Santa Barbara Tea Fire

Last week Santa Barbara caught on fire again. It happens a couple of time a year. Earlier this year we had the Zaca fire. This one is known as the Tea Fire because it started near the Tea House in Montecito.

Brody and I were playing outside with Melina. It was a really warm night. I'm still not sure if the heat was from the fire or if it was the Santa Anas which were blowing thru but at about 5PM I remember asking remarking about what felt like a wall of hot air. At 5:30PM you could see the smoke. At 6pm you could see the flames above the homes on the Riviera.

Our entire neighborhood was in the street...with their adult beverages...enjoying the view. I on the other had was in full panic mode. One of our neighbors has lived in his home for over 30 years and remembered the last time this fire happened. He told us the fire reached the top of our street which only freaked me out more. By 7PM the flames were huge. Homes were clearly being engulfed, palm trees were popping and propane tanks were erupting with huge bangs.

We managed to get Mia and Brody in bed but I am pretty sure they could feel my panic vibes because both of them decided to go bananas. Brody was sacked out until he woke up suddenly and loudly screaming about shin pains. And Mia cried for an hour before deciding to finally give up. Meanwhile (and between shushing Mia) I was gathering all of our valuables.

Our valuables turned out to be mostly photos. Wedding photos, professional photos of the kids, scrapbooks and the boxes of snapshots taken over the past 7 years. And packing clothes for a couple of days. And all of Brody's Christmas presents! It took about an hour to completely pack up. I also felt completely compelled to clean the kitchen. I was NOT going to have my house burn down w/a messy kitchen! It was probably just an attempt at controlling something when I felt so completely out of control.

All the while we're watching the local news realizing that hundreds of homes are being devastated just over the hill.
The smoke was becoming really thick. Our eyes were stinging and we were worrying about the kids being exposed to the smoke. Around 10:30PM the police SUV (which I've never seen before?) turned onto our street notifying residents of the evacuation orders. Well, that did it for us. You say "GO"; we go! Many of our neighbors were laughing it off but we weren't going to stick around with danger this close.

Earlier in the week Brody wanted to rent the Elmo Visits the Firehouse from the library. I knew he'd get bored quickly but we rented it. He watched it twice and we talked the whole time about "get out of the house", "stay low", etc. Of course this came to me the night of the fire. Did we watch that video together so he'd know what to do? Was my house going to burn down tonight? We had to leave.

Our precious friend's, Sharon and Jono, invited us to stay at their house so at 11PM we loaded up the kids and took off to Carpinteria. We ended up staying there for two nights even though our house/neighborhood was unharmed. The air was thick with smoke and the Santa Ana winds continued to make the still-burning fires a danger. We came home on Saturday and rested. Thankful for our safety and for good friends.

Our hearts are breaking for the many families who lost so much. For the Westmont students who left campus with none of their things and have nowhere to return. For Westmont faculty who lost their homes in a moment. Please remember these people and Westmont College in your prayers tonight.

The best way to help faculty is by sending gift cards (grocery stores, clothing stores, department stores, hardware stores, etc.) to:

Warren Rogers, Academic Dean
Faculty Fire Donation
955 La Paz Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93108

For student donations:

Jane Higa, Dean of Students
Student Fire Donation
955 La Paz Rd
Santa Barbara, CA 93108

Mia Letter: Seven months

The month that Mia woke up.

Until this past month, I really enjoyed bragging about what a great sleeper you are/were. Suddenly, you stopped being such a champ sleeper. Naps became harder, going to bed became a much longer process. Sleep became an issue. Now, in fairness to you, my sweet baby girl, you do still have your shining sleep moments. One time in this past month, Daddy took you to breakfast w/him and a friend. Rumor has it, you sat quietly in your stroller - chattering to yourself and looking pretty - till you decided to fall asleep. Daddy was able to enjoy his visit for 45 minute while you slept nearby. His friend remarked that none of his kids would ever have done this. So, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have: the facts of life. [I'll explain that reference when you're a little older...]

