the force be with you	The precursor to the train ride
Part of "Shrek" Village				Marc is going diving
	Not sure that you could drive this car, but it looks cool	Jana in "her" Volvo - although the turbo drive never kicked in	Stefan and Daddy are ready for lift-off	Jana is trying to quench the thirst of the crocodile
Stefan's favorite attraction - the train	Very happy Stefan	The conductor is thinking "They are back"	And then Stefan got to ride by himself...	...which he enjoyed thoroughly
On the Fairy Tale boat ride	Little Red Riding Hood	Aladdin	The White House (the Lego version)	The U.S. Congress
Cape Canaveral	A tired Stefan

Valentines Day

On Valentine's Day, we spent the evening at home with our friend Nicky. Stefan showed us his wide range of facial expressions and flirted with Nicky. He especially enjoyed opening the various Valentine's Day cards, even if they weren't intended for him.

Photo Gallery from Valentine's Day

Jana and Nicky in Las Vegas

In March, Jana and Nicky had a girls' weekend in Las Vegas. They had a great time riding the gondola at the Venetian and enjoying Celine Dion at Caesar's Palace.

Photo Gallery from Las Vegas

Whale Watching

In April, we joined a group from Jana's MOMS Club to go whale watching of the coast of Southern California. Stefan had a blast on the boat. We got to see one whale and a calf cruising along, and visited a buoy full of seals.

Photo Gallery from Whale Watching

Off the coast of Newport Beach	Stefan is enjoying the wind in his hair...eh hat	Jacqueline and Liz	The best picture (out of many) of the whale	Stefan is getting the "hang of it"
		Exhausted		Up for some food
Eyeing daddy's beer bottle...	...but satisfied with his own bottle

Napa with Vicky and James

Heading the call to enjoy and relax, we took a weekend trip to Napa Valley with our friends Vicky and James. We visited the Domain Chandon winery and the Mumm champagne factory. At V. Sattui, we had a picnic in a relaxing outdoor setting. On Saturday, Nicky and her boyfriend Nic met us for dinner and drinks. And on Sunday, we toured the wine country via the Napa Valley Wine Train.

Photo Gallery from Napa

Shannon and KC in L.A.

Our friend Shannon and KC visited us in May to celebrate their wedding anniversary at Disneyland, and to join us for brunch at the beach.

Photo Gallery from Shannon and KC's trip to L.A.

Trip to Oklahoma

In June, we took a trip to Altus, Oklahoma for Stefan to meet his other grandfather - Jana's dad Mickey. Jana's brother Tracy, wife Alishia and son Dylan were also there to attend Tracy's 20th high school reunion. It also gave us an opportunity to visit with our friends Angela and Craig, and their daughters Madison and Rylee, as well as the Ducharme family (Jana's cousin).

Photo Gallery from our trip to Oklahoma

Stefan is enjoying Rylee's car	Stefan, Rylee and Angela	Dylan and Donna	Dylan and Mickey	3 generations: Mickey, Tracy and Dylan
	Dylan and Stefan	Jana and Angela	Stefan and grandpa Mickey
Stefan, Donna and David	Tracy, Alishia, Stefan, Jana and Dylan

Marcs Trip to Germany

In October, Marc had to join his fellow partners and employees on a short business trip to Germany. Luckily it was timed in such a way that Marc could stay an additional day and participate in celebrating his mom's birthday. Upon arrival, Marc also had a little bit of time to visit with our friend Caroline, and her family, Martin, Sebastiaan and Maurits.

Photo Gallery from Marc's trip to Germany

Caroline and Sebastiaan	Maurits	The birthday girl	Leoni is helping Omi with the presents	Frank, Leoni and Sylvia
Leoni and Lars are goofing around	Anke and Markus

Trip to Visit Nick and Nicky in Sacramento

In October, we finally reciprocated the many visits that Nicky had made to our house, and we traveled to Sacramento. She and Nick had just announced their engagement, and we were very happy to congratulate them on it. We had a really great time. Stefan was the center of the attention.

Since it was close to Halloween, we visited a pumpkin patch on steroids. There were all kinds of pumpkins, many goats and sheep to pet, horses to ride, bunnies to visit, as well as cows and birds.

Stefan also got to visit the zoo in Sacramento. He got to ride the train (very important), hear a lion roar (it was the first time that Jana and Marc had heard a lion roar in real life), and ride the yellow dump truck (even more important than the train).

Photo Gallery from our visit to Nick and Nicky in Sacramento

Jana, Nick, Stefan, Nicky and Marc	Let's go people	Oh my God, waaaayyyy too much to see	Better take it easy and enjoy the ride
		Out of my way...I am a busy man...have to pet another goat
	Stefan loves his pumpkins	Always curious	That's the one I want
			It's not enough to just look at the cow...	...I have to be one with the cow
	Nicky, Stefan and Nick
Picking up leaves on Nicky's street				Bird show at the zoo
	It's a great day for a train ride

MOMS Club Founders Day Parade

On November 11, the traditional Rancho Cucamonga Founder's Day Parade took place and the MOMS Club was again there in full stroller gear.

Photo Gallery from MOMS Club Founder's Day Parade

Omi and Opi are Visiting

Middle of November, Marc's parents - Stefan's Omi and Opi - were visiting from Germany for 3 weeks. Stefan enjoyed getting to know his grandparents. They took him to the park, played with him in the house and shared meals in the backyard.

Together we also made a quick visit to San Diego's Wild Animal Park. This was Stefan's third visit to a zoo this year.

Unfortunately, we got so wrapped up in our day-to-day activities that we didn't realize that we hadn't taken any pictures until the day before Omi and Opi were leaving.

Photo Gallery from Omi and Opi visiting

	Enjoying breakfast...	...and reading time with Omi	Family outing to the Wild Animal Park
	Stefan loves to ride the train and watch the animals
"Wilson"		Watching the elephant show with Daddy
Baby Lion

Weekend Getaway to Monterey

During Marc's parents' visit, Stefan was in great hands with his Omi and Opi. They babysat him, while Marc and Jana decided to get away for a long weekend to Monterey, California. It was a lot of fun - visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and exploring some lesser-known parts of Monterey. We walked the Path of History, visited museums, and rode a surrey (a two-person bike) from Fisherman's Wharf to Lover's Point. On our last day, we visited Carmel-by-the-Sea and had a leisurely picnic on the beach.

Photo Gallery from our weekend getaway to Monterey

Otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium	View from our hotel	First theatre in California		Colton Hall - where the constitution of California was written
One of the oldest churches in California	Lunch with a view	Monterey Bay	View from Lover's Point	Shopping in Carmel
Relaxing on the beach in Carmel