If we're both off work, then we need to make the most of it. So off we went to Santa Barbara for a week. We had been there once before with Eli (when we took the train) and it was a perfect place for hiking, city walks, and the beach.

We did three hikes, each 4-6 miles long, two of which weren't disasters. We strolled State street many times. We visited the courthouse, and nearby, the best wooden-structure playground we have ever seen. We ate at a restaurant on the beach (beware, those seagulls really aren't afraid). And we played on the beach.




We stayed in a one bedroom house, where Nate got to share the bed with Mommy, daddy got to sleep on the couch, and Eli got to sleep in a shower. With such close quarters, I think the boys managed to bond just a little bit.




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Rain

The big event? Unkie Mark came to visit! And we had a great time. We went to the children's museum, bought unique root beers at BevMo, multiple walks around town, clothes shopping in the Castro, In-n-Out, Angry Birds, lunch with his client (my boss), and best of all, played played played. Eli started to warm to Mark, calling him "Mar" once or twice. Mark would make random noises and faces to make Eli laugh. He'd do that to make Susie and me laugh, too. We're sorry he had to go, but apparently he has a job and and a family of his own.








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Location:Church St,San Francisco,United States

Your Mother Should Know

Today was Nate's Father's Day hike. That is to say it was his first real hike. It was Father's Day in 2009 that Susie had the bright idea to take Eli on his first hike. I encourage you to look back through the archives to see how that hike went. I'd link to the post here, but I'm still trying to forget it ever happened. Today was much better. The whole way up to Pt. Reyes, he snoozed. For the whole hike in Bear Valley, he snoozed. On the way home....you can't have everything. He and Eli get each other worked up in a good cry, and that's what we had for the drive home. Although it was pretty cute when Eli, to comfort his brother, leaned over and said, "Shhhhhhhhhhhhh."




This was also Eli's first time riding in a full-frame backpack. It could have been worse (he threw up in REI when we tried it there). For the most part, Eli watched the birds, the stream, and the trees. He'd look up at a tall tree and say, "Hi!" and as we walked away from a tree he particularly liked, he'd say, "Buh-bye!"




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Location:San Jose Ave,San Francisco,United States