Santa Cruz Staycation

We had so much fun in Napa that we decide to do another local weekender and hit up Santa Cruz, home to the world famous Boardwalk. It didn't disappoint.

We booked a hotel on the beach, which is good and bad. Good because it's so close. Bad because it's "good" for Santa Cruz. We lucked out and had amazing weather the entire time. Sunny and no fog. Amazing!

These two gave the trip two thumbs up!

B is a total Norcal beach baby. She knows what's up. She was talking about the ocean, beach, sand, waves, sandtoys, and boardwalk all weekend long. She had a blast with us.

We had quality family bonding time. We built castles, played in the waves, and lazed in the sun. B chased seagulls pigeons, and barked at the sea lions.

Since we were in SC, we had our fair share of weirdies and burnouts. This one guy was innocently trying to enjoy a day on the beach with his son, and their kite.


But Drunkie McBurnout had different plans. He bugged the family for a solid 20 minutes before the dad came up with a solid plan. He tilted his head to the side, and with a disguised voice, yelled "Go away! You're bugging everyone!"

The drunkie was totally confused, but heeded the advice and scrammed. Lance put this trick in his back pocket. On Friday night, Flock of Seagulls was playing a free show on the Boardwalk. A different Drunkie kept asking if the show was over. We ignored him, but he kept asking. Finally, Lance turned his head and yelled "Go away weirdo!" GENIUS! The guy hit the pavement.

On the way home, we hit up Big Basin, and spent the day hanging out with the majestic trees. We had never been yet, and I'm glad to have it checked off my CA list. It's worth a visit.

B walked tall and carried a big stick

I can't believe we're in August! I'm hitting the rest of summer hard, and not stopping until it's time to bust out the leaves and pumpkins, and put Ashley to shame again.

SLO it Down Now

We decided to end summer with a bang. We rented a beach house in SLO for the weekend with our friends, The Andersens. It was warm, beachy, and the perfect end to a fabulous summer.

The house backed right up to the Oceano dunes. We had our own private little dune in the backyard. I can't lie--I would have been fine playing in that patch of sand the entire weekend.

The private dune. You can't play with us unless you rent a fancy house.

The kids played well together. Kai has mastered the art of the chase. He acts like he could care less about Beezie, and she pursues him relentlessly. It's pretty cute.

Beach babies busy in the sand

Lance and B taking a stroll along the coastline

B found some tasty sticks and sand to chomp on

The boys did some modeling for the girls. We were impressed.

Carly decided to wear as much white as possible before Labor Day deemed her unfashionable.

B continued to create a gigantic mess with her food. This kid is a total pigpen!

She also got some snugs in with Pops. I love family snuggletime.


We gave B a makeshift bath in the kitchen sink since the only bathtub in the house had black sludge coming up through the drain.

B decided that being nekki was the best way to enjoy the beach house, and spent a good deal of time wandering around without britches.


She had so much fun in the big, spacious house. She climbed the stairs over and over...usually supervised. She made a few quick breaks.

After packing up, we hit the road and headed down to Solvang--MY FAVORITE FAKE TOWN EVER! I love this faux little Euro village. It's such a delight.

We started off at Paula's Pancake House. It was a home run.

I had the eggs benedict, and Lancer had this monstrous Dutch pancake

He shared with B, who ate up a large corner of the fluffy delight

Some of it may have ended up on the floor

After brunch, we walked around the town, shopping and munching on caramel apples.

Begrudgingly, we headed back home to face reality. The laundry, dishes, and sandy blankets were worth the weekend of fun, though.

Once home, B dazzled us with her newest bag of tricks. They include:

Playing with the water dispenser

Climbing into the dishwasher

Stealing washcloths out of their bin

Pulling the dishes out of the bottom rack

And my new favorite trick....pulling every single book off her bookshelf.

So long, summer!