Weekend getaway

Last Saturday and Sunday, my sister Noelle treated us to a weekend away and a night off for our 10th wedding anniversary. We spent the night in Oxnard and then spent Sunday in Santa Barbara. We had a great time with the kids. We took them to the beach, went out to eat by ourselves, went to Stearns Wharf, looked at art along the boardwalk, and went to State Street to window shop.

Along the way, we discovered Jamba Juice. Mark had never had it before and I think the last time I did was when I was in college. Noelle introduced us to it and we all loved it, especially the kids. We split a small one for them and a large one for us. It was almost better than going out for ice cream, almost.

We also discovered something about Luke that I guess we should have already known. On the street there were some people who were draping snakes on peoples shoulders and asking for donations for their snake rescue program in the area. We passed by a few times and one of the snake handlers walked up to Noelle and just put it on her shoulders. Luke was fascinated. He kept petting it, feeling it's body and trying to look it in the face. When they took the snake off her shoulders, Luke said, "Want snake on my neck!" So, I asked one the handlers to put a small one on his shoulders. He was BEAMING! He was absolutely delighted to have that snake on him. We were so suprised, but I guess we shouldn't have been. He loves to touch living creatures. Oh, by the way, David wouldn't get out of the stroller. But, he did manage work up the courage to touch the snake on Mark's shoulders with the tip of his finger! Just so you know, I declined to be draped with a snake as well! Here are a few photos of our adventure.





Oh, and in case you didn't know, Santa Barbara is just gorgeous! Mark has decided that he wants to live there. Unfortunately an average size 3 bedroom home runs about, oh, a million dollars. Maybe we could live in a tent on the beach instead.