Besides the sleeping struggles you are still a perfect angel baby. You love to laugh and flirt and watch your brother be silly. You get a lot of attention for being so gosh-darn cute and I've learned to be more humble about it. Instead of 'Right??!" I can now say quasi-meekly, "Oh, thank you. That really means a lot to me." Because it does! You are so precious. I complain about the sleep thing but it never fails that when I go up to get you from one of your mini-naps...I can't help but pick you up, chew on your face, swing you around and sing happy songs about how much I love you. One look and I'm goofy all over again. What a good baby you are!

Let's see. October was a lot of fun! This month we did some very Fall-like things - in spite of our unseasonably warm weather. We went to the pumpkin patch with the Wolds and capture the requisite First Visit to the Pumpkin Patch photos. So precious. You started sitting up this month but hadn't really mastered it at the time of the photo-session. We remember your brother's first visit to the pumpkin patch vividly b/c it was the first time he clapped his hands. This made me panic because you, my darling, are not clapping. I realized with much guilt that we don't clap for you very much! You know, "Yeaaa, Mia" + clapping. So we've been practicing. He clapped on the 29th of October. At press, we're into November and there is no signs of clapping but I'm optimistic ;)

The day after the punk'n patch we went APPLE PICKEN! First time. Wasn't a mind blowing experience but it was fun b/c we were there with some of our favorite friends. You and Caleb Wold rode in the Bjorns while your older sibs ran around eating/throwing/picking/kicking rotten apples from the ground. You just liked being part of the action. And we loved you being there!

Halloween was so fun! Your brother was supposed to be a Dallas Cowboy football player. For the sake of record keeping I'll explain why. It's certainly not because we're dedicated Cowboy fans. Daddy is a Bronco's guy and Mommy couldn't not care less about football than she does micro-physics. Here's the short story. I bought some football cleats for Brody at Ross b/c (1) they were cheap and (2) I thought they were soccer cleats. Daddy thinks this is really funny but I think it's an easy mistake. Anyway, instead of taking them back we decided to use them for Halloween and wear the full football uniform + helmet that G'mama got him for Christmas last year. Well, logically, you HAD to be a Cowboy cheerleader, right?

I have to give a shout out to your grandmother here. She made THE cutest cheer uniform in the history of baby costumes. I think she could make money doing this. It was precious. She found pompons at the craft store and chopped them down to size, found the sneakers and added the blue puffs, and hand-created the skirt w/no measurements or anything. It was perfect. We downloaded the star from the Internet, printed it on transfer paper and presto-bamo: 1 Cowboy cheerleader costume. She went all out and then flew in for the occasion. I mean, really? Thank you, Grandmama. You outdid yourself once again. Thanks for the memories!

So on Halloween day, Brody got a little cold + fever so we weren't sure we'd be doing any door-knocking but 'round about 6:30pm he rallied; insisted on being Iron Man instead of a football player and we hit the streets. We only walked a couple of streets but this was his first real experience w/trick-or-treating and he got the hang of it quickly. Sweet Mimi was handed off between the 4 of us (Rah Rah joined the festivities) and we had a blast. It was just the most perfect Halloween yet.

Oh, I need to remember that you got a cold this month. Mild. Mostly sniffles and runny noses. We busted out the sweet cow humidifier and you cleared up w/a week or so. I'm so thankful that it wasn't worse! On the 3rd of Nov. you had your Six Month check up (we're a month behind) and you are still in the 90% for weight, my dear. LET 'EM GIGGLE! You're beautiful and perfect. You also got your flu shot. Can I just say that once again you were remarkable? You talked and smiled and behaved so marvelously the entire visit. You cried for the (6) shots in your legs but stopped right when they were over. I am so proud of you.

