lottridge invasion, part deux

Well, I suppose that when it comes to blog posts, when it rains it pours.
:)

Joey and I are just getting re-accustomed to how quiet our house is without our guests. As I speak, Christine & family will be getting re-accustomed to their own house after a day of flying cross-continent. It was a ton of fun to have them, not least because Joey and I hadn't really spent much time with Dave, Mikaili or Mackennen before ( or any time with the little ones, really). In the week they spent here, I learned that changing diapers is like riding a bike, it's a skill that kicks right back in when you need it. And Joey spent his first extended period with little munchkins. Christine and I caught up on a good few years of chat, and Dave even managed to get in some golf with our neighbor James.

We did our best to give them a full Santa Barbara visit, pictures and a run-down of the highlights since post 1 of their visit are below. If you had a look at the album I posted in that previous lottridge visit update, you can check it out again - I've added more new photos and added captions and other good info. But without further ado...

While we did stop at the Coronado Butterfly Preserve, we sadly only saw a couple butterflies - apparently it's too late in the year already, and they've almost all headed north. The kids were good sports about it, though.

In the grove with Mackennen

To make up for the woeful lack of butterflies, we took the folks out to the Ellwood Bluffs, which overlook the Pacific and are just next to the butterfly grove, then followed that up with tide pools on the beach. Their visit happened to coincide with a 'negative tide', so many more rocks were exposed than usual and we saw all kinds of fun marine life.

The Bluffs

On the beach

The boys checking out some sea anemones

The anemones

A starfish

Sand and sea urchins and waves - oh my!

The other iconic SB stop was the mission, which gave a little historical background for the grown-ups, and a new place to run around for the little ones.



And finally, I'd be doing this documentation a disservice if I didn't include pictures of the kids on the play structure here at family student housing, which was by far the hit of the visit.

End of a personal era

Last week I finished what was probably my last real academic class as a student. Ever.

School has been the norm for me for much of the last 20+ years. I started school when "Walk like an Egyptian" was a hot new song and it's been the same basic pattern ever since. I did take one year off between college and grad school, and for the last few years of grad school I've only taken a couple classes for grades a year, but still my life from late August until June every year I can remember has basically revolved around school.

I remember running around the special kindergarten playground, learning how to spell "castle" in first or second grade, and my first real big school research project on Jackie Joyner Kersee in 5th grade. Had to look things up in books at the library back then. I remember the big change of going to middle school, the teacher who turned me on to Math, and the cliques and social awkwardness of adolescence. High school was a bit easier and, by the end, it just felt small and I was so ready to be out of there when it came time for college.

Now I'm not quite done yet at UCSB and I'll be back in a classroom in a couple weeks as a TA for an undergrad robotics course, but I won't be taking any more classes. I think I've had enough =)

lottridge invasion, part 1

This week, we're hosting Christine, Dave and their little boys. So far it's been a fun ride for all involved, and they'll be here through the weekend. The folks got in on Friday evening, super-tired from a long flight and car ride. On Saturday we had a small car tour of Santa Barbara, including a stop at Butterfly Beach, which is across from the very fancy Biltmore Hotel. The next day we ventured into wine country without Uncle Joey, who had to go do work in the lab. We stopped at a couple wineries, Lincourt and Lucas & Lewellyn for those interested, then went to Ostrich Land, which is a ranch with both Ostriches and Emu. There we fed the birds a bit, took fun pictures and enjoyed our excitement in general. Some photo documentation follows. We'll upload additional images soon!