The Apple Family

Sunrise in West Sacramento

By far, my favorite time of the day, morning!

Snow and Storm

And here are our new additions to the family: Snow and Storm. You've already met Snow, but Storm came a few weeks later when we found out that Storm was headed to the pound. How could let Snow's brother go to the pound! Its been the best decision to bring Storm into our home! For one, Snow is super happy to have his buddy back and a play friend as well!

Brady hits up Savage Sprints @ Hot Italian

Check out Brady tearing it up at the Hot Italian Savage Sprints last night, in his Waste Management Cycling jersey!

Brady was pretty excited to be here supporting the Sacramento Velodrome program!

Not only did Brady have a good time, he also got a cool T-shirt, candy cane, pizza and even some gellato! Great weekend for him that's for sure!

Old School Brady, circa 1924.

Check this cool guy out! Brady loves this hat and has such a cute little look to him doesn't he? He looks like a little boy in the 20's who sells newspapers on the corner of some street in San Francisco! Awesome!

West Sacramento on a chilly Monday morning!

By far, my favorite moment of the day is early morning, nothing like the thought of a fresh day, with questions to come regarding the day: whats to come, what will happen, who will I share this day with, why will things happen today?!

San Francisco Photography Getaway Part 2

I have never realized how many bikes were in San Francisco: people riding them, locked up, on buses, people carrying them, on the BART etc. So maybe next time I head into town, I will focus solely on bikes and shoot bikes in San Francisco. Not like I needed a reason to go in again! The above shot was taken near Union Square, I loved how in the mist of thousands of shoppers, there set a lonely bike, yet it totally caught my attention.

This bike was locked up in the Mission District, 24th Street to be exact. Again, she just was by herself, so I thought she needed some attention, hope you like it "bike!"

San Francisco Photography Getaway Part 1

This past weekend I took a trip to San Francisco to play with my camera and experience the beauty and the photographic experience of the city. It was a partial birthday weekend gift from Melissa, Valerie and Gabe, I will explain... Valerie purchased a Groupon from a photographer named John Ater. John gave a seminar for beginning and aspiring photographers. Huh!?, you may ask, why would Derek need that? Well, it was something that Val bought for her, but wanted to drag me along. Yes it was basic for me, but what John did was to push my envelope and encouraged me to push myself and my limits! Having a good ass kicking is healthy, trust me!

This sign caught my attention immediately. What did it mean? Who put it there? I have no idea! I liked it, shot it and here it is!

While walking around Val found this wall and I knew I had to use it! Plus having a kick butt drop dead gorgeous "model" hanging around helps ALOT! I LOVE the urban feel to this wall, plus Val's red hair and look really added to the vibe of the pic! Thanks Val for dropping your camera for a few minutes!

Before I continue, I must thank Melissa and Gabe for hanging back withe kids and pulling duty so we could click-away, while away! Thanks Valerie for bringing me along your experience and of course, John Ater for pushing the limits a bit further!

MUCH more to come, trust me, much more!

Shot of Nugget

Ok, so why in the heck would I take a shot of the entry way to a Nugget Grocery store? First off, look at the killer lighting, the architecture, colors?! How could I not pass this shot up? I like it! Plus it was take with a pretty wide angle lens that I am testing out, would you buy this shot for $900 so I can buy this lens?

Its Fall, so that only means one thing, LEAVES!!!

Aisnley and Mila got in on the fun of the leaves pictures! The sun was beaming thru the trees a little, as Mila can attest! Sorry about that girlfriend!

Of course we had to get all of kids together in the leaves, we seem to get a ton of shots of the kids in pairs, but few with all of them, so enjoy it and make the best of it!

These shots would not have occurred had Brady not helped me for about 15 minutes gathering all the leaves in the middle of the backyard! The guy is simply amazing! With Brady's support and Drew's awesome smile along with Ainsley's silliness, and Mila's "patience," we got it done baby!

The family does a Mud Run!

What?! So the family did a Mud Run last weekend, 30 Oct. There were different categories and distances, here's the breakdown: Drew and Ainsley did the 100 yard dash, Brady and Sean did the Mile, Bob and Chris did the 5K and Melissa, Val, Gabe and Ryley did the 10K, while Derek and Mila took pics or slept in the backpack! They all ran thru obstacles, water, hills, and finally the mud pit at the very end! This run was a huge accomplishment for each runner so we're all very proud each other! Way to go! Time to start preparing for 2012!

