acting like a tourist!

our incredible week in california has come to a close. we had so much fun!

having a blast!

We are thoroughly enjoying our California vacation! Getting to the Santa Monica Pier may be near the top of our adventures so far!!!

back to california!

just over a year has passed since we left our home in pasadena. today we travel back for a short visit! i thought it might be fun to blog while we are here. if anyone is still reading, i hope you enjoy!!

the end.

and so, we've reached the end.

the sky is big in pasadena lasted through four years of daily photos.  this is the one thousand four hundred and forty-first consecutive daily blog post.  this humble site has seen over 90,000 visitors and thousands of wonderful comments.

i set out to give myself an artistic outlet during my time in seminary, and i never imagined how big it could become.  it has been an incredible journey and i am extremely proud of the result.

but to be quite honest, i am ready for a break.  i'm sure i'll probably start blogging again sometime in the near future - maybe in a different format and certainly in a new location.  i don't know quite what my blogging future holds, but i can say that today's post is the last one for now.


i want to say thank you to everyone who has ever visited, and an even bigger thank you to those who have commented, become daily visitors, or added this website to your blogroll or rss feed.  your appreciation of my work has been what has kept this project going.



and finally, there are plenty of good blogs out there about pasadena and the san gabriel valley.  the sidebar of this blog contains many of them.
 
my favorites are these fine sites.  if you haven't already, please add these incredible blogs to your reading list...

pasadena daily photo (petrea is the best of the best and an incredible inspiration)
glimpses of south pasadena (laurie is also incredible, just further south)
91105 and beyond (newer on the pasadena scene, but lots of fun photos)
all over pasadena (the newest pasadena daily photographer whom i just discovered)
pasadena pio (our public information officer is an incredible blogger and wonderful person)
cafe pasadena (not a daily photographer, but knows and comments on ALL area blogs)
an immovable feast (my favorite local food reviewer)

#8 negative - changing seasons (or lack of)

august will be the last month of the sky is big in pasadena.  

i have accepted a position at salford mennonite church in harleysville, pennsylvania.  we will be moving in september, so august will be my farewell month to the city of pasadena.  when we moved here from virginia i posted a list of the ten things i would miss most about harrisonburg.  i figured that would be a good way to end our time here, so each day i will be doing one final rundown of life in this great city.  i have prepared two lists - ten things i won't be sad to leave behind, and twenty of my absolute favorite things about pasadena.  i am going to start with ten positives and ten negatives, alternating back and forth each day.  concluding with my top ten things about life in pasadena.

#8 negative - changing seasons (or lack of)

don't get me wrong.  we loved the weather here.  a touch of snow on the mountains is all we ever saw, rare rainy days, and a very comfortable daily temperature make pasadena an incredible place to live.  but for two who grew up in the northeast, we miss having four distinct seasons.  this happy family photo was taken on christmas day with nary a snowflake to be found.  likewise, our fall season has only a few trees which lose their leaves.

okay, maybe i'm just being a nitpick with this one...

by request...

we took this photo last night after bumping in to some friends at levitt pavilion for the free kids putamayo show.  after the photo was taken, a few of these people asked - "is this going to end up on the sky is big?"

of course.

the los angeles zoo

after almost four years in this area, i finally made a visit to the la zoo.  this visit was particularily special because my daughter (let's call her "A" - she's not a baby anymore) was along for the ride.  A loved watching the various animals and her parents loved watching her expressions even more.

happy birthday!

my beautiful wife has a birthday today. 

i love you!

my girls.

family photo

the kitchen with friends

for whatever reason, we end up heading back to the kitchen when we are hungry for italian food.  we went there last night to spend time with some friends, and enjoy some more of their tasty cuisine.

long time followers of the blog may remember that a similar photo was posted WAAAAAY back in 2008 (might even be the same table!).  a lot has happened in that time, but we still enjoy this restaurant.

oh, and i need to say thanks to lois' iphone for the photo.

family meal at the seafood grill

we had family in town this week and they were hungry for some seafood.  so we grabbed this coupon and headed back to the seafood grill in old town.

the baby isn't quite old enough for fresh fish or sushi, but the rest of us had a great meal.

breakfast at tonny's

this little hole in the wall has been a favorite breakfast destination for us and many of our friends.  excellent huevos rancheros, breakfast burritos, and other wonderful mexican dishes.

if you are looking for a place to grab a bite to eat "north of the 210", check out tonny's.

march theme day: your favorite part of town

this may seem like an odd choice for the theme of "your favorite part of town". 

but the more i thought about it, the more i realized that i'm too much of an adventurer to pick just one thing.  i like to explore new things.  just as an example, it is rare that i go back to a restaurant when there are other options i haven't tried.

so when it all boiled down, the one place in pasadena that i love the most is my home.  and my home is wonderful because of the two people i share it with - my wife and baby girl.

i snapped this photo of them playing the piano together, and i gotta say, i love it.  other city daily photo bloggers have attempted this theme in their own unique ways.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

oscar pizza

we joined some friends for an oscar party and chose to partake in one of mamma's brick oven pizzas.

the BIG one.

it was awesome!

self portrait of my family in black and white

taken at the recent wedding.

january theme day: photo of the year 2010

while looking back through 2010, the birth of my daughter stands alone as the moment that means the most to me.  this photo was taken the morning after her birth.  she is being held by her amazing mother, and a rainbow appears in the sky.  this photo never appeared on the blog, but i think it is a fitting choice for today's theme.

this may not be my most perfectly composed shot, nor my most artistic, but it is certainly my photo of the year.

happy new year!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

post-christmas cheer

we had a lovely christmas day. 

i hope you did too!

give thanks

my sister has critiqued my blog for not having enough photos with people in them.  well, i figured this one would satisfy for a little while!  this photo is of a recent fondue night with our good friends.  i'm thankful for many things in my life, but food, friends, and family are a good place to start.

have a very happy thanksgiving!

oh yeah, and fondue night with our friends was way too fun.  does anyone else feel like you do not do stuff like this often enough?

walking back to the waterfall

just a small glimpse at some of the path to get back to the eaton canyon waterfall.