Day Tripping

Jac and Leanne have been staying with us since Monday while we awaited their mom’s (thankfully negative) Covid test results.

We like to keep things interesting for the little girls (and for us!) 

so on the days we weren’t baking, we day tripped.

Wednesday found us in Santa Barbara, 

lunching on the sand

while the girls played on the beach and in the sand under our table.

Then we headed to the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum

 In the belly of the whale

and the butterfly exhibit. 

The new entry rules required waiting in line for entry to the pavilion, 

in the shade, fortunately, with lots of climbing rocks to entertain the girls. 

I worried how Jac would react to the butterflies - 

Naia was terrified of them when we took her for the first time -

but Jac and Leanne were both fascinated.  

Time in the exhibit was limited -

a gong sounded when it was time to move to the next section -

so it wasn’t as relaxed as previous trips 

but we were able to get closer to the flutterbies 

with no one crowding in front of us.

The interior exhibits were all closed 

but the “backyard” area was open

with lots of open spaces to explore.

 Jac demonstrates the ‘touch with 2 fingers’ rule

The girls loved getting to touch sea stars and sea cucumbers on display courtesy of the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf. 

It was a super fun day 

and a very quiet drive home. 

More butterflies . . .

Last Year of the Pre-Teen

Happy birthday to my favorite 12-year-old,

and her brand new haircut.

She’s talked about getting a shorter ‘do for awhile. 

So cute!

Miss you, Leia - hope you are having fun in Tx. 

Baking Day

Teaching Jac how to eat peanut butter toast correctly - piled high with potato chips - 

got me in a baking mood.

So Leanne and I tried making a peach clafoutis for the first time. It’s not the prettiest thing we’ve baked but it was tasty. I’ve ordered a better baking dish for our next try. . . 

And since the oven was already warmed up, I gave in to Leanne’s pleas and made pizza dough so the girls could make their own pizzas. 

Jac did a surprisingly enthusiastic good job rolling the dough out, 

making me a fancy, artsy crust and singing the “big pizza song.” Turn up the volume . . .

In Common

What do babies

and cats have in common?

Peek-a-boo!

Beach Day

While I took a couple of quilts to my long-arm pal’s temporary digs,

Pop took Jac 

and Leanne 

to the beach.

By himself.

He said it went pretty well 

until a few drops of water

landed on Jac’s face and she had a fit.

Thank goodness for big sister and sand castles.

He’s definitely in the running for Best Papa ever.

But he’s also crazy.

3 of 5

Three birthdays down, 

 Happy birthday, Matt!

two more to go this month.

Lure has the best outdoor,

social distanced set-up in our area.

Just wish the food and service were better.

Monday Is For Adventure

The last time we tried Adventure Monday, we got two weeks in and the Covid pandemic hit. 

Crossing my fingers we have better luck this time around. 

Today, our zoo crew headed to Santa Barbara,

 My sunglasses, her Elsa mask and a single fingerless glove

masks and timed-entry reservation in hand. 

A lot has changed since our last, pre-Covid, visit. 

There are new lions - Ralph and Felicia, a breeding pair (crossing fingers for cubs!);

no more elephants (super sad)

 New artwork

and lots of new-moved-renewed exhibits. 

The real zoo crew(s) accomplished a lot during the pandemic-mandated closure,

including opening up spaces for kids to run and play.

The girls *loved* this.

The overcast day and limited timed-entry meant no crowds

and the girls could get up close, 

 Leanne took this picture

and take lots 

and lots of pictures 

 Monkeys taking pics of monkeys 

of their favorite animals.

 Leia’s picture

And the most pleasant shock surprise of the day?

Jac didn’t argue about wearing a mask

 The girls and their loot. 

and really tried hard to keep it on and wear it correctly. 

It’s a Monday miracle!

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to 2/3’s of this smiling crew.

Shelly and Gary have back-to-back birthdays, so neither has to worry about forgetting the other’s natal day.