Hot Labor Day Weekend

Santa Barbara provided a nice respite from the heatwave consuming the inland areas of Southern California this past week, a heatwave that only intensified over the weekend. There was about a 30-degree difference between my parents' house, smack dab in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, and the pleasant coastal city of Santa Barbara. While my parents roasted in 107-degree temperature, we enjoyed a breezy and sunny 78 degree day on Saturday.

It started off with a phone call-- from Lucia! Apparently neither of us sound anything like we do in videos featuring our voices, so that was a pleasant surprise. And despite having a British accent, she was quite easy to understand. Maybe it's because by now I've talked to so many of you, I've gotten used to your general accent, way of talking, and colloquialisms :-) That was a fun conversation.

Then Todd and I did some shopping, brought lunch to Allan, who was studying on campus (and where all the eateries were closed due to the holiday weekend). We picnicked in the shade, where the breeze got cool enough for me and Todd to don our sweaters. On the way back to the car, I nearly stepped on the largest dragonfly I'd ever seen. I managed to snap a picture of it, with my size 7W foot next to it for size comparison:



We then spent the rest of the afternoon finishing our shopping, washing the car, and cleaning out the back patio, where we were able to enjoy dinner outside in the cool summer night's air.

Next day, we headed back to LA early, to leave Allan more quiet time to study for his upcoming job interview, and we left after lunch. Stopped by Wal-Mart and made a field day of it-- leisurely playing in the toy aisle, and then sitting in the McDonald's inside to enjoy an ice cream sundae snack together.

Monday didn't provide much opportunity to go outside on account of the heat, but that didn't stop Todd from grabbing an old-fashioned, motorless lawnmower out of my dad's shed, and getting to work on the front lawn! Here's some pictures of the little man struggling with it, video footage can be found on YouTube :-)



All in all, a nice, quiet, yet productive weekend with lots of quality time spent with my little man. I need more of them. Weekdays I see him for a few minutes in the morning and then 1-2 hours in the evening after work, before he goes to bed. Weekends are mostly family days, so Daddy's included in most of the activities. Which is fun, but sometimes good mother-son bonding is just what I need :-)