the sb zoo and the barnetts!

this... is casey's GPS thing. the boys were obsessed with it throughout the weekend. i was not a fan. it's loud and obnoxious and unecessary when you know where you are going. they insisted on using it to go to the most normal places when we fully knew the way beforehand. it was just silly. boys will be boys.

the santa barbara zoo is an awesome zoo. we saw SO many different animals and brent and cheryl got to feed the giraffes. here are some photos from our day there last monday.

the penguins were the highlight of the afternoon. we spent a long time watching them from underneath and then from above. they are so spunky and lively and fun to watch.

this giraffe has a crooked neck. she is famous in santa barbara. when brent was feeding them we learned that she was just born that way, a genetic defect, and that she just celebrated her 21st birthday. her name is gemina.

after the zoo we drove to ventura to see the barnetts!!! caleb is getting SO big and it was great to spend some time with them. the girls had a chance to catch up while the guys went out to get dinner. we talked about mel being a mom and all kinds of good stuff, it felt like college a little bit. it was really nice to be together... and to see caleb growing up!

that was monday night. brent and i drove home after that and the hauns took off on their adventure up the coast. they drove to pismo that night and then on up to san fran and then to redding. they are planning to see todd there. we miss them already!

the lomelinos...

this is hope and samuel lomelino!
they live in santa barbara and are the precious children of our friend's holly and jason. we got to visit with them a bit on sunday afternoon and it was so much fun. they are adorable kids and such fun to be with!!

this is holly, their mommy!! she is a wonderful mom.

brent turns 30!!

we had a fun filled weekend in santa barbara to celebrate brent's 30th birthday...

on friday afternoon we headed up the coast and reached our little rental house in montecito around 4:30. after having to hop the fence to get in, we were happy about what we found...

brent and i went to peabody's in montecito for dinner... yummy as usual! then we headed out to goleta to pick up cheryl adn casey from the airport. brent really wanted dessert pizza from woodstocks so we made a small stop there before heading back to the house. we were SO excited to see our friends from dallas and to be in sb for the weekend.

on saturday morning our friends beth and eric arrived (they drove up from orange county to spend the day with us). we went to breakfast at xanadu (yum... again) and then for a quick tour of westmont. it was fun to be there with cheryl. i felt so old being there with the college students in session and being with cheryl. it was surreal. but the campus was beautiful as usual. and it smelled wonderful. we caught this little turtle sunning himself on the rock in the middle of the pond.

after westmont we went back to the house to change and did some playing in the backyard. one of the birdies from our badmiton game was sent sailing over the fence. brent attempted to get it by sitting on casey's shoulders. but in the end it was actually in the neighbor's yard on the ground. brent went around and got it eventually.

we went to beach in carpinteria for the afternoon. cheryl and i had a small walk down memory lane as we pulled up to and parked in front of our old apartment building. as i remembered, the sand at that beach is one of a kind. i still can't believe how soft it is. casey, brent and eric went swimming while beth, cheryl and i hung out and talked. it was such a beautiful day there.

sadly we ALL got tar on our feet. brent got it on his leg!! he was making a sand castle and somehow it ended up on his knee. casey made an emergency trip to the store for baby oil and we were all free of the nasty tar.

we headed to stacky's in summerland for lunch. we ate hamburgers and fries in the old boat. casey told stories about the time he chased a car there and we were joined by marci!!

after lunch we drove up near the top of gibraltar road and climbed out onto the rock. the pictures never do it justice, it is truly amazing up there.

after a VERY windy and motion sick drive back down the mountain we got ready and went to the Palace for dinner! it was fun and yummy as always. we enjoyed sharing our favorite place with beth and eric and celebrating Z's 30 years.

brent and i shared our favorite chocolate souflee. awesome as usual!

on sundaybeth adn eric left early in the morning and we headed out to isla vista for church. it was so fun to be at our friend's Jason and Holly's church. brent had been once before, but cheryl and casey and i had never. jason gave a really good word and we were all blessed by being there.

after church we went to jason and holly's new house and had lunch. the boys played disc golf at the course right across the street. brent loved that after his practice with it in idaho!

since sunday was brent's actual birthday we went out to dinner again, this time with just cheryl and casey. we went to piatti in montecito, just a few mins from our little house. we had great conversation and yummy food.

does anyone know there was an eclipse?

The night before we left for Idaho Brent woke up at 4:30am to see the eclipse. This was the photo he took. So cool!

tamarack, idaho

Idaho is amazing! Here are some photos from our trip with my family. We had an amazing time zip lining, white water rafting, hanging out on the porch, eating together, laughing together.
It was so good.

The Tamarack Resort Lodge

The boys got way into disc golf while we were there. There was a course across the street from the house we stayed at. This photo is from the store where we bought discs in Boise. It was incredible how many options there are for discs. Drivers, putters, long distance, different weights...

We wore these amazing smurf outfits because it was really cold when we put into the river. Todd and I thought they were so funny looking.

View from the Fullmer's porch...

Zip Lining!!


Here's some video of Todd on the zipline.

This is the back of the house... we had "porch time" every evening where we just sat outside and enjoyed the view. Some wine was consumed and the jacuzzi was often used.

Tamarack is a real resort town. In the winter there is skiing and all kinds of winter sports. And in the summer rafting, downhill biking, zip lining, etc.

We did ALOT of relaxing. We all got to do what we wanted most of the time. The house we staying in was better than I could ever describe. My parents best friends built the house there a few years ago. We were so blessed to be able to stay there. We each had our own beautiful rooms, there was a movie room, a pool room, sun room, enormous kitchen, huge back porch... I could go on and on. It was perfect for "just being" which is what we all wanted. I got to read an entire book! That hasn't happened since our vacation to Hawaii last year. This year I read "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." I would totally recommend it. It was thought provoking and interesting. Most of all I am thankful for the time with my parent and my brother. It's the only time that we are all together for a period of time and can just be. It's so great to have time to hear each others thoughts, more than just making plans and talking logistics. I loved it. Thanks again mom and dad.