Still Rockin' After All These Years

Nearly thirty years later...same house. Same car. Different toddler. Me in my dad's triumph convertible, and Daniel in the same car. Notice they let him sit in the driver's seat- the grandkids always get spoiled!

Haircut

Daniel's solution to thwart Brian's attempts to give him a haircut.

Budding Graffiti Artist

Daniel worked hard on his work of art until every white space was covered!

Popsicle

After eluding us all summer, the heat finally decided to make a grand appearance. Daniel stayed cool with a mango popsicle.

Carp Tri

The end of September brought the Carpinteria Sprint Triathlon. Again, my goal was to improve my time from last year and I was 7 minutes faster! It was a hot, gorgeous day- perfect for a morning race. I have to say I am ready to take a break from training, or more specifically swimming in the ocean. The water never warmed up the entire summer. Goodbye frozen toes!

My cousin Evy and I at the end of the race.

Fur Hat

Now just imagine Daniel dancing around like a mad man wearing this hat. Who needs to pay for entertainment when it lives with you?

Farmer Jack

Brian's friend Jack, runs local Ellwood Canyon farms and he invited us to a harvest potluck. We had a blast sampling the fresh and delicious homemade food, exploring the farm and going on a tractor ride.

SB Tri

I completed my second Santa Barbara Sprint Triathlon at the end of August. I'm still pretty slow but my goal was to improve my time from last year- and I beat it by 8 minutes! This year the race was especially fun because my cousin Melissa competed for her first time. I loved training with her during the summer, she is such a speedster. Mel even ended up placing 3rd overall in her age group- Go Mel!! It was a beautiful day and we even spotted a crazy Russian multi-billion dollar yacht out in the ocean with us. (See last photo.) Of course Daniel cheering for me was much better than any giant yacht.

Just my size

Daniel desperately wants an upgrade from his crib to a California-King sized bed. Until his dream comes true, he'll just have to settle for sneaking into Grandma and Grandpa's bed as usual.

Three Cousins

Daniel and Ariana at Yellowbird

A highlight of our week is going to Yellowbird Music class. Daniel loves playing the different instruments and dancing to the songs and he adores his teacher, Alex. The other day Ariana and Christine came with us so they could experience the fun for themselves. Daniel and Ariana had so much fun riding next to each other in the van and yelling jibberish at the top of their lungs.

After class the cousins had an indoor picnic lunch with Granny and Gramps and watched Ariana's favorite movie, "Curly Top." It has been so fun for Daniel to have his cousins in town.

Bye Bye, Chevy!

It's the end of an era! My dad just sold his faithful 1959 Chevy. I wonder if people will still be able to find my parent's house without the landmark parked outside?

Surf the Urban Wine Trail

One of my favorite parts of being on the Moms in Motion triathlon training team is meeting such a great group of ladies. A couple of weeks ago we hosted the 2nd Annual Surf the Urban Wine Trail wine tasting event as a benefit for the local non-profit Heal the Ocean. It's such a fun event with seven different venues participating all in the Santa Barbara "funk-zone", lots of wine, appetizers, prizes and live music. I didn't get a chance to check out all the venues because I was helping out at one of the wineries but I had a great evening with my friends Victoria and Judy.

Daniel and Natalie

Sure, this playdate with Natalie looks like fun, but for an hour before the wagon ride, Daniel was screaming "No, no!" at the top of his lungs everytime Natalie tried to play with any of his toys. As my sister says, "Daniel is really embracing this terrible two stage, isn't he?" Well, put sister, well put.