Car Dancing

Sorry it is so shaky. Todd is driving. Better him than me while filming the kids, right?

Just Being Kids

They ran, rolled and raced. They played "Red Light, Green Light" and "Simon Says". They told stories, they laughed and then ran some more. Just being kids.

Bees!

Last week Todd was playing hide and seek with the kids and hid in the lemon tree.

He looked up and realized there was a gigantic swarm of bees above him.....

Just one queen bee amongst all those worker bees!

A swarm is a big cluster of bees, in the order of 20,000 individuals, and almost always with just one queen bee. It is a transient thing. When a colony of honeybees become too crowded in their hive, they create a new queen. Just before the new queen emerges from her cell, the old queen leaves the hive and flies off with about half of the worker bees. Soon after leaving the hive, they congregate somewhere, often on the branch of a tree. They cluster there, sometimes just for a matter of a few hours, sometimes for days. Scouts are sent out to look for a suitable location for the new nest.

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We called in a beekeeper to rescue (us) and the bees.   He came that night for fear the bees would find a new home in the morning.   Our nice beekeeper was in the early stages of starting his very own bee colonies in his backyard for honey production.  He was doing it just for fun.  It was nice to know that our bees were going to a good home and were not going to be exterminated.

Todd was wondering why he didn't get a fancy beekeeper outfit, both for fashion and safety....

If you are bored and want to learn more about beekeeping, read the Wikipedia on beekeeping here.  I found the whole thing fascinating. 

Last Weekend

Last weekend was so much fun!

We kicked it off with the Winter Wine Down, a fundraiser that the Strong family generously invited us to.

It was such a beautiful afternoon of wine and food tasting, a raffle and an auction with all proceeds benefiting Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) research, a cause that is near and dear to our hearts.

After the event, we relieved the sitter and took the kids out to dinner at Cafe Stella.

And then home for a dance party that started in the car.

But ended quickly because.....

Samantha somehow got a wad of gum stuck in her hair.

Off to a fresh start, (and a little less hair), we had brunch the next morning at The Boathouse

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After brunch, we headed to the Santa Barbara Kite Festival.

Todd kinda-sorta got our elephant kite up in the air, kind of.  He at least was able to get it to fly long enough for me to snap a few photos.  Who knew flying a kite would be so hard?!

The weather was just too nice to not stay outside, so after naps we all took a bike ride.

Thatcher was just too cute on his little bike.  He's still not quite tall enough for it.  He was so proud of himself and didn't want any help.  He kept saying , "Wait up! Oh man, wait for me! I'm catching up!" 

Easter Brunch

The Southern Belle in Santa Barbara wowed us again this year with her annual Easter brunch. 

All the kids were dressed in their Sunday best.

You can tell when a professional takes a picture.  Thank you Marina!

And thank you Sarah for this picture of our family.  We hardly ever get one of the four of us!

The Girls

Our hostess Holley with little beauty Jess

Uncle Chris and Thatchie Boy

How awesome is this Peeps cake Meredith made?!

The Peeps Regatta

Mason and Connor were this year's race winners.  You can tell Samantha is a bit upset she has not reclaimed her Peeps Regatta title from a couple years back. 

You were just two when you won Sammy!

 And now our sweet boy is two!

Thatcher (pant-less for some reason) didn't want to leave.  Who could blame him after all that great food and fun?! And nap skipping AND overdoing it on sugar!!

Meredith was finally able to catch him and help us get in the car.

We came home just in time to complete our Easter egg hunt that the Easter Bunny left in the front yard.....