The link below will guide you the rest of the pictures!

http://imagesbydereknovaes.smugmug.com/Sports/2011MudRun/19957476_d5LbFZ#1571610397_TQLLtmp

In case you were wondering...

Brady is still looking to manage Waste Management someday in the future! Look at that smile folks, its 7:45am and he is ready to work! Brady has taken chores to a new level around the house! If it has anything to do with lawn, leaves, mowing, pruning trees, racking up the yard...the little man is on it immediately! Wish I could get him to like reading as much as he likes to work, but I can teach that, I can't teach work ethics! Very proud of you buddy!

Half Moon Back Dock

Here's a fun shot I took while walking around the docks at Half Moon Bay a couple of weeks ago! There was so much to see from the viewfinder that I was pretty overwhelmed! Hope you like it!

Snow has settled in nicely!

Our newest member of the family has settled in quite nicely! Snow loves to play and run around the house! He even has a buddy the bite & wrestle with, a little stuffed sea lion! The funny thing is, the sea lion is white also! Snow loves to try to get out, which he has a few times. However, we're really not in the mood to lose a cat or chase him all over the court! He's eating well, pooping in the cat box, and sleeping like a log when needed! He's been a fun addition to the family indeed!

Pacifica Sunset!

During the course of the three days I managed to get in a few cool shoots and I still have not looked thru all of them in close detail! Kinda behind! But I will need to get my butt on target for this weekend! I also did a GREAT shoot last night and will need to be ready for the mud run next sunday!

http://www.downanddirtymudrun.com/

There's the link! Its a whole crazy family fun day! Bobby and Chris will run the 5k, Brady and Sean will will a 1K, Drew and Ainsley will run a 100 mud dash, Melis, Ryley, Gabe and Val will run a 10K....me? I will be shooting the muddy people and watching Mila! Should be a total BLAST!

Happy Birthday weekend in SF!

I swear I am the luckiest idiot on the planet! We attempted a 5 day cruise, then a 3 day...and finally we ended up in Pacifica for the weekend! This was a Birthday celebration of sorts for me and Gabe(turns 40 next week, I turned 12!). We enjoyed wine on the coast, great meals, walks, a run(yes, I went too and missed my bike), hung out at Golden Gate Park(where's the wine!?!?), an amazing dinner, more food, a lighthouse and 628 pictures!
We geeked out with the camera on the tripod and here's one of many! Too many actually! Thank you Melissa, Va & Gabe! Awesome! AWESOME!!!!!!

What a weekend folks!

Holy cow! What a loaded weekend! Ready?!?! Friday we headed over the Val & Gabe's to catch up since we missed each other last weekend and to finish up brakes on one of their cars! Val threw an Indian dish together for dinner and that rocked, plus some awesome Heringer Wine! The kids watched a movie for a bit but that got old quickly because they seemed too excited to play with shadows from the projector! BEDTIME!

The morning quickly arrived with mowing the front and edging of course! In the meantime a picnic was being prepared by the girls while the boys worked! We watched Ainsley's soccer game and we then enjoyed the yummy sandwiches before round two at the house! More mowing and we took the pool down, see ya next summer pool! Gabe loaded up the truck for a dump run with Brady while Melis, Drew and I drove home! Drew, Val, Ainsley and Mila all napped!

Got in a great call from my Dad tii, 'brigado Pai!

We later met Gabe, Mila and Brady at the Heringer Winery for an owl release party, something we had planned for a while and our first wine club event! Val and Ainsley attended a birthday party and met us in West Sac after the activities. The movie projetor was set up in the backyard with speakers for the kids to watch Madagascar 2. This time they all chilled and watched the movie out in the dark! Brady had a mini meltdown and wasn't feeling too hot! He worked his tail off, that's why! Adults and kids could not get to bed soon enough!

Sunday was another busy day! Melissa got brakes this weekend too! Gabe, Brady and Melissa fixed the screen door and Brady's window! Val got a nap(Rough night and not feeling it!) and a run. While Derek got a Blu-Ray player, Gabe got a run in also, a long one too! The afternoon consisted of setting up the Blu-Ray player and cleaning the gutters plus mowing(that was Brady of course!). Val & Gabe tried to find tiles for their laundry room, but ended up at the Nugget and brought us all dinner! Sara and Cora joined us for dinner...totally yummy, no left overs at all!

