Spit Curls and Salt Caves

We had the most random Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago.  

Shopping with her spit curls 

For two weeks, Samantha pretty much looked like this with bright red lipstick that would not come off no matter how hard you scrubbed and spit curls that were so coated with spirit gum that they too were a permanent fixture glued to her face.  Every once in a while we would bump into other people who had somehow been affiliated with flamenco and they would understand Samantha's look.  Those unfamiliar, well, who really cares. 

So, on this random Sunday we took the waterfront shuttle down to the beach. 

Played pool and drank margaritas (Shirley Temples for the kids) at Endless Summer. 

Dinner at Brophy's

Have I mentioned this before?  I think one of the best burgers in town is at Brophy's which is best known for their seafood (and the view!). 

Taking the shuttle home.

And then somehow (one too many margaritas???) we ended up at the Salt Cave.  Visit their website because honestly I still can't figure this place out. 

Samantha made Salt Angels.

Thatcher got to work doing some digging and we tried to relax in the zero-gravity chairs. 

And then I began to gross out thinking about all the bare feet on the salt.  I heard both of my kids mention something about "tasting the salt".  On top of that, the lady working there kept shhhhhing us and saying "this is a quiet zone".  Time to go!

Saved by Pinkberry!

See, totally random, right?

Romeria de Verano

We've since wrapped up Fiesta season a few weeks ago but leading up to it was the Linda Vega Dance Studio annual showcase called the Romeria de Verano.  This is where all the flamenco dancers get to perform at the Marjorie Luke Theatre for family, friends and the community.  This was to be Samantha's first dance recital ever!

A practice dress rehearsal with unfinished costumes at the studio.  

Dress Rehearsal 

The actual night of the Romeria.  Proud daddy in the audience!

All the grandparents came up to watch!

No video was allowed but I am going to brag for a second.  Samantha really REALLY surprised me, she was good!  To be honest, I wasn't sure flamenco was her thing all these months.  I also wasn't sure if she would actually go on stage.  We had invested so much time and money in this that I joked with other parents that if she didn't go on stage, I would figure out a way to get that costume on and perform the routine myself!  Well no embarrassment of Mama Fallon was necessary because that night she came out on stage with a smile ear to ear, shaking her hips, doing every single move as she should.   We have a performer! 

Thatcher is in our family, I swear. 

We were all so proud of Samantha and looking forward to Fiesta! 

Only Children

While Thatcher was hanging out with Grandma and Poppy, Samantha received a lot of one on one attention from us:

And here is Thatcher at the grandparents:

He even got to go to Farrell's on "his birthday"

After five days Thatcher came back.  The thing we noticed most about him being gone (besides how much we missed him of course) was how QUIET it was at our house.  

Thank you Grandma and Poppy for the much needed break.  I can pack a suitcase very quickly so just let me know when you want your little buddy back ;)

San Diego

A few weeks ago the kids and I went on a mini-getaway to meet up with my family who were visiting in San Diego.

You gotta love a long car ride like this ;)

First stop, Paradise Point to meet up with my sister and her kids. 

There's my sister! She's a pirate.  Arrrrgh!  

This is the first time I really noticed that Thatcher was enjoying the water.

Tacos by the pool!

I considered renting one of these to make my trainer proud (and work off the tacos) but....

opted for a golf cart ride with the kids instead.  Burns the same amount of calories, right?

We did some paddle boarding on Mission Bay which was right outside our hotel room. 

Token Selfie. 

Lauren had fun styling Samantha's hair.

Getting her hair all straight and pretty. 

And then, we left Paradise Point without even staying the night.  I will spare the details and not bash them too bad as the manager there was VERY nice and understanding of our situation.  Long story short, Paradise Point does not mirror what their website shows.  You get what you pay for and we paid A LOT for this hotel so we expected a lot.  From the moment we arrived things were not up to par and my final straw was when all the electrical outlets in our room didn't work.  I think the thought of the review I mentioned that I was going to leave on Yelp and Trip Advisor played a big part in the manager refunding us 100%.  Let's just say Paradise Point is not exactly paradise....

After a last minute hotel purchase online, we headed out of "paradise" and to the downtown Gaslamp District to the swanky Hotel Indigo.  Not the most kid-friendly but it was just a pitstop for the night before we mapped out our next move. 

We LOVED downtown San Diego.  The weather and the site seeing was great.  While there were a lot of similarities to downtown Santa Barbara, I loved the mix of both city and beach town they have there. 

How about the street performers in San Diego?  They might give SB a run for their money too:

This moment on our trip was equal halves hysterical and awkward.  The guy kept singing and singing and singing.  Side note: Never give someone like this your name and tell them it is your birthday.

Dinner at Dick's Last Resort 

I had never heard of this chain and for those who also haven't their schtick is to have their waiters purposely be a d*ick to you.  Why in the world would you welcome this?!  

I do have to say that it was pretty funny and the kids got a kick out of it. 

I can't remember or tell what Dylan's hat said but I am pretty sure it was something pretty inappropriate ;)

My sister and I wore bibs.  So-So food but good entertainment.  

We pedi-cabbed home and learned from our bike driver that Comic Con was coming to town the next day which totally explained a lot of interesting things we saw around town.  Had we taken the pedi-cab the following night we were informed that it would be transformed into a Super Hero Mobile.  You can imagine how hard it was to get Thatcher out of the pedi-cab. 

Blurry but how funny is this?!  They totally crashed that night. 

Day 2 and we were on our third hotel :)

We headed back over to Mission Bay and checked into the Hyatt.   We saw that they had water slides on their website and we were sold. 

I am not sure the last time he has napped at this point which is why he is dressed backwards.

One great perk about staying here was that my sister is some sort of VIP at Hyatt with enough hotel points to enjoy the Regency Club.  You better believe we took advantage of that more times throughout the day and night than you are probably supposed to.  :)

Sleepy Boy.

Silly Cousin.

Sea World fireworks from our room. 

A workout overlooking the bay.

More Regency Club free food ;)

And another day hanging by the pool. 

Grandma and Poppy came to visit us that day too!

Such a great trip and guess what?!  I came home with only ONE kid!  Grandma and Poppy were planning on coming up to Santa Barbara to see Sam's dance recital that weekend and asked Thatcher if he wanted to go stay with them for a few days (Samantha had flamenco practice so she couldn't go).  Thatcher was over the moon to go home with them.  I gave him several chances to change his mind but he was strapped in his carseat in their car without a worry in the world waving goodbye to me.  So for the first time ever, Thatcher was off with my parents for 5 days! 

And also guess what?!  Leaving Daddy behind when we are out of town for a few days means we always come home to something new.  The kids' room all nice and neat with a fresh coat of paint ;)