Santa Barbara/Solvang Getaway

 The second part of Mommas and Babies getaway was in Santa Barbara and Solvang at another nice time share location of my friend's. We hit the road and made it there in time for lunch at famous Andersen's for their pea soup. The soup really was delicious!

 Then we skipped down the road some more to take a short walk to a waterfall. It was to be a 10 minute light hike. I'd say it took us 20 with a stroller over rocky terrain and pauses for skinned knees and potty break (in the woods!).

 This sign has brought so much conversation among the 4-5 year old set. I think they were honestly disappointed we didn't see a mountain lion. When we made it to the waterfall, there wasn't much water falling. Like most of the country, it is very dry here and there was no water cascading down, more like a trickle and small puddle at the bottom, but it was pretty.

Afterward, we drove into Solvang to settle into our "little house" as the kids called it. We spend a nice night swimming in the pool before putting the kids to bed and enjoying some sangria with nice cheeses and fresh goodies we found at a farmer's market in town. The next day, we drove over to Santa Barbara to visit their zoo, which was lovely. Then we had lunch on the pier looking over the blue Pacific and played on the beach with the kids. The water here is freezing!  It never warms up like the Atlantic coast most of you have visited. We still put in our feet, made a sand castle and wondered how much sand a baby can eat. Sadly, I don't have pics of all this because I forgot my camera battery that day!  Maybe my friend will post some stuff on FB.

Solvang

 My pal's time share was within walking distance of the Solvang city center where there is a windmill on every corner, a bakery sprinkled every four shops among stores selling steins, knicknacks and, well, stuff you don't want or need. It's really cute. The bakeries are really delicious. The restaurants look inviting. I hear the wine tasting is good. I have been wanting to check this place out for a while, and I am very happy I had the invitation from my friend. We had another fun little mini break with the kiddies!

At the Adobe

 We were able to make it to the Adobe for their summer program just once this summer, but it was a fun filled morning. There was laundry to be washed...

 Barns to be examined....

 and livestock to be fed. It was even more fun with our friends along with lunch after too.

Rope Pull

Seattle, WA

 This summer for me is extra short, due to a change in school calendar, and I have less money, due to another pay cut from the district, but you wouldn't know it in our house! We are making the most of our time and flier miles!  Lyman was playing with Steve T. in Seattle, so Milo and I came along too using Lyman's miles and enjoying the two bedroom condo the club provided. We saw and did much! 

 First up was the Seattle Aquarium. Here are Milo and Lyman on a walkway/peer. There were sea lions and otters nearby.

 Milo loved the dress-up part. He can't wait for Nonna to bring the flippers she found him when she visits.

 After visiting the Aquarium, we took a Harbor Cruise to hear about the city from the water. It was very informative, beautiful and relaxing. So relaxing, Lyman fell asleep! 

 a view of the Needle and new wheel

 I was amazed by the GIGANTIC shipping boats being unloaded at the port. These huge cranes lift the semi-truck trailer boxes off the boat and, I guess, someone comes and drives it down the highway. I kept thinking, "What is in all those boxes?"  It's everything in my life that says Made in _______ by cheeper labor than American I guess. Wow.

The Needle

 The only time Lyman could go with us to the Needle was Saturday morning, but it was surrounded by clouds!  Milo was dying to go, so up we went, and we saw this. Clouds. Serene right?  We did have a nice cup of coffee and snack, then down again and off to lunch with Uncle George and family.

 For Milo and myself, I bought the day/night ticket so we could go again for a small, extra fee. Later in the day, after we checked out a museum, it was sunny, bright and clear. I'm glad we went back!

Uncle George

While in Seattle, we were able to see Uncle George, Aunt Darlene and Cousin Jeffrey. He is Nonna's baby brother!  We had a great lunch at a place Jeffery recommended and caught up on the whole family. They are so nice, and I wish we could see them more. George is a big race fan; maybe for Milo's and my first race we can all go together. I'll ask him in 5 years when I'm ready for it! 

Pacific Science Center

 In between Needle visits, Milo and I checked out the Science Center while Lyman took a nap (he was there to work after all!). It's a nice museum with fun stuff. While it is a lot small than other science museums we have visited, but it fit our time allotment just fine.

 Milo with his foot on a dinosaur footprint.

 Here he is in the Gemini space capsule.

 This is a real butterfly, one of thousands, in the butterfly room. Beautiful!

Milo was building this fortress for Batman. It was at this point that he realized he wasn't wearing his cape from Auntie and Uncle Mike that he wears like a uniform. It's not lost, he just left it at our place when he stopped in for a minute. He started to get really upset, and then he said,"That's ok. I'll just pretend I'm wearing it." What nice coping skills my 5 year old has!

Dinosaur Jaw

Dinosaurs

Mariners Game

 For our last day in Seattle, Steve T. treated us all to a Major League ball game. Lyman has a plan to visit all the parks across the USA with Milo, and this is #2. 

 The dudes walking in.

 Safeco is a nice park. It has one of those retractable roofs, and we were happy it was open to the bright sunny, summer day. Always spoiled by others, we sat in the third row right off the third base line. Nice.

 I wasn't supposed to go, but there was an extra ticket. I can save my quiet afternoon with my novel for another day. I was happy to be with my guys.

This is Milo in the 8th inning. He couldn't keep up after such a busy trip here. We had a great time, and I hope it won't take me years to come again. Those cruise boats leaving the port for Alaska looked very inviting! 

Berry Knotts Park 4th of July

 We woke up on July 4th, with no plans for the day. On skype, we told Nonna we were going to have a pj day with the exception on going to the pool, but after we hung up Lyman said we should go to Knotts. We hadn't been there since Milo was three and we went with Grandpa Dave and Grandma Penny. What a different experience!  We started out in the Peanuts kid area, but Milo advanced over the 9 hours we were there to the log flume, Viking Ship (dragon swing) and the kiddie roller coaster. It was clear to me that Milo's bravery was exceeding mine. It was a terrifying realization. He is no longer a baby, thrilled by the simple spins. He was ready for more, but not me. There was a bigger kid ride that he could ride with us, and we stood in line twice and left twice! Lyman thinks I am ridiculous. The first time, we left the line because it was a big ride, and he hadn't even been on the smaller kid roller coaster. So, I made us leave for the warm-up. He loved the warm up and was ready for more. So, the second time we were in the line, it was late, we were all pooped and the ride stopped going. Then it sent two empty cars on test runs. Then a mom in front of us told us it was closed earlier in the day for a while. Well, that was enough for me. We left the line again. He's so small and that ride went 3/4 upside down!  He keep taking about how were were going to ride it, but we didn't. He'll tell you all about it. Next time he'll be on it.

 Of course there was a prize to be had $12 of fun to last the whole day.

This was my favorite part- an ice skating show!  There was a huge theatre and really talented ice skaters (not Charlie and Lucy, they just glided around) who did some amazing skating to fun music. It was cool with a comfy seat. Lyman feel asleep first and then Milo. My guys quietly napping to recharge before another drop through the air.