You love to eat but of course. You've had peas, butternut squash, zucc, carrots, yellow squash, prunes (yuck), bananas, apples, grapes, avocado and yogurt. All homemade I might add, thankyouverymuch Magic Bullet! You've also gotten mobile this month. It's not a crawl per se but more of a pull-scoot type thing. By the end of the month you were really moving! More on this next month, I'm sure. I'm so impressed by your genius.

Basically, it was a full month and I anticipate the coming months to be even busier and more exciting. Thanks to all the people who might read every word of this entry...we love you. And Mimi-kins. I love you, you little girlfriend. I can't wait to see you tomorrow.

Love, Mommy

[Note: I realize my paragraphs are not aligned...can't figure out how to fix it. grrrr.]

Cousins

Left to Right: Malena M., Nicole J. holding Briella M., Gregory J. holding Mianna Sturm, and Brody Sturm. Does Brody look like the adopted cousin? The gorgeous, brown, adopted cousin? :)

Long Time, No Blog!

If you've been missing us it's because we've been in Tejas! We spent two weeks in the Land of 200 Degrees and had an absolute blast - in spite of the sweat circles. We flew into Austin where we were able to borrow my very awesome Aunt & Uncle's car for our entire trip. This saved us hundred's of dollars. Such a huge blessing! After landing, waiting for K&B's plane (yes, we weren't able to fly together), collecting all 24 of our bags, shuttling to the auto park and watching Kevin have a near hysterical breakdown trying to install our two car seats into Gus & Gal's car in the sweltering Texas heat - we were off!

The Sellars family graciously gave us their home for the first part of our trip while they were at Family Camp. This was such a HUGE gift to our family. We had plenty of room for everyone (even Mom was able to stay with us) and Brody was able to enjoy a literal toy wonderland!

They returned on Saturday and we spent the next two days and nights just playing our faces off! Check out this photo of the entire crew. Left to right: Brody, Eli, Ezra, Mia, Ean, and Ella Bella. Dana and Scott have an amazing team of babies. We so enjoyed spending time with all of them and especially enjoyed visiting their church on Sunday.

On Monday, we moved into Arlington to spend the night with the McCook Fambily. Oh, my gosh. I love this family. Tessa, as always, was an incredible hostess. I have to mention the incredible mini-burgers she served. Um. Delicious. Sophie and Landry were precious with Brody. I think he caught himself a little crush in miss Sophia! And why the heck wouldn't he? Look at this baby girl!!During our first week in Texas we had so much fun seeing so many friends. We enjoyed a full & super fun day with the Mangrem's, a really fun morning with Julie and Landon, and a wonderful visit with our sweet Sue Sue. We also had enjoyed an awesome lunch date with Uncle Roland! Dinner dates with Whitney & Chad and Nooch & Stephanie. Listen, we were VERY busy and it was great!

After a week in the Metroplex, we packed up and returned to Austin for a few days with Papa Joe. This was the first time Papa Joe had met with Mimi so it was a sweet time. We also got to celebrate Dad's birthday! We absolutely love Gus & Gal's property in Liberty Hill. It is the most rustic yet chic place imaginable. We felt like we were at a resort and on a farm at the same time! Their property line ends in the middle of the river in their back yard and this year there was water. We had so much fun. Gus & Gal [Great Aunt Al & Great Uncle Steve] returned on Thursday and we had the pleasure of hanging out with them and Dad that evening.

On Friday, Summer and Kids came all the way from San Antonio for a playdate in Austin! It was so much fun to connect with Zoomie again and see her gorgeous babies. I can't believe we're all growed up with kids and stuff. So nuts!

This trip was so much fun. We all really enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. I love my friends so much. Being able to play with them was such a blast. I love that Kevin gets along with my friends so well. I love that my family is so gracious and wonderful. I love that so many of us has little ones who will be able to grow up together. Even tho we don't live down the street from each other our kids will always know each other and celebrate each other's successes in life.

Thank you to all of you for making time for us, room for us, and giving us so much love! I miss you all already!

A Night In the Life...