Not sure we've had such a fun and productive weekend! But if we have more of these we'll most likely build a ship!

The Novaes Kitten, Snow!

After months of not having a pet and years of having cats, Pepper, Minka and Forrest, we finally decided
to return to the world of pets, well...sorta!

Last week a student at school, who loves animals, told me she had kittens and wondered if I had any interest! I kinda did at first, I later discussed the idea with Melissa. The conversation lasted about 3 minutes and it never came to any decision.

On Monday Brady was sick and did not attend school. But I still had to go in and get some work so I didn't feel like I had wasted a day! I walk in with Brady and guess who is waiting for me with 5 kittens?! Yup, it seemed like a set up! Brady sits down to play with the kittens and out pops this cute lil dude! How the heck could I say no?! I might act like a tough guy, but put a kitten in my son's arms...and it's over!

Snow, as we decided to call him, has a great personality and is such a lil ball of fun! Welcome to the family buddy! Be ready for a fun ride!

Clarksburg Truck - HDR

If you havent noticed, I have been digging deep into HDR Photography! I love it! The technique adds such depth to every shot!

This shot was taken near a town called Clarksburg, just a few minutes south of West Sacramento. The truck is on a property where I was shooting a Cyclocross race! The old look with bushes growing around seemed to beg for an HDR Shot!

There are a few others at the link below! Enjoy and dont steal it...thieves!

http://imagesbydereknovaes.smugmug.com/

Family Day on the bike trail!

Its been a long time since we did a family bike ride, June last year to be exact! The opportunity came this weekend to hit the bike trail due to some scheduling changes, so off we went! We started at the Sac State Aquatic Center and rode clockwise around Lake Natoma to avoid the "hills." While going thru Folsom, we rode by Chris Horner! Who's Chris? The winner of the 2010 Tour of California and a potential 2010 Tour de France winner had he not crashed a week into the Tour! We stopped for a picnic lunch, saw loads of cool scenery, the kids rode like champs(11.5 miles)! What a dream for me, an awesome family sharing my passion for cycling! Does it get much better?!?!?

After the ride we hit up Jamba Juice and later surprised Nana & Papa for a follow up visit. Papa is rocking it pretty much! He might even head out of the house next weekend! AWESOME!

Its Friday....

Its Friday, so guess what?! It's Garbage day for Brady! Yes, he always gets this excited!

Gigi! Whats up? Guess what? Its 7:42!

A funny lil story, many years ago while I was still BMX'ing I asked GiGi to come watch me race in Roseville, Ca. Being that she was a pro BMX Grandma, she knew that she didnt need to watch practice. She asked that I call her just before the race. So I set my watch to 7:42pm, no real reason. Since that day, my watch has beep'd at 7:42pm. Even with three watches later, they all get set for 7:42pm. Grandma has passed away 3 years ago, 21 Sep. 2009 and it's 7:42! Love you, Miss you and think of you daily!

There's lots to love in my live, but I can't love her enough!

A few weeks back we all went to Joe's Crab Shack Downtown Sacramento, you know the usual, The Orick-Novaes Team. Val happened to have her camera handy and she took this awesome shot of us! I swear I am the luckiest guy in the world, while I get balder and uglier, Melissa get prettier by the week!

Sacramento Gran Prix

This past weekend Sacramento held what I consider a great event for cycling and Sacramento, the Sacramento Gran Prix, organized by Project Sport along with the Sacramento Sport Commission. This group also puts on the Pittsburgh And San Rafael Twilight races! This race is a party! Vendors, beer gardens, umbrella girls, fast racing and awesome people all around!

Only speaking for myself, but I am certain many others would agree, please bring this race back EVERY year! I can see it only getting bigger by year. Make it happen people!

My own race was much like the rest of the year, a struggle! I poorly planned my fitness this year and paid the price! Training for road races but racing criteriums was an obvious mistake! Was that done on purpose? Of course not! 2012 is a new year with new energy and goals! Criterium training and racing...weight room and intervals! Back to the BMX days under the squat rack!

The pic, my good friend Nick Oliver in the P/1/2 race! More pics can be seen at the link below:

http://imagesbydereknovaes.smugmug.com/Sports/Cycling/2011-Sacramento-Gran-Prix/19020084_pfkCvx#1478294206_4rNGTjp

Time to Start Sharing More Pics and Moments!

