First Grade!

Zoe started first grade at Kellogg Elementary this past Wednesday and to make it special I took the day off on Tuesday and we had a "Girl Day" where she spent the day getting her hair trimmed, a mani pedi, a fancy lunch and she even got to see her classroom and meet her new first grade teacher at Kellogg!

Getting pampered!

Almost a Bulldog!

Here she is all ready for her first day in First Grade!!

 Maddox kept waving goodbye to her and was saying he was proud of his big sister.

These two - the cutest!

And not to be left out, Maddox also started in his new Pre-K program at Rainbow School!

Knotts Berry Farm

As part of Zoe's birthday present, we went down to Knott's Berry Farm for the day.  We had never been and it was a ton of fun!  The kids were able to go on a lot of rides, the lines were small and the food was great.  The best part??  The price - only $37 for the kid tickets!  We weren't sure how much Maddox would like the rides since he's always been hesitant to go on big rides in the past but he clearly is over that stage of his life - we couldn't get him to stop!  He loved all the rides just as much as Zoe!  Our first ride of the day was on the log run.

Here they are waiting patiently (what???  this never happens!) for the train ride...

It was over 100 degrees that day -- and everyone was extra sweaty.  Poor Maddox sweats like his daddy.

We met Snoopy too!  I have no idea how Snoopy was staying cool in that heat.

Family picture!

Taking a "water" break

And we had to end the day the same way we started....on the log run  :)

Can't wait to go again!

Zoe Turns 6!!!

And just like that, we blinked and Zoe turned 6 years old!

Francis surprised her with donuts in the morning...

We told her she could pick anything she wanted for dinner.  She picked sushi.  She is definitely not a cheap date!

Zoe's 6 year stats:

• Height:  46.5"  (75th percentile)
• Weight: 49 lbs (75th percentile)

A few things about 6 year old Zoe:

• She is adventurous - she loves roller coasters, driving fast and trying new things
• She is silly - knock knock jokes are hot right now in our house
• She loves to read 
• Sushi (sashimi) is her favorite food
• She does not like milk
• She is very competitive 
• She wants to be an artist when she grows up
• She has also finally become a good cuddler and we oftentimes wake up with her in our bed 

Random SB Pics

The kids have been having so much fun playing outdoors since we've been back. I think they've spent more time outside in the first few weeks we were back compared to the entire year we were in Austin.  Love it!

Riding bikes in circles, chasing each other in the back yard

 A beautiful SB sunset

Yes, I signed back up with my wine club right away! 

Maya had to have surgery on an abscess on the top of her head/side of face.  She has since recovered and is doing well!

Aunt Natalie has come to visit a couple times already - I can't tell who is happier about that  :)

Keeping cool in our large pool during the heatwave 

Fiesta

One of the best things about Santa Barbara - all of their parades and festivals!  Here are some pics of Fiesta 2015.  We didn't make it to the equestrian parade but we did make it to the Children's Parade after a nice breakfast downtown.

We headed over to the carnival at McKenzie park afterwards where we bought overpriced tickets for the rides.  The kids' happy faces was worth every penny  :)

Zoe went on this all by herself.  It slowly went up 50 feet and dropped straight down. I still can't believe she did it.