Fiesta 2012

You either love or hate Fiesta in Santa Barbara when you live here.  We've gone through various stages and for the past few years we've learned to navigate our way around the large crowds and out-of-towners to enjoy some fun events while completely avoiding others.

One of our favorite things to do during fiesta is to watch the flamenco dancers.   Our sweet neighbor Sofia is an excellent dancer and the kids really love seeing her perform on stage. 

Sam's friend from preschool, Angelina, also dances.

And her other little friend from preschool, Shaianne. 

The little ones really know how to shake it up on stage!  We are going to give flamenco a try at Linda Vega Dance Studio and enroll Samantha this fall. 

Thatcher thought he was hot stuff after he got a kiss from one of the flamenco dancers on his cheek.

Here are some clips of Sofia during one of her performances.

The other Fiesta event we love is the Children's Fiesta Parade.  We got to walk as a family (Lollipop too) down State Street with the PEP organization. 

About 30 seconds into the parade, Thatcher got the hang of it.  He was tipping his hat, waving to the crowd and throwing confetti.  Perhaps a future Grand Marshal? Or as they call it for Old Spanish Days, the El Presidente!

Lollipop's sombrero was not cooperating but that didn't stop her from trying to put the moves on a fellow el perro.

Samantha was more reserved than her brother.  She sort of laid back and cruised down State Street.  I think she was more interested in the free ice cream they give you at the end of the parade.

Thatcher kept yelling out, "Viva La Fiesta!"

Ola, El Presidente!

Now she's happy!

After the parade, we walked over to Esau's Cafe for some breakfast and to crack some cascarones (confetti eggs).

The above sequence of pictures actually started off like this....It took some practice before they got the hang of it ;)

The last event we went to was the El Mercado Del Norte which is basically a fair set up at Mackenzie Park.  Thatcher was tall enough to go on all the rides so we had two happy kids.

Samantha is either scared of the rides or can't get enough of them when we are at amusement parks or fairs.  She was loving the rides this time which is a lot more fun!  I think it helped to have her brother on the rides with her instead of him screaming on the sidelines because he is not tall enough.

Speaking of being tall enough, apparently OSHA was not monitoring this fair like they were at the last one. 

Samantha wanted no part of this kiddie roller coaster but Thatcher walked right up, gave the guy his tickets and headed for the front seat by himself and off they went......



As soon as it took off you could tell he was a little nervous (so were we).  He was holding on to the railing for dear life and his almost 30 pound body was lifting up in the air each time the ride would go down the hill.  It didn't seem very safe.  It didn't phase him though, he was all smiles when he got off.

And finally, here's Samantha when she was just 2 1/2 watching Sofia at Fiesta.  Such a fun tradition we have together.  Who knows, maybe next year Samantha will be up on stage?!

The Fair

A couple weeks ago the fair was in town.  You can see the fair right off a portion of the freeway that we pass by multiple times per day and unless I were to take a detour to shield the kids from the giant ferris wheel, we were committed to going.  Both kids would scream with excitement each time we passed by.  We went last year and had a really great time, so we were up for going again this year.

Yummy fair food!

We went right when the fair opened and there was literally no one there.  Not exactly a packed crowd to watch this band.  And Thatcher wasn't even paying attention.....

Samantha tried desperately to figure out the hula hoop.  Her friend Reese has mastered it.  I give Sam a "A" for effort in trying.  It's pretty cute seeing her shake those little hips!

Thatcher was beaming the entire time he was on the carousel.

And then we hit a speed bump with the rides. Besides the carousel, Thatcher did not meet the height requirement for any of the rides. We begged and pleaded with the ride attendants to let him on several of the rides (some he was just an inch too short) and they were not wavering.  Apparently there was an undercover OSHA sting operation going on and the carnival workers were at risk for losing their jobs if they bent the rules....

So while Samantha was riding this dangerous 5 mile per hour car that puttered around in a circle, Thatcher was kicking and screaming in my arms hysterically not understanding why he couldn't go on the ride too.  Pure torture!

Right before we were about to give up on the rides, we stumbled upon this kangaroo!  For whatever reason, this ride (which did the exact same thing as all the other kiddie rides) was okay for Thatcher to go on.  

We had a happy boy again for 2 minutes until it was time to exit the ride.....

Thatcher sulked while we watched the miniature pig races

After awhile he perked up when he got to see all the cute animals.

This is baby "Honeybee".

She is just 10 days old

She reminded us of Lollipop with her wagging tail and coloring.  

That little goat in the corner is just 24 hours old! 

Hoping Thatcher has a growth spurt or else we are getting lifts to put in his shoes next year!