Santa Barbara, Flip Flop Weather and Spring Break

Last Friday I picked up The Phi from school at noon and we got her Spring Break started early. When I picked her up the principal handed me The Phi's progress report. Straight A's again. Not only that, but she actually raised her grades from the last straight A report card she brought home. All A+ except one. This kid is amazing! 

So we packed the car and headed over to my sister's house. Then we headed over to the park and let the kids run wild. 

After the park we all headed to Lampost Pizza for some dinner. Even my brother Tommy stopped by after he closed up his shop. I even ran into a friend from high school (Hi Christina!)

Then it was back on the road to Santa Barbara. We got to my parents house and let ourselves in. Since my parents were still in New York for an anniversary trip we had the house to ourselves. Lou had a hard time getting to sleep that night, but we made it and the next day we were up and out the door for lunch at Lito's.

This was another Diners, Drive In's and Dives stop. When we saw it on the show they showcased their carnitas. Joey got the carnitas burrito and it lived up to all they hype. SO GOOD. The place is really small so if you go during lunch time you may have a wait. But it will be worth the wait.

Louie saying crazy stuff. As usual. 

Trying to keep Louie entertained is always a hard job. One trick we have is to pull out the iPhone and let her look at pictures. After lunch and a quick stop at Blockbuster to rent some Kinect games we took the girls to Goleta Beach to play at the playground. 

Lou has graduated to the big kid swings! 

Trying out a new camera app on my phone. The free one. Which is obvious by the awesome watermark.

 It felt good to spending such a gorgeous day in a beautiful place. It was a day for really enjoying life and the people in your life. Saturday was the 5th anniversary of the passing of my cousin Roman. It was a perfect day to remember him and be thankful. For everything. To look at my babies and hold them tight and kiss their faces.

The Phi was never a big fan of the beach. She never liked getting dirty or cold water. I was always bummed that The Phi was not a Beach Baby. There is nothing better than spending the day at the beach. After playing for awhile we walked down to the water. 

This picture is why we had a second kid. Just to get this picture. 

Nothing feels better on your feet than wet sand.

To my surprise and joy, The Phi asked to walk into the water. And she LOVED it.

When it was time to go we, she begged us to stay. I promised her that we would have a beach day on Monday and I would even go and buy her a bathing suit, because we had not packed one. 

We headed back to the house and because it was the day before Easter we colored eggs. Thank goodness we were smart enough to do this outside. As soon as I pulled Lou up onto the bench she dumped the blue dye all over the table. Tata now has a beautiful blue tie-dyed table outside. Thanks to Louella Blu!

We ended the night with a trip out to The Habit for a burger and onion rings.

It was a perfect beginning to Spring Break.