4th of July!

We went to the Stow House for an old fashioned 4th of July this year. They had lots of simple kid games, train rides, face painting, live music, pony rides, popcorn and hayrides. It wasn't too crowded or too hot, so it turned out to be a nice afternoon. Owen had a great time, which is what it's all about!

He's ready for school! (This is part of the new Stow House museum.)

Pony Rides!

Ring toss. He came close to winning this one, but got a prize anyway : ) Owen LOVED this game. He held a fishing pole over a curtain (that someone was hiding behind) and he would catch a bag filled with little toys and candy. We played that one 3 times!

"CHEEEEEESE!" I can see him as a teenager in this picture. Yikes!

My very own Clark Griswald : )

For about two or three weeks, Owen would twist up his shirt by the corner with his thumb. No idea where that came from?
I have a tree climber on my hands now!

Nana went with him on the train ride because Mommy was too pregnant, and wearing a skirt! Next time I'll go : )>

Waiting....at the Beach

Today was sunny and warm, so we took advantage of the beach...again. Waiting for this baby has never been so much fun and relaxing! I almost stayed home to take a nap instead while Adam and Owen went off to play in the waves. The thought of relaxing on the beach sounded better to me, but the reality of Owen standing over me saying "come on Momma, come in the water, it's warm for you!!" over and over again made me think twice. He was so excited for me to come, I just couldn't say no. Adam said he would watch Owen while I rested on the sand, which is ultimately what we did. Thanks babe!

What goes up must come down! For Owen, the best part of making a sand castle is destroying it afterwards. Boys (Insert eye roll here). Relaxing against me while he ate his snacks. He was a tuckered out little boy by this point! One week over due with this sweet child o' mine. Not the most flattering pictures, but it's reality.

Avila Beach on a Whim

As most of you know, I am still waiting for this baby to realize that her lease is up! I am just hoping she isn't as late as Owen was (by 14 days!) We are at the end of 4 days over due and my Dr. is going on vacation (again) in 10 days, so she better be here before then! I think Owen is getting a little anxious too, he keeps saying "baby sister is coming soon." I ask him what day she is coming all the time and get different answers each time. Last time I asked him was Sunday and he said she was coming on Tuesday (today), but then he said in 5 more days, so maybe it will happen Thursday or Friday? Who knows?!

This morning I went for a long walk to hopefully get things moving just before my weekly OB appointment. Obviously I should have walked for a few more hours, because 50 minutes up hills didn't do a thing! Shortly after I got home, we got ready to go out to breakfast, went to my Dr.'s appointment and then the park. We were on our way home when we saw Owen starting to zone out in the backseat. Adam drove past our exit in hopes of him taking a nap, and I spontaneously told him to keep driving. We both had the day off and had nothing else planned for the day, so we headed about an hour and a half up north to Avila Beach (next to San Luis Obispo) for lunch.

Owen was surprised to wake up some where new and fun. There was a cool little pirate park he got to play in before we had lunch at a restaurant across from the beach. Once we got to the beach he of course wanted to strip down to nothing and be a "naked boy." There was about 10 minutes of crying and negotiating to keep his clothes on (mostly because it was a little chilly and windy out). Finally, we gave in and let him take it all off. He had a blast!On our way home, about 5 or 10 minutes down the road was Avila Valley Barn, a great little stop with fresh produce, canned local goods and lots of farm animals. Owen was in heaven! Like his mommy, he loves animals!

Since we didn't plan this trip, I didn't have my camera on me...rats. Lots of fun creative opportunities missed! These were all taken with Adam's i phone however. Glad we got to document part of the day at least! : )

Summer Solstice Fun

Santa Barbara has the best parade for summer solstice every year. There are no motored vehicles and everyone gets VERY creative with costumes. The theme this year was Carnival (from Brazil). Some groups do a great job representing this theme, others....well, I have no idea where they got their ideas, or know what it has to do with Brazil, but it's all entertaining none the less.

Unfortunately Adam came down with a nasty cold (lets hope he's better before this baby arrives!), so he stayed home to rest and Owen and I met up with my Mom, Matt, and some new friends with their 2 year old daughter, Marley, who just moved here from Texas. The sun broke out of the clouds just as the parade started, as it does every year like clock work. It turned out to be a hot sunny day, with lots of laughs. The kids were mesmerized and totally entertained the entire time.

My Mom always remembers to bring water guns to beat the heat, and I think the kids had fun with those too.

Marley got these adorable little butterfly wings at the parade. Not much longer and we will be getting to buy cute stuff like this for our little girl! : )

I love this picture.

The kids also got some confetti eggs (yet another Santa Barbara tradition) and cracked them on top of eachother's heads. I think the adults thought it was funnier than the kids did, but that will change with time!

I think this guy escaped from the Village People.This carrosel was amazing! They did a great job on this float, very impressive!They also had a wheel barrow full of free fresh sweet watermelon that the kids also loved! It was a great idea I hadn't seen during this parade before.

Owen's favorite part was the monkey that came to greet him. I would have been a little freaked out if it was me, but he was really in to it and pretty happy he got to high-five a "real" monkey! ; ) This little girl was an amazing hoola hooper! Owen couldn't stop staring at her and I think she gave him his own little showThis fish's scales were made from recycled cd's. It looked like the Rainbow Fish from Owen's book. Very creative. I think this was part of an Alice in Wonderland theme...not sure (and not sure what it has to do with Carnival, but it made the kids laugh and it was well constructed : )

Adam, Trevah and Marley. (Claudia, sorry we didn't get you in the picture!! You'll have to come back again soon! : )

Happy Birthday Adam!!...Oh, and happy due date to me....

Today was a great day! We decided to take it easy for Adam's birthday this year and just hang out at the beach for a while in Summerland. Owen of course stripped down to his "tiny hiney" and had a blast running around non stop throwing rocks into the ocean.
Adam got to relax and get some much needed sunshine while Owen got to burn off lots of pent up energy, it was great! We have been having "June Gloom" for a while now with overcast days until the late afternoon, and today was the first day we got to wake up to sunshine and it didn't stop all day!! Adam was even greeted by a pod of dolphins shortly after we arrived at the beach : ) You just can't have a bad day after seeing them swim by to say hello.

Katie and Matthew met us at the beach for a while which was nice to catch up with them for a bit.

Adam had been really wanting to go to Stacky's Beachside, so that's where we all ended up for lunch and were not disappointed (though I was so hungry by the time I got there, they could have served me a squirrel sandwich and I would have eaten it!). It's a great little casual beach restaurant that we should really try to go to more often.

Sadly, Adam had to work tonight, but we put chairs out on the street already in preparation for tomorrow's Summer Solstice Parade downtown! This has become a family favorite event. We go every year and it never disappoints! Lots of wacky people, crazy costumes and fun. I am looking forward to tomorrow, and glad that this baby hasn't come yet so I can attend! (though, the night isn't over, and tomorrow is a full moon, which means lots of babies being born due to the gravitational pull of the moon.....we'll see!)