The other night, I insisted on making a recipe I found in a magazine. Tuna cakes, in fact. The recipe called for shredded carrots. Of course, I only had baby carrots. So, here I am...baby strapped to my chest, running baby carrots down a cheese grater for 25 minutes -an act that threatened to shave all the skin off of my knuckles as well - trying to collect a 1/2 cup of shredded freaking carrots!

When Kevin got home and saw me and the state of the kitchen (and the carrot shavings all over the floor!) he just laughed. I said, "Wine." He got me a glass of wine and grabbed the camera. Such is the life of mother I guess...

Happy Mother's Day!

My sweetie and I got to see a sneak preview of the new Chronicles of Narnia movie this morning. It was actually an event for Westmont alums. The final edits to the film were just completed on Monday (wow) and it previewed in New York earlier this week. This morning was only the second screening of the movie ever! It really worked out well for us to as it was a morning screening. Brody and Cara had a breakfast date and a girlfriend from our home group offered to hold Mia for us. We saw a FREE movie. Were given FREE concessions (popcorn and a coke at 10am? Yes, please!) and on the way out of the movie, they gave us a copy of the book. How great of a date is that?!?

The reason Westmont was given this privilege is because it is thought that Westmont actually owns C.S. Lewis' famous wardrobe, the inspiration for the Narnia Chronicles. This article describes how Westmont came to own the wardrobe. The warbrobe itself is going on a grand publicity tour for the film.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I was surprised by how many little kids were there. There is a lot of fighting & death in the film but there is absolutely no vulgarity or ludity. I'd be concerned about the scare-factor! There were scary monsters and bad guys and witches, etc. Things that nightmares are made of for sure. Not appropriate for kids under 7, I'd think.

It was funny and intense and the message was solid. It was a wonderful Mother's Day date. I highly recommend it!

And Happy Mother's Day to my dear, sweet Momsie, my lovely MIL and all the other mother's who might stumble upon my little blog here.

Baby Gift

Lookie, lookie! My honey got me the sweetest "Thank You For Having My Baby" present!

Yes, I might have dropped a few hints that this jewelry was something I might like to one day have. But I had honestly forgotten until this week when I found the little jewelry box on the bathroom counter.

You might think the bathroom is strange place to leave a gift but that's because you don't realize how much the bathroom means to us. And not just because we do important business in there! Kevin found out that we were pregnant (both times) in the loo. So the bathroom counter was the perfect place to leave this precious token of love. And I do love it.

Thank you, honey. I love you. Thank you for giving me my beautiful babies.

Thank you, Mor Mor!

Can I just say, for all the blog-reading-public to see, once and for all...I HAVE THE BEST MIL EVER! My sweet mother-in-law took a week off of work to come stay with us for the week after Mianna was born. Not only that, but she and my FIL had just been here the weekend before for Brody's 3rd bday party (where they graciously picked-up and purchased ALL of the party pizzas and bought extra bubbles for our bubble machine when we ran out!) & Mia's birth. They left the morning after Mia was born and then Mom made the 7 hr drive back to Santa Barbara so she could spend a week spoiling us rotten!!

Whatever! Who does that?! I should thank Dad too for sacrificing a week w/o her. I know they missed each other as they have a serious crush on each other. Dad, I understand. I'm missing Mom being here too and I only got to enjoy her for a week! Thank you!

She made life so easy for me. She let me sleep in every single morning as I adjusted to sleepless nights (plus I just really like sleeping in). She took Brody on cool field trips to the beach for ice cream and the zoo. She fed us. She washed and folded/hung every single piece of Mia clothing we own. She even played Marching Band with Brody and Daddy in the front yard. She treated us to dinners and lunches and bought Brody lots of cool prizes. She did dishes and made beds and caulked tubs! She is a servant of unbelievable proportion and I admire and respect her immensely. She also got to hold Mia a lot which I know they both thoroughly enjoyed.

