Our week away

We just got back from a week-long trip to Santa Barbara. It was a reunion of sorts for Tom's family. Most of them live on the East Coast, but they made the trip out to Southern California to accommodate those of us with toddlers.

We stayed in an amazing house in Montecito, which is sort of like the La Jolla of Santa Barbara. The family who rents it out also lives there, and they've completely decked it out to be the ideal beach cottage. I have to admit, it was a little weird staying in a house that other people live in. Their clothes were still in their closet, and their food was still in their refrigerator. But the house was great. It was ideally situated so that we could walk into the little village for a bite to eat or coffee.

While the inside of the house was beautiful, the real attractions were outside, especially for the kids. There was a huge trampoline, a treehouse, and myriad bikes and skateboards for everyone to use. They also tricked out the patios so that there were a lot of outdoor gathering places and retreats, including a sitting area with a fireplace and an outdoor bathtub and shower.



The trampoline was a lot of fun for everyone. It was a little heart attack-making for the toddlers' parents, since it's relatively high off the ground with no net around it. One of Jack's favorite things about it, though, was a posted list of rules.



It went up to 8, but we eventually added:

9. Stay in the middle
10. No squishy diapers
11. Don't pull up the blue things
12. No whining
17. Be happy

Jack had a ball with the family, especially his cousins and his Auntie Ellen. (Look out, Auntie Renee, you have competition in the "favorite aunt" contest.) This was the first time the entire family has been together since Jack and his little cousin Evan were born, so it was really special.

Jack and Evan playing peek-a-boo

Aside from hanging out with the family, we got quite a lot of beach time in. The bigger girls took a surfing lesson while the little boys played in the sand and splashed in the water.



Santa Barbara also has some fantastic bike trails, and there is one that is mostly off-street and takes you along the coast that we rode a few times while we were there. Our little nuclear family took a couple of quick trips to the butterfly exhibit at the Museum of Natural History and the Santa Barbara Mission, as well.

Santa Barbara Mission

As we were going to see the butterflies, Jack kept saying he wanted one to land on his head. While he didn't exactly what he wished for, a butterfly did land on his arm.


At the mission, they had chalk drawings left over from a recent art festival that Jack had a great time running through. He even found one that prominently featured his favorite number:



The last full day we were there, we accepted leapt at Auntie Ellen's offer to babysit Jack for us while we went on a wine tasting tour with Tom's brother and his wife. It was such a nice way to end the trip. It was so relaxing and grown-up. And Jack got one last day of bonding time with his aunt and his cousins. They even spoiled him a little and bought him a couple of souvenirs, including a water bottle and a little monkey that he's been sleeping with ever since.

Thanks so much for the trip, Nana! And thanks to all our East Coast family for making the cross-country trek to see the little boys. We were so glad to be able to get together with you all.