Santa Barbara

This might take a while so get comfy. What a wonderful trip! Let's start with the weather--perfect. 70 during the day and in the high 50's at night. Coming from the "cool 90's" at home it was a welcome change to need jeans which, by the way, I had only one pair of. I brought them in case of an emergency in my carry-on sized suitcase. I was ok taking the very small suitcase as long as Sean agreed to put anything I accumulated on the trip in his bag for the ride home :) Anyway the jeans--wore them every day almost all day. They're tired. The shorts/skirts that I took I am now wearing since back home even in the midst of a rainy week it's still in the "cool 90's." Ah hemm. So here is a picture of the perfect weather on the beach. My advice to any native Texan who only travelled to Galveston or Corpus Christi as a child: the water is not the same in California. It is pretty. And blue. And freeze-your-extremities-off cold. You're gonna need a wet suit my friend. 

Day one we landed at LAX around noon (CA time,) and went straight to In and Out burger. Because that was naturally the # 1 attraction and reason for going on this trip. It didn't disappoint. That was the first of I think 5 meals that day and like I said we got there at noon. Glorious. We checked into our hotel, a nice old hotel on State Street. We were told old movie stars used to stay there and we have no reason to distrust our new friends for life who run the establishment. All activities from the rest of that day are a blur thanks to Dramamine and sleep deprivation. It was fun let's just leave it at that. Then the next day this happened.

I killed my phone. You can see on the left side (the top of the phone,) looks like someone shot it with a bb gun. Or just a small but weight-bearing foot while trying to change drivers at a red light. Yup, I killed it. Damper on an otherwise perfect trip.
But then we went here to the Old Santa Barbara Mission. I'll have another post full of pictures soon. It was a beautiful place. Many stories hidden in the walls there and we really enjoyed seeing it. My last picture is of the end of State Street, where it dead-ends into the street that runs along the beach. During the day we walked along and rubbed shoulders with many interesting (to say it nicely) people...some of whom you'd rather not rub shoulders with. If you've been to Boulder, CO in Whole Foods, you can picture what I'm talking about. Lots of unwashed hair and bodies :)  Everybody we encountered was happy though...that's something, right? It would be hard to have a bad day in Santa Barbara. I can see why Sean loved living there. I'll add a more pics over the next few days of some of the old stompin' grounds that I got to visit--Sean's old apartment that he shared with 3 other pilots during his first year with SkyWest, his old church, his favorite restaurant that he only went to about once a month because he made less money than I did as a counselor and that is NOT A LOT! I am so thankful to have gone with him to such a pretty place. 
I was constantly on the look-out for celebrities--apparently Oprah and Michael Jordan have houses in Montecito--no such luck. We did see Eric Estrada (CHIPS) at LAX on our way out of town.  You young'uns won't remember that show but anyone my age or older will appreciate him. He was really nice to everybody, (especially the security guards and their dogs who escorted him off the plane???) so technically I did see somebody famous.  I was happy and after seeing the kids this morning for the first time in more days than I've ever been away from them, I still am.

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Here

P.S. for you (us) Texans: it's 70 degrees. All day.  And it's sunny.

Yes We Can Part II

First it looked like this. No comments about all the stuff you see on the counter. Not Type A, remember? 

I love my kitchen--the selling point of the house for me--but I finally had the nerve to try something different...

And here it is...my new baby. What do you think? We love it!

Ty likes it too...you just can't see his excitement because he had just woken up from his nap. Did you notice both kids in the same high chair? We didn't get a new one when Charlie came along. So far we just stagger their mealtimes.

Ahhhhhh. It is finished. And so am I. Ready for vacation!

Yes We Can

First it looked like this. Overwhelming for a non-detailed person like me so I just took to painting.

Then it looked like this. Ty had a good time scattering the piles that Sean carefully made.

And then it LOOKED LIKE THIS! Isn't my husband a genuis!! He had some help but did most of it himself. 

Today after his nap, Ty saw his new swingset and fell in love.

See. The look of love. On a two year-old's face. Right after this pic was snapped he kicked the camera.

Let Me Paint a Picture for You

Let me paint a little picture of what it's been like the last few days: Drop cloths throughout, blue tape sticking to everything from the floor to the couches three rooms away, (thanks to Ty,) countless--more than even I care to admit--episodes of Little Einsteins and Blue's Clues, grilled cheese for every meal, and white trim with green paint accents.  That last part is a by-product of the way that we paint, not actually part of the decor. We'll work on that when we're done.  Sean painted in his favorite shorts last night while I was at a movie and now they look like a child's art project. When he walks by them he just kinda internally kicks himself.  I've never seen him care at all about his clothes so I know it's hittin' him hard for him to make any kind of facial expression in response to an article of clothing. 

Last night Ty's swing set was delivered after two days of waiting/rescheduling with the freight company. Another story in itself.  Now Sean is outside putting it together while I finish up in here. Both kids are awake right now so I'm averaging about 1 1/2 sq. feet per hour actually getting paint on the walls. We put some impossible deadlines on these few projects before our trip but we are double-dog-daring each other that we can get it all done. We're both competitive enough to make it happen. I'll literally keep you posted :)

 

Tape

Whoever thought painting this week would be a good idea should have also factored in the taping process and the reality that nothing in this world is more enticing to a two year-old than pieces of blue tape. Lord help me.

Labor Day Weekend

What I did over Labor Day weekend: 

Narrowed it down to two colors for the kitchen. We are painting during Sean's vacation. 
Let Ty swim in this high-dollar pool in my parents' front yard. The front yard is on the side of the house where people drive by and see your kid swimming without a diaper on.
But look at how happy he was. These are like pictures of summer through rose colored glasses. It was just that bright outside. 
Watched Ty build things like this in his spare time. Yes I am bragging. I don't think I could do that. Could you? My Dad is wrangling him in the background trying to change his diaper. 

Took walks every night with my family. My sister-in-law was here with Henry (from MS) so we got to plop all of the kids together for pictures.  My mom will have a few of those so I'll post them later. We got mosquito bites every night--at last count I had 19 on my legs--and Ty has one on his arm that is the size of a silver dollar. I gave him Benadryl last night because he's clearly allergic to the mosquitos . Or their bite--whichever is right. He won't take a nap today. He has been in his bed for over an hour and cycles between whining and talking/laughing. I'm leaving him there until it turns into a cry :) 

We did some yard work and killed a snake. Not an exciting kill (at their house they have been exciting at times,) but it made my mom feel much better about keeping the kids there next week...which brings me to my giddy phase of the post: We are going to Santa Barbara next Monday. I have been packed for approximately 3 weeks. Our last trip together (minus a pack-n-play and 14 bottles) oh and a child was when I was 7 mo. pregnant with Ty. I get carsick/airsick anyway and adding the pregnancy stuff just made it a not-so-precious time. I am so excited. The night before we leave we're going to Mia's to eat some brisket tacos. And all God's people said, "Amen."