I learn things from my MIL every time I'm around her. Sometimes it is as basic as realizing the many uses for paper towels and plastic bagies. Other times it's lessons on how to be a truly Godly wife and mother. I'm so impressed by her dedication to spiritual and personal growth. And I'm equally impressed by the fact that she doesn't seem to age. For the record, my MIL is just a little over 40 (wink wink).

Thank you, Mom for all that you do for us every day and thank you especially for loving my babies so dearly. We are all better people for having you in our lives. I'm a better wife, mother, daughter and woman because of your influence. Love you!

We Love Gwamama!

Also taken the day before Baby Sister was scheduled to arrive.

Brody absolutely adores his Grandmama and the feeling is totally mutual, I assure you. The woman has a never-ending pool of love for this little boy. It makes my heart so happy to see them interact. To watch his face when he thinks Grandmama is being silly or funny or "tricken me". I love to watch her spoil him rotten. Even tho it always takes a couple of days to 'detox' Brody from the spoilification - it's totally worth it to have him spend time with her.

Mom was amazing while we were in the hospital. She stayed home alone with Brody for three nights while Kevin stayed with me and Baby Sister. She did a wonderful job of making Brody feel safe and secure. He only asked for us a few times but never in a freaked out sort of way. More just out of curiosity. She and he played all morning - crafting, racing cars, playing in his room (his most favorite thing to do ever) or outside. At noon she and Brody would come up to the hospital for lunch and visiting and then Daddy would take Bubba home for nap and so he could get in a couple of hours of work. Mom would stay with me and Baby Sister for some good times of fellowship and goo-gooing over the baby. In the evening Brody and Daddy would return to the hospital after a trip to the park or wherever and Mom would take him home for bedtime routine. I couldn't have asked for a better scenario. I missed Brody terribly while I was in the hospital but I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was being well taken care of and that he was enjoying quality time with his "Gwanmama".

Thanks Mom for being the best mom and an amazing Grandma. These kids don't even know how blessed they are!! I wouldn't have wanted to do this without you. Wish we had more time together. But until we live closer to each other...there's always Skype!

The Day Before....

I asked mom to snap a few pics of me the day before I was to delivery Baby Sister. It was a Sunday so I was about as dressed up as I ever am which also made it a good time for some pics.

I really enjoy being pregnant - I do. I feel way more comfortable with my body. I love feeling the baby move inside of me. I like the clothes! This is definitely the best time in the history of maternity clothes to be pregnant! No more moo-moos and sleeveless tank tops (what is UP with those?!). However, this pregnancy really had me ready to get it over with. I was so tired and my body ached. I couldn't play with/pick up/lay down with to read books/do pretty much anything with Brody as much as I'd like to have.

In a lot of ways it was harder than the first time. But in a lot of ways it was also way easier this time! All because of my amazing husband and his decision to work from home. I was able to take naps almost every day when Brody was napping. Obviously, this wasn't an option when I was preggo w/Brody b/c I worked full time. Those naps really saved my days...and my ankles! Since I wasn't sitting at a desk all day long, my ankles never really swelled - at least not to the degree they did the first time! Hello, tree-trunk ankles.

This pregnancy has been good. But I was definitely ready to be done. To meet this baby and to get on with our lives as a family of 4. Sweet!

Just Cuz...

Every now and then I like to post a pic just to show off how stinking in love I am with my family. Would you just look at how God has blessed me? HOW do I deserve this man who treats me with so much love and patience and goodness? HOW do I deserve a son who is so precious and tender hearted - and who is going thru a really terrible about-to-turn-3 stage but is still so genius and adorable? WHAT did I do to deserve this life and these blessings? I'm humbled by God's continued grace and generosity. How I fail you, Lord, again and again.

Brody didn't fall asleep till after 11pm tonight and Kevin is in Dallas for a few days speaking at an industry show and Baby Sister is really abusing me. But I'm going to bed happy and content and in love. Praying that tomorrow goes a little more smoothly for us all.

