There really isn’t a cohesive theme to this post other than “interesting and cool things we’ve gotten to do this summer.” That’s a theme, right? A few photos and captions to highlight some of the other activities we’ve been up to this summer:
Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the UN, came to speak at Stanford.
Celebrating Nick’s birthday!
“Book of Mormon” at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. Great music and one I’d encourage you to go see, especially if you can get as handsome a date as I did!
Fourth of July BBQ at Munger with fireworks in Mountain View.
Mike, Jon, Katie, Leo, and Dan enjoying the smorgasbord of deliciousness.
Fireworks in Mountain View. Leo purposely closed his eyes for all photos, so this one is on him!
Metrics Working Group meeting outside Aix-en-Provence in France. We stayed in a 500-year-old chateau to talk about social franchising metrics. #MyJobIsAwesome
My running buddies in France are some of the most intelligent, kind, and capable leaders in global health. During this meeting I was training for a half marathon and these lovely ladies (as well as my organization’s CEO who went on a run with us the next day) helped me make it through my training runs for the week.
What would a meeting in France be without a French cooking class? Which turned into a five hour dinner. 100% deliciousness.
In July, we had a very special visitor: our oldest niece. We got a sample of many of the “bests” of living in the Bay Area: the beach, the San Francisco tourist hot spots, the redwoods, and Stanford’s campus.
At the Marin Headlands with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
Beach day at the Santa Cruz beach and Boardwalk.
Dan posing for his album cover at Lake Lagunita. California’s in a drought, which is why the “lake” now hosts a couch.
Memorial Church on Stanford’s campus.
Meeting the “Shrek” donkey on the way to Dan’s lab. This is the donkey that was used as the model in the movie.
Visiting Dan’s lab…and doing a bit of work while there.
Hiking in the Redwoods.
There are so many tech companies in the area, but we made a stop at one that most will recognize…
Plus a trip to In-and-Out Burger.
This little man joined the world in July. Daddy Nick is one of Dan’s cohort at Stanford and Mommy Laura is one of my favorite people to hang out with/work with.
At an end-of-summer pool party. I love that I got the baby while his parents look like they’re in deep conversation in the background. Such a sweet little boy!
The rest of the crew at Katie and Leo’s end-of-summer pool party. Yes, we were doing this on purpose, I think trying to get a cool “slo-mo” series on the iPhone. It didn’t work, but was sure fun trying.
Hiking at Rancho San Antonio with Tyler Anderson.
Dinner before going to see “Age of Ultron.” Nick and Dan have seen the majority of the superhero blockbusters together!
Summer Acapella Concert at Menlo College featuring groups from Google, Air BnB, LinkedIn, Facebook, and other tech companies in the area.
Outdoors concert at Portola Valley Vineyards with Josh and Pooja. Sorry Josh, that’s the best photo I’ve got for you and yes, I’m posting it up. Ask Tyler Anderson about my propensity to post bad pictures of people if you have any questions.
Stanford Community Associate training retreat at Pajaro Dunes.
Mom’s visited California the week before Stanford classes started. This is our foursome posed by the bookshelf, as is becoming the standard “pre-departure” photo. Love the people in this photo so much!
Dan and I realized we hadn’t done a very good job of taking photos during Mom’s visit, so here’s one of the few we do have. Mom, Nick and me after a most delicious Google lunch. We met up with Nick and Laura for lunch at a butcher’s shop in Oakland, a tour of the Oakland cemetery for the interesting mausoleums and beautiful views over Oakland and into San Francisco, then took Mom back to Palo Alto and, as usual when she visits us, put her to work with a few sewing projects. We also got in a yummy dinner at Opa! in Palo Alto and a chance to explore around University Ave.
Marking the end of summer and the first weekend of classes, we made a quick trip to Portland to visit our family who recently moved to the area. We’re super excited about having more family on the West Coast! This is the beautiful view from there house, with Mount St. Helen’s (I think…as many times as my niece and nephews told me, I still got it confused) in the background. The takeaway: the view is magnificent.
A trip to Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, which is a full city block wide and several floors. I could live there quite happily.
In line for “Salt & Straw,” my niece’s recommendation. On my word. So good. If you’re in Portland or LA, the line is worth it.
We also visited Chapman School to see the swifts roost on their trek south. Thousands of swifts roost in the elementary school’s chimney, and have been doing so for more than 20 years! Check it out: http://audubonportland.org/local-birding/swiftwatch
Climate Change rally at Stanford, featuring keynote speaker Al Gore who shared an urgent, but encouraging message about climate change.
And there you have it. A short summary of our summer in photos!
Sprocketts by the Bay 