fiesta.

It's been a few years since we went to fiesta in Santa Barbara (past years here and here). It's always the first week of August, starting on Wednesday and continuing through the weekend. We saw the Spanish Days parade on State Street and chased each other with cascarones in hand. Clarke took a while to understand what was going on, but once he noticed the dozens of horses trotting down the street, he didn't stop pointing and opening his eyes wide with awe. It was more fun watching him watch the parade than watching the parade itself! Being Clarke's mama is the best.

After the parade and some lunch, Franco and I caught the new Wolverine movie at the Arlington theater sans baby while Tia Marta babysat. We only had a day to spend in SB, but it was a good one.

p.s. I finally got some saltwater sandals and now my feet are happy. That is all.

continued...

I dropped off the radar for a while there, didn't I? I have to say, I misjudged bloggers who blamed instagram for killing their blog...welp, now I understand and am also a guilty party. Also, I didn't have a camera there for a while, besides my old ipod and Franco's iphone. I didn't deem a lot of those pictures worthy to be displayed on the web! =} Go ahead, call me a grainy-and-blurry-picture snob.

So, summer. Goodness, where do I start? It's been a glorious and easy month and a half. We made a few trips up the coast to visit family and meet friends in fun places, but mostly we have stayed up late, slept in, explored, watched a bunch of movies, and really, truly relaxed. Some days I would feel guilty because I felt too relaxed, as if I should be doing something actually productive? But then I would remember how hectic life gets when school is in session and how I should enjoy this while I can, and so I'd go back to lounging on the couch with my love or catching up on past season's tv episodes.

In and around all that lounging and relaxing, we did manage to accomplish a lot of the things on our summer bucket list, most of which I've documented on instagram. Here are just a few:

• watch a movie at the drive-in (Despicable Me 2)
• blow bubbles
• pick berries at a farm
• go to the zoo (in Santa Barbara, with our friends the Stotts)
• fun park (Disneyland=Me & Six Flags=Franco)
• make lemonade from scratch (multiple times.)
• sleep with the windows open

Franco starts school in a few days and we're soaking up every last second.We had family over a couple weekends ago to celebrate my brother Charlie's birthday. Isn't family time the best? I think so.

Goodbye, Summer. Hello, School.

Over here at the Castrejon's, summer's over and school is back in session. Franco just dove right in--he's already had a couple of quizzes and started a new clerkship, so vacation is officially over. I know I haven't been posting everything we've done lately, I just can't seem to get away from our little Clarke long enough to do anything, and honestly, I don't want to! But, I thought I'd do a little recap, with the help of our trusty instagrams, here:
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Left to right, top to bottom:

// Franco and Clarke are seriously best buddies. They even have the same "Feed me!" crying face.

\\ Clarke and I take walks early in the morning; mostly because it gets so hot that all we want to do is stay inside with the AC on.

// Franco worked at an optometrist's office for a month because he was getting bored of having nothing to do (figures, overachiever ;) and once he got off early and we had lunch at a nearby park.

\\ Clarke has so much hair, it's funny to see how many different ways it sticks up after his naps.

// He's also gotten used to sucking on his hands--he won't take a pacifier--and sometimes he does it while holding his hair. When it's replaced by a swaddling blanket, he reminds me of Linus from the peanut gang!

\\ I have yet to show you his little nursery corner. I hung up a canvas I painted, and this Le Ballon Rouge mobile I made back when I was nine months pregnant.

// Sometimes while I'm getting ready, we make faces at each other in the mirror. (Sorry, it's a little dirty.)

\\ I love it when he wakes up smiling and happy! It just makes my day.
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Happy weekend!

By The Sea, You And Me, Oh, How Happy We'll Be.

It's almost the end of summer, and we finally got to squeeze in a day at the beach. We picked Newport because of the clean, soft sand and the clear blue water...and apparently everyone else in Southern California did, too. It took us a half hour to find parking; every lot was full and every inch of curb space was taken. I'm glad we got there early--who knows how it would have been later in the day.

The beach itself wasn't packed, so that was good. It was the perfect day for Clarke's first time at the beach! As you can see from the picture above, it wasn't too successful when I dipped his toes in, but he loved the sound of the waves and the warm sun on his skin. (Don't worry, I liberally applied baby sun screen on him all day. Me, not so much. I have the red skin to prove it.) It's days like these that make me so grateful and lucky to live close (enough) to the shore. I never want to move away!

Thanks, Nichole & Mike for the invitation. We had a blast!

All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready To Go.

I love to travel. Just knowing I'll be hitting the road and leaving home, even just for a little while, sends adrenaline through my body, mounting my excitement and making me all giddy. Of course, the farthest I've traveled so far with a baby is three hours in the car, so it's just a bit daunting to think that we're going to be taking an 800+ mile trip here in a little bit (one way...). But, I'm determined to enjoy it, no matter what! 

Wise words to live by: "Stress before you travel to avoid stress while you travel." (credit?)

And if you're a list-maker like me, I found this Packing List helpful.

Happy Trails!

Rewind: The Beach.

 

 

  

  

 

  

WELCOME TO...

 

 My family,

at the beach,

last July,

fun.

The Last Little Bit Of Summer.

I have had no desire to blog these past couple of weeks. Funny, because I thought that working from home and having virtually nothing else to do during the day would give me ample time to do it. But when it's 107° outside and the pool is right there calling your name, you wouldn't have any desire to stay cooped up in front of a computer all day either.

I do spend a lot of time on the computer, but it's mostly to edit pictures I've taken with my sis-in-law's borrowed Canon 40D & lenses (she is so nice to let me borrow it until I find my own camera, I'm so picky!). If I won't make time to share individual posts with you about each outing, at least I'll share a few pictures.

The first pictures are from the weekly local farmer's market when I went last week with my friend Brianne and her son. Lincoln loved the splash pad and it made for some cute pictures!

My brothers & sister came out last week for a few days, one last shindig before school started. We went to Downtown Disney to eat some heavenly beignet's and then cooled down inside the Grand California Hotel's lobby. We spent the rest of their stay at the pool, at the shops, and watching Avatar: The Last Airbender on Netflix.

I've taken a couple of day trips to new places with new friends, too, like a really cool park in Irvine that has a mini train station. How cute is that?

Have a fun and sunny Labor Day weekend! I'm going to try to convince Franco that 87° really isn't that hot so we can finally go to Disneyland on Monday. Cross your fingers for me! (Though if it doesn't work out, I'm still holding out for October 10, Columbus Day.)