Sweet dreams.

Funny Hubby

Oh but you MUST check out my husband's morph! Makes me laugh every time...

Big Waves!

We had some crazy big waves this past weekend. I love Santa Barbara. The smell, the touch, the look, the tastes, the sounds....all 5 senses fulfilled in one little beach town. Every winter we get rain - a few years ago it lasted a month straight. Santa Barbarians (as Tessa would say) are not fans of the rain. When you live in a town where all the fun stuff is outdoors, it's totally understandable.

There was rain this weekend but it wasn't heavy. I'm not sure where the storm came from but somewhere in the ocean a storm was a brewin' and the results were these amazingly huge waves. Surfers were warned, the pier was closed, a few people even got swept off of the Breakwater! It was gnarly and the smart folks stayed out of the water.

Sunday night we all headed out to the Biltmore wall to watch the show. There were many other spectators at the wall. It was cold and wet and smelled like ocean and was absolutely wonderful. These are the memories of SB that I'll cherish forever.

One Sister for Sale!

One really funny thing about Cara is that she is such a hoss! She's this perfect little girlie thing but has this amazing brute strength. I always joke that it's nice to live with two men in the house! I'm sure she'll love this post but she actually makes me quite proud. Cara will never be the girl to let a physical challenge stop her because a muscly man isn't around. It also translates to her amazing work ethic and result-driven successes. As well as her personal strength and independence.

In this photo, we caught her on her way out the door (at 9pm...ah to be young..) to help Kevin carry our 300 lb. fake tree down to the garage. She squatted and lifted like a little heavyweight in her high-heeled boots and knee socks. I bet she could have full pressed it over her head with one arm if asked!

Hoss.

My Gorgie Hubby

I'm playing a bit of blogging catch-up! This pic is from early November at the wedding of Chase and Ryan Throop. I wanted to post this pic because my I wanted to show off my gorgeous husband. Call me proud...but hubba-hubba!!! The facial hair is in preparation for his Halloween costume but I love it. Baby, you turn me right round baby, right round, like a roller coaster!!

My Man

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear my beautiful, sexy, sweet, precious, generous, loving, amazing, deliciously gorgeous huuuuusband....Happy Birthday to you!


I love you, my dear

[photo taken at Tammy's 30th birthday party which just so happened to be a costume party...can you guess Kev's costume?]

Me & B

I'm usually behind the camera so I was thrilled to get these pics of me and Brody Bear from MorMor. They were taken during our fun time with them during 4th of July this year! What a handsome little man...even when he's fussing.

5 YEARS, BABY!

circa 2001

Kevie and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary last Friday. FIVE YEARS!?! My goodness how the time flies when you are married to the most amazingly sweet, gorgeous, kind, gentle, gorgeous, understanding, patient, genius, gorgeous, Christ focused, leader of a man! Did I mention gorgeous? I am so humbled by God's goodness. What on earth did I do to deserve this man? Nothing. God's grace and goodness are an absolute gift that a wretch like me could never ever deserve. I'm gushing. I know. But when I think about the fact that the man sitting next to me (on his laptop as well) is my forever boyfriend, partner and best friend...it just makes me gush!

I'd post pictures but they are all on his computer thanks to the new camera I got him (us) for your anniv. Check them out here. But let me tell you about what he did for ME! My mom happened to be in town last week and was supposed to leave on Thursday morning. Kevin worked out a way for mom to stay thru Sunday morning so that he could whisk me off to unknown lands! We just told me to pack and be read and so I was. I had NO idea where we could be going but when we started heading North I thought...BACARA! ;) Then we took 154 and I thought...EL CAPITAN! But we kept cruising and I was totally at a loss. I'm not a big 'guesser' anyway but he really stumped me. Turns out we went WINE TASTING for the first time in either of our combined 19 years of living in SB (K-13; C-6)!! It was a perfect choice and I was more thrilled than I would have been at either of my previously mentioned guesses. We stayed at The Meadowlark Inn which at first glance reminded me of a quaint Bates Motel (minus the scary house on the hill). But upon further inspection was actually quite lovely...and we had a hot tub! ;) Then we set off for a wine tasting tour with a local legend, Brigitte Guehr of Brigette's Restaurant (now Opal). We had SO much fun talking about local food & restaurant with Brigitte and hope to get a chance to visit with her again soon.

Wonderful time. Great planning, S.S.S.Sturm. Happy Anniversary, my love.

Fourth of July 2007

Independence Day in Santa Barbara is a big deal. And let me tell you, the Sturms know how to do it right!! This year Mom and Dad Sturm and the Mathi3 joined us for a few days of fun-filled festivities. We swam in the pool at the El Prado, played at our favorite park, enjoyed some fine morsels at East Beach, spent lots of time relaxing on our new little fabulous patio, caught a little bit of the ghetto 4th of July parade, celebrated Dad's 57th birthday and OF COURSE continued the tradition of watching the beachside fireworks show from our custom built sand recycler!

This year things got a little out of control as we ended up carrying everything but the living room couch onto the beach with us. Having three toddlers with us made the transportation more difficult than the past years but the 3 coolers, 2 tents, pop-up table, 3 chairs, 4 blankets, full size shovel, bucket of beach toys, 3 diaper bags and 1 little red wagon really put us over the edge of acceptable beachside materials. But we sure did have fun! Next year we've agreed to slim down the equipment a bit :)














I'm trying to remember all the 4th of July's since I've been in SB. Can anyone help me fill in the blanks?
2002 - My first year in Santa Barbara....we were not married yet....don't remember details
2003 - Married....don't remember details
2004 - Beachside with just Mom & Dad Sturm...I think this is when the chicken tender tradition started?
2005 - Brody is 3 months old; I'm a stress case; Sturms, Mathi and entire Jano family here; Brody was enraptured by the fireworks!
2006 - 1st year to attend Bradley's party; beachside with Sue, Cara, Kev & Bubba [Sturms didn't come this year due to Dad's cancer]
2007 - Beachside fun with Sturms & Mathi!!!

SB Saturdays: Take a Swim!

What a Saturday! This morning Kevin let me sleep in (so awesome). He and Brody played and read books till 9:45AM when they woke me up (yesss!). Then we went to the Wicks' to GO SWIMMING! Now, not a lot of people have swimming pools in Santa Barbara but the Wicks actually have a community pool in their neighborhood that is awesome!

Then I went to Costco to prepare for The Sturm Family visit next week while the boys went to "Eatty Donalds" (McDonalds) for chicken nuggets and burgers.

Then, during nap time Kevin made a run to Ace Hardware and worked in the yard while I started putting together a my wedding albums!! Maybe I'll finish in time for our 5 year wedding anniversary! Brody - the little champ - slept for 2 hours (thank you, Mr. Swimming Pool).

After nap we played, worked in the yard, watched some of the new movie that I picked up at Costco, we started to go on a bike ride but someone decided that playing with the fire truck was more interesting, K dug up some dead shrubs in side-yard, we ate dinner (lettuce wraps and mac-n-cheese) on our awesome little patio, took bath, pee-peed on the potty and bedtime for Brody was insanely late (how did it become 9pm so quickly!?). While I was putting B down, Kevin was scrubbing BOTH of our bathtubs! I finished my (2) albums, ordered (2) more and started this blog while Kevin decided that he had to go to Scolari's for ice cream. He crazy. But he brought be back three magazines!!

If you don't have access to a private pool, check out one of SB's community pools. Or you could always crash at a hotel pool. Is that wrong? But do NOT forget the sunscreen...you should see K&B's shoulders. One word: OUCH.

Santa Barbra Swimming pool facilities include the newly renovated, 50-meter Los Baños del Mar Pool, Ortega Park instructional pool, and the West Beach and Oak Park wading pools.