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Hiking in Yosemite

On Saturday, May 31st I went hiking to the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. It was a 17-mile hike, and I knew that I was not able to go all the way to the top, so my goal was to reach half way, the Nevada Fall. There were 14 of us- my supervisor at work who also coaches a swim team in Tulare, some of his swimmers, 3 moms, Nathan-a youth from my church, and myself. We started around 7:00 in the morning. I was back to the car by 3:00, but the rest of the group that went all the way to Half Dome were not back until 9:30 at night.

It was a tiring hike, but the view was so scenic. We hiked through Mist Trail and we passed through Vernal Fall. Going down I took John Muir Trail.

Have you ever wondered what is at the top of a water fall? Take a look at the pictures below.  The one on the left is a picture of Nevada Fall, and the one on right was taken from the top.  More pictures in the “Photo Albums” and on Tule Nation Tritons’ website.

Nevada FallTop of Nevada Fall

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Shaved Duke

After we’ve got home from Pismo I picked up Duke from his hotel. When I dropped him off I told him that we wanted him groomed and had his hair trimmed or shaved. I just trusted their judgement and wasn’t specific whether I wanted him trimmed or shaved. When I picked him up, we got a shaved German Shepherd. Here are the before and after pictures.

Duke UnshavedShaved Duke

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Pismo Beach

dsc01250.JPGJust got back from Pismo Beach. We left on Wednesday, 4/16 and spent a couple of nights there. Tryphena had been very excited since Saturday about going to the beach. She wanted to bring everything “to the beach”- all of her toys, books, tricycle, and even Duke. 🙂 It was her first time going to the beach, and her face lit up when we got there. We spent a little over 2 hours on the beach on Wednesday before heading back to the hotel and called it a day.

On Thursday morning we went to Moro Bay and we fed seals there. We also had lunch there, and then went South to Solvang. We strolled the stores, ate pastry and ice cream and then went back to Pismo to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach. We bought dinner at Thai Talay and ate at the hotel. Continue reading “Pismo Beach”

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Easter Weekend

dsc01027.JPGI got Friday off to observe Good Friday (yeah…. I’m waiting for ACLU to file a lawsuit). Our nice neighbor next door invited us to their house to decorate Easter eggs. Tryphena cracked a few eggs since it was her first time handling eggs.

Today we went to Shaver Lake, about 45 minutes from home to play snow. I promised Tryphena that I would make a snowman for her. I’ve uploaded some pictures into the album.

Tomorrow is Easter! He is risen indeed! We’re going to commemorate the single most important event in history that changed the course of mankind – the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. After church we’re having a potluck.

Happy Easter!

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He’s Risen!

The eighth century Eastern theologian John of Damascus has written one of the great hymns of the Christian church celebrating the redemptive joy and judicial benediction that flow from the resurrection of Christ:

Come, ye faithful, raise the strain of triumphant gladness;
God hath brought his Israel into joy from sadness;
Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke Jacob’s sons and daughters;
Led them with unmoistened foot through the Red Sea waters.

‘Tis the spring of souls today; Christ hath burst his prison,
And from three days’ sleep in death, as a sun hath risen;
All the winter of our sins, long and dark, is flying
From his light, to whom we give laud and praise undying.

Now the queen of seasons, bright with the day of splendor,
With the royal feast of feasts, comes its joy to render;
Comes to glad Jerusalem, who with true affection
Welcomes in unwearied strains Jesus’ resurrection.

Neither might the gates of death, nor the tomb’s dark portal,
Nor the watchers, nor the seal hold thee as a mortal:
But today amidst thine own thou didst stand, bestowing
Thine own peace, which evermore passeth human knowing.

taken from “Raised for Our Justification” by Lee Irons which was published in the March/April 1996’s issue of Modern Reformation.

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The Congregation of Sweet Tomatoes

We like to go to Sweet Tomatoes, a casual salad bar eatery, after church. (My Sabbatharian brothers would rebuke me for eating out on Sundays) Judging from the way many people there dress, there’s no doubt that a lot of them are from surrounding churches. There, on Sundays, you can find people from many nations and all ages sit under the same roof to feed on the earthly food of salad, soup, and pasta. Continue reading “The Congregation of Sweet Tomatoes”

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“Ma… Pray, Ma!”

We pray with Tryphena every night before bed, and we say grace before every meal. We also teach her to pray when she hurts. I give much credit to Indra for building her prayer life. As the Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 45 Q&A 116 teaches: “Why is prayer necessary for Christians?” Because it is the chief part of thankfulness which God requires of us, and because God will give His grace and Holy Spirit to those who earnestly and without ceasing ask them of Him, and render thanks unto Him for them. Continue reading ““Ma… Pray, Ma!””

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Meet Kimi

Red ear sliderWe have two rather big red ear sliders. We bought them when they were small, back in the Summer of 2002. Turtle food is so expensive nowadays and those turtles eat A LOT. Because they like to eat and they eat almost anything, I tried to give them dog food one day, and to my amazement they seemed to enjoy it. You can guess the rest of the story……. Here’s the picture of Kimi, the smaller of the two, eating a large piece of dog food. If you’re interested in Red Ear Sliders, visit http://www.redearslider.com/