So it seems this summer has killed us
with time to post and keep up with all of our activities! I promise to keep this rolling! As you can see I have added a few more design changes. Yes, I get bored with the same layout!

The first summer rewind: As usual we went to Dillon Beach! Hard times this year due to Uncle Jim passing, but we tried to be upbeat as much as we could! We're thankful for our family to be there and support each other! The pic was taken by Valerie! Thanks Val!

August is past us!

WOW! August was a busy month folks! The highlight was returning to school for Derek, Brady and Drew!  Derek is back at Sacramento Academic & Vocational Academy with the usual awesome team and students in Elk Grove! Brady is now a Second Grader and Drew a First Grader with Brady's former teacher Mrs. Tran! We know the kids are in their early years of school, but dang if feels like this morning that they got into Pre-School! Watch High School be next week!

Family Matters

After 24 years of being together, we still need to find time to be with each other! When life gets hectic, kids running in all sorts of places and directions, commitments with family etc., we still must find time to hang out and laugh and remind ourselves as to why we are here in the first place!

Many times we take the closest ones for granted and forget to acknowledge the small things! We also forget that many small things add up eventually and count in the end!

We lose the closest people in a blink of an eye and before you know it, time has passed and we forget to stop and take in that special person and moment!

Take a few moments to acknowledge the ones you love and appreciate: wife, husband, friend, children, pets, co-workers, the computer you're using right now, my bike and health...many more to list!

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

The Kid's First Trip to a BMX Track!

At first Drew was not into it at all, Derek got her going on the small stuff and eventually on the bigger sections of the track! Once that was but together, she had a blast! Proud of her courage!

This dude on the other hand, he rolled the starting hill from the moment he got there! However, as predicted he crashed! Yet, he went out there again and again and kept doing his thing! he looked very comfortable out there! Potential BMXer I think!

Two happy kids on their bikes at the track! Proud Daddy!

The Novaes-Orick's at Dillon Beach!

While spending our annual week at Dillon Beach we had special guests on the last day, The Orick's! The weather was great, no sun! But it wasn't horrible like its been in the past! Thanks for coming out!

Brady in the Can!

SF Exploritorium HDR!

Summer Time Fun!

Boys Trip to San Francisco via San Rafael

A few months ago Brady and I decided to take a day and make a "Boy Trip!" That day finally arrived last week! We took off on Tuesday night to San Rafael to stay the night in a Motel 6, commonly called, Ghetto 6 in our home! The next day woke, had our cereal, watched the Tour de France stage on the ipad and off we went to SF. We hoped for stop at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, but fog kept us in the car and on our way down to the Marina District!



Since we skipped the bridge we had time to drive around and smell San Francisco, love it! Off to the Exploritorium went! Brady had a great time learning and manipulating all sorts experiments while cruising the floors! So fun to watch him explore! Clever lil kid!

After the Exploritorium we went outside and took a bunch of cool pics and then headed to the South end of the Golden Gate Bridge since the weather had now cleared up! Awesome view to say the least! I remember when Grandma used to take us there, so of course I had to continue the tradition!

A great time and hope to do this again more often!

Jamie and Heidi get Married!

Congrats and good luck...to Heidi! You'll need it, plus patience and adult beverages! Welcome to the family!

Lance Armstrong Visits Davis, Ca

So the LiveStrong Challenge rolled in thru Davis, Ca. this year. Riders raised nearly 1 million dollars for the LiveStrong Foundation! I didn't ride it, wish I had, but it looked like a lot of fun! Hey, Lance rode on the same roads that I ride and train on a weekly basis, that's pretty cool!

Drew Graduates from Kindergarten!

Can you find our little Drew in the line up? Clue: flower girl! She's now a First Grader! She had a great first year of school; she loved class, finished all of her work on Monday's for the most part, read really well, math is coming along and she's just cool! We love you Drew and congrats!

Another HDR Pic!

Another front yard shot using HDR! Dang it, I just need to fork over the cash to get the full version! Then its ON!

Strange weather in Sacramento!

Yes, its been a weird and strange Spring around here! Yesterday was a bit of a trip with tornadoes in the area! With the awesome clouds I just had to bust out a shot or two! The images were enhanced with a killer software called, you guessed it, Photomatix! Its a free trial, hence the watermark all over the picture; nevertheless, its a super cool shot! Enjoy!