moustache parties and a biker gang

We left the snow in Truckee a few days ago and traded it for the sun in Santa Barbara.

Before hitting the road, we still managed to get a few sweet road rides up Donner Pass.

 Once we made it to Santa Barbara we got back on the roads and toured around town with our sweet biker gang!!

 It was such a change of scenery!!! There's always flowers and fruit groves to look at, and everything smells so fresh and pretty!

 Being cool, overlooking Rincon Beach.

 I whip my hair back and forth.

 GROUP HIGH FIVE!

 For Marco and Trevor's combined birthdays Chelsea set up an awesome JEOPARDY game!!!! Lots of laughs and hilariousness.

 Including our moustache-wig party.

 On our last day our biker gang hit the streets and ventured up and around Romero Canyon! It was so beautiful the whole way!! Even when I took us the wrong way up the steepest and longest dead end of my life. oh well, google maps didn't tell me about gaited community roads.

 At the top of the Romero Canyon road there was an INSANE flower field.

It was beautiful and huge!  