A trip back home.

I may be a desperate housewife residing in the OC, and a wannabe LA wife of an Entertainment Mogul, but my heart resides in Santa Barbara. I love driving around town and seeing beautiful architecture on every corner. And I miss seeing the ocean daily from the hill we lived on. Santa Barbara is home to me. A few weeks ago I got a little homesick and needed to rejuvenate, so I took the kids on a trip up to Santa Barbara. They have the best little zoo, where you can feed the giraffes. AK never gets tired of the giraffes big long purple tongue tickling her skin. This hill at the zoo is covered by slick astroturf and is there for the sole purpose of sliding down it. I want to put one of these in our backyard. Shhh... next time I'm bringing the toboggans. No need to take the kids sledding anymore!!I have been to zoos a zillion times and never once seen a lion awake. This lady was AGITATED and restless. And it wasn't from the giraffes who roam within eyesight. She jumped right up on this rock just inches from the glass where we stood and laid down. She then proceeded to roar and growl, then would pause. In the distance, her mate who had been taken across the zoo to be quarantined would roar back at her. She was so sad with her mate being away from their home. I felt so bad for this lioness, I can totally relate. Mr. Man is back up in LA for work again, and I just want to move right up and join him. I feel like I gotta break out of this cage and move our home base up to LA. After the zoo, I took the kids over to be well fed at my favorite restaurant of all time, Palazzio. My kids love the hot garlic rolls, and loved eating from one big giant bowl of pasta a la Lady & the Tramp. I left with a cooler full of pasta & rolls to take home for the freezer for when I need a taste of home. This food.. it's better than mama's home cooking. (sorry mom, but you know it's true) I couldn't help but snap some pics of the kids while roaming around town. This was Mr. Boy's souvenir from the zoo. He sleeps with this and Elephant Friend every night.We got some Ice Cream on the wharf. This is my favorite view on the planet and I love the fog rolling in the background. Again, this is home for me. I sat there on the wharf thinking back to one awful, awful date I had in high school. I remember standing on this wharf, peering over the railing, wondering if I could possibly jump off and swim to shore, just to get out of spending the rest of the evening with a boy who had no clue what it meant to be chivalrous. On the flip side I have had some truly magical moments on this pier as well. I had secretly hoped that my future husband would propose to me on this wharf. We stopped over at my folk's house, who sadly no longer live in Santa Barbara.We pretended to be pirates, played at the park... and my very sweet dad, encouraged me to remember to take care of myself and sent me off shopping for the afternoon while he & my mom watched the kids. Sound advice, and the break was much needed! We even went for a boat ride. Mr. Boy loved steering, while my mom panicked that we were going to crash! We celebrated a few birthdays, and Mr. Boy (wearing the pillowcase) got Star Wars sheets. These are a reproduction of the exact sheets we had growing up.

I love seeing these guys snuggling together, they got to share a bed on the floor while on vacation. On the drive home I learned Mr. Boy's Birthday Wish was "for Sandy to live forever." I cannot even put into words how much it breaks my heart that I can't make that wish come true. The sun is setting on this dog's life and I am powerless to stop it. For Mr. Boy... I think wherever Sandy is.. that is home.