Santa Cruz!

= Lots of pictures!

We just got back from a week with the Sorbello family (minus Gracie) (boo) in the Santa Cruz area. The week was typical wonderful vacation:
- Sleeping in (oh wait, never mind, we have a toddler. He wakes up before 7.)
- Lounging at the beach (oh wait, never mind, we have a toddler. We dug lots of holes.)

Sarcasm aside, we really did have a fabulous week. It couldn't have gone better. Beach time, even digging holes, was so much fun. There were so many people to entertain Luke! The ladies got to play many a game of Beach Boggle, and the men got to fish. (Well, they got to try to fish. The pelicans ate all the fish before we got there. Shiloh did luck out with two perch.) Trips to the Boardwalk were delightful, and Luke was in awe of all the sights and sounds (and Bethany was in awe of her huge caramel apple). We even hung out with a sea lion, and a friendly pelican, too. (Not to mention the very-cool sand crabs.)

Now for sixty pictures to tell the story.

(But since sixty is a tad too meager, we'll post a few more photos from other people's cameras later; they have some really good shots we plan on stealing.)


Poppy, Grammy, and Sarah were very flexible about our departure time, and adapted it to Luke's nap. He fell asleep right away--at the Circle K right on Lake Boulevard, actually--and slept for a looong time. Sarah joined in the fun.


When we got to our house ("our" house) in Aptos, Luke picked a flower and debated about whom to give it to. Uncle Shiloh?


Nah. Grammy!


Then he went out to find some GUM. (When we don't give him any of ours, he settles for any small piece of paper he can chew on for a while.)


Ha ha! Gotcha, Mom! It's a wad of paper off the sidewalk!






Then it was time for fun in the garbage alleyway. (Why do little tykes love these kinds of spots?)






We loved taking Luke on walks toward the beach, where we passed a creek full of ducks. It was amazing to see Luke's vocabulary expand just during the one week we were there. He called out, "Duck!" and sometimes would crouch down low, tilt his head, and point with his little pointer finger close to his cheek to show us exactly where the duck was. In case we missed it.


Outracing a motorhome!


Our house in Aptos had a T.V. in every bedroom, a far cry from the T.V.-less Shi&Sams and Richie&Bethanys. Luke quickly figured out how to turn it on. No doubt he felt surges of power. The rest of us felt surges of powerlessness, however, when our men were sucked into the allure of the accompanying Tiger Woods golf game on the Playstation (but hey, it was their vacation, too) (and it gave us girls a great chance to play Boggle).


After his baths, we would deliver a naked boy to Grammy. Unconditional love. We learned to wrap him in a towel quickly, however, after he peed all over his bed the first night after post-bath nakey time.


More Grammy time: a walk to the ocean. Side note about Grammy: Lately Luke has been calling out for someone named Bubba. He seems very persistent about it. We couldn't figure out for the life of us who it could be, since the only Bubba we know was someone who visited a month ago, and we thought he couldn't possibly still be talking about him. We figured out this vacation that the mysterious Bubba is none other than Luke's dear Grammy. And she thought she would have the luxury of choosing a cute grandmotherly name! Bubba.


What a great couple. We had so much fun hanging out with them! "MO! MO!" as Luke would say, for "More!"


Luke sits in his hole getting ready to catch a ball--a skill he gets great delight out of working on.


"Hee hee, I caught it!"


We spent each afternoon on the beach, two blocks from our house. Luke wanted in on all the action. Here Poppy and Shi try to rally in Smashball, but there is a predator looming on the scene... (And we're not talking about the seagull.) (Truly a predator, by the way. At a nearby Capitola beach, seagulls pooped on Poppy once, and on Bethany twice! Can we look on the bright side and call it good luck?)


Oh, how sweet and precious is a crouching toddler with a bocce ball, next to three wonderful big men... (Speaking of wanting in on the action...)


"Honey, can you quit Boggle for a sec and get some sand out of Luke's mouth?" He did a faceplant. Mommy to the rescue.


"Where's Luke?"


There he is!


"And where's Richie?" Why of course...


Our little performing monkey can "Lounge" on command. It is hilarious. But here he did it spontaneously, because Poppy was lounging too. Must copy Poppy.


A sand crab!


"Everybody's goin' surfin', surfin' U.S.A." (The song Luke dances to when he "surfs" with Richie.)


Carefully investigating his beautiful auntie.


More investigation.


Shiloh catches a gnarly wave. Siena, their 7-months-along baby, spent time surfing too.


More hole digging.


One morning we gathered the troops, loaded up in the van, and headed to one of Richie's favorite surf spots, Moss Landing, where we ate instead of surfed.


We got enough margarine to last a year.


Grammy teaches Luke something new. (She gets credit for most of his tricks.)


I spy...



...a sea lion. At Moss Landing, we got to hang out with a seal who grinned for the camera.


And who performed neck-stretching tricks.


Soooo fun to watch the seal.


Moss Landing trekking with Poppy.


Moss Landing standing with everyone but Gracie. :(


The day we went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Luke had a grand ol' time with Uncle Shi, who helped him climb up a treacherous wall.


He also let Luke jump down the wall, which was utterly thrilling for the little fella. Shiloh is very patient with Luke's insistence on repeating the same "thrilling" activity over and over and over again... (like being chased all around the house...)


Who needs to ride on a sky cable when you can ride on your uncle's shoulders?


Luke ended up being scared to death of the carousel. The first time he got to ride on a horse, and cried and cried. The second time we thought he might like it if he got to ride on the carriage with Poppy and Grammy, but again, the poor little man was petrified.


Was Sam petrified, too?


Aw, come on, strike a scared-to-death pose....


Or just flex. (Another of Luke's new tricks. Both fists come up and his arms shake, while doing his scaryman face. We will have to take a picture of it. One of his best tricks yet.)


Now for some bumper cars! Sam and Bethany were rather limited in their ride-riding abilities, being 7 and 4 months pregnant, respectively, but it was a hoot to watch other people on the bumper cars. Sarah is an amazingly good driver!


Richie, on the other hand... :)


And who could Luke be calling so late at night?


Being held by his auntie. He wanted to go with her to see Shiloh instead of staying with Mom. Okay, fine, be that way.


The celebrity couple waves to the paparazzi.


A late-night Lara bar with Poppy. A healthier snack than the hot dogs and cotton candy available there...


Next day, more beach action! Luke got to fly a kite! Poppy and Grammy bought him a Thomas the Tank Engine kite, and he loooooved it.


He also got to walk across a balance beam that Richie made him. And boy was he proud of himself.


Our last day in Santa Cruz, Sarah let us know that she really had wanted to go on more rides. So Richie and she indulged in the Big Dipper and the Log Ride. There was something funny about this picture--their two little heads, cruising along...


Whee! Sarah is a fearless ride-goer. On one of the roller coasters, Richie tried to scare her and told her all sorts of made-up stories about people dying and getting decapitated on the ride. She just put her hand to her forehead, wiggled her fingers around, and said, "Wonk wonk!" Unphased.


After a fun-filled, very relaxing week, it was time to head home. Again, we timed the trip with Luke's nap, and he fell asleep with a "Papacake" (Poppy's special goat-milk pancakes he made just for Lukey) still in his mouth.


When we arrived at Orchard Park, Luke was beside himself with excitement. He had talked all week about two things: "TA-tum" (Timothy), and "MA-mow" (mower). Finally, he got to see Timothy (whom he greeted with running and squeals and a hug), and his mower (whom he greeted with a rapid, joyful push).


Thank you for such a wonderful vacation, Sorbellos!