Wine Tasting

Adam's brother, Dan and his wife Becca and their adorable baby Riley came to visit this week. We just love to hang out with these guys, it's a bummer they live so far from us. We have been making the best with the limited time we have with them here. We started off by a day in the wine country for tastings. We went to Sunstone, Kalyra and finished our afternoon with a picnic at Lincourt. There are lots of pictures of cute kids and happy people. I will let the pics tell the rest of the story.
Hugging Cousins

Lauren looking beautiful! So Hollywood!Yummy biscuit!Kisses from Uncle AdamPeek a boo Kisses.

After our full tiring day, we went home, changed clothes and rallied to go out. The grandparents took the kids while we went out for an adult night. It was a fun night that ended around midnight which is about when I turn into a pumpkin. I am going to miss them all on Monday. : ( sniff sniff....

Little Sailor

Mimi and Pop Pop's west coast February days are quickly slipping by. Since today was so beautiful, we decided to go sailing before they leave. They are on their boat in Rhode Island as often as they can be, but it's a treat to be able to be on the water in the winter. They usually have to take their boat out of the water by October or early November I believe.

David bought Owen a cute new life vest with lots of colorful fish on it today. He was happy enough to wear it for the whole trip. We had hardly left the harbor before Owen's eyes started to get heavy and he became very quiet. First we thought he may be a little sea sick but he was just getting rocked to sleep. This was the first nap he has taken in almost a week! We laid him down and bundled him up and he slept for the rest of the sail until we got back into the harbor.

Hanging on to Dad's leg through some big rolling waves just before dozing off.Almost asleep, he was fighting it. At last, Mr. Sandman prevailed.

Adam had to head into work when we got back unfortunately. But we ended our journey at Endless Summer to visit and get some dinner before calling it a day. Owen gets treated like a rock star when he goes into Daddy's work. Everyone (customers and staff) knows who he is and they all have to come say hi, get a high five and a tickle or two. He gets unlimited apple juice, Maraschino cherries, and whatever it is he wants. I am so lucky to know him! ; ) Today he and I shared a virgin Pina Colada. He loved it, and kept calling it his "smoothie." (Owen ended up wearing most of his (on accident).

It was such a nice day to spend with family in the fresh salty air. But I am pooped. Glad Owen is in bed, and I am looking forward to relaxing tomorrow. I am getting my first prenatal massage this pregnancy, I am so ready for it!

Part of our "precious cargo" we had to carry back to our cars in a cart. He loves to ride in this thing. I wish he loved to sit in the grocery store carts just as much! Owen spotted this cute pelican on our way off the dock.

Doug (Lauren's son who was also visiting from RI....Owen loves to say his name. "Owen see Doug" has been a popular sentence the past few days. We will miss him when he leaves tomorrow.), Lauren (Mimi) and Bob (Pop Pop)

Family Time

Bob, Lauren and I took the kids (Owen, Max, 2 1/2 y.o. and Emily 6 years old (their niece and nephew)) to the Natural history museum, then we all met Adam at Shoreline for lunch at the beach.

Owen has a pretty big crush on Emily. He kept asking to be picked up and she gladly obliged, which made Owen very happy. She couldn't carry him very far of course, but I think he liked all the hugs : ) He liked to hold her hand as often as he could. I wish they lived here, as the kids all got along so well, and they are a pleasure to be around. Not to mention, we really like their parents Steven and Jennifer too! : )Owen and Emily. How cute are these two?

Max. Such a sweetie who loves to talk! Emily. Digging up dinosaur bones at the museum. "Friends" Max had a VERY cheesy grilled cheese sandwich! It was pretty comical watching him eat it. "Aunt Lauren" gets lots of love from her sweet niece and nephew.After lunch, we headed to the beach for about 10 minutes before heading home. Owen loves to give rocks to Adam to "skip" in the ocean. This one must have weighed 15 lbs when he said "here Daddy, skip this one!" We had a nice dinner the next night with lots of laughs in the kitchen...and elsewhere! This is Steven (Lauren's brother), Lauren, and Douglas (her son). All very funny people!

After dinner we tried to get the kids to settle down before bed by putting on Madagascar. It worked for Owen for about 5 minutes. Next thing you know it's after 8PM and he's jumping on the trampoline and recruiting the others to join him (which they did of course)! So much for calming down before bed!

Fun Visitors!

We have had the pleasure of Adam's Dad, Bob (Pop Pop), and his wife, Lauren (Memere, or as Owen calls her: Mimi) renting a house in Goleta for this month. They got to escape the snow in Rhode Island, and now understand why we choose to live here. The year round farmers markets, warm beach days, and winter sailing are just few of our perks. Owen is getting a chance to get to know some of his east coast relatives a little better in person than through a computer when we Skype.

Pop Pop is wearing the eyes from Owen's "Mashed Potato Head" (Yes I typed that right, he will not say "Mr. Potato Head" for some odd reason?Mimi is playing Peek a boo with Owen in his carboard "fort" that Pappy made him : )

While they are here, lots of other family has come, and is still coming to visit too. Adam's Uncle Billy and Aunt Betty came the second week of their stay. They had some major travel delays on getting here since there was so much snow in Pennsylvania (where they were flying from) but alas, they made it. I had to work, but Adam took them all for a walk to see the monarch butterflies that come here every year as part of their migration. Afterwards, they headed to the bluffs overlooking the beach. Here are a few pics of their stay. Sorry no pictures of Betty, they were either too far away or fuzzy : (

Since I wasn't here for this picture, I am not sure if they are pretending to fly, or he's telling Owen not to run off the cliffs (which I understand Adam had to tell him at some point).

This week, Lauren's family is here for the week and she has a darling niece, Emily (who Owen has quite a crush on) and a sweet nephew, Max (almost 3 years old). Pictures to come. Next week we get to see Adam's brother Dan, his wife Becca and their cutie pie 7 month old Riley! Expect more pictures this month!!

Summer day in Febuary

I had Monday off for Presidents Day which meant that I could hang out with my favorite boys for the day. We had originally planned on going to the snow as I was told there was a great place for Owen about an hour and a half away. However, we looked it up and realized it was actually 3 hours away. We did not feel like sitting in the car all day on such a beautiful warm day at home, so we headed to the beach! We drove to Summerland/ Carpinteria and found a beautiful spot with nice sand (no tar) and no crowds. The surf was amazing, so we watched the surfers ride in some pretty big waves all day. Owen wasn't too impressed, but I was : )

After burning lots of energy running the beach and playing in the waves, we walked to Padaro Grill for some sand box action, pizza and a salad. It was a perfect end to a fun day!
"Dirty Hands" Wash 'em in the bucket of water "Look Mommy, CLEAN HANDS!"

Happy Valentine's Day!

This Valentine's Day was perfect. Owen stayed at Nanna's house the night before so we got to start our day by sleeping in. That in itself will make any day perfect for me! We then got to leave our car and borrow Pappy's convertible Porche, Boxter for the day. This made Adam VERY happy.

We had a leisurely brunch at Jeannine's which was delicious as always, and then headed to the Santa Ynez valley to relax at the wineries. Meanwhile, Owen got to hang out with Nanna and Pappy on the boat at the harbor for the afternoon.

We started off at Beckman for a small tasting (which Adam did most of), and got to sit on their veranda overlooking the vineyards on a beautiful mid 70's day.

Next we drove to Bridlewood and enjoyed their lush gardens while snacking on fresh strawberries, a chocolate almond fondue, and cheese and crackers. We soon headed home before the sun went down to change clothes and go out to dinner with my Mom and David, and of course our little Valentine, Owen. It was such a relaxing day, I couldn't have asked for more : ) Thanks again Nanna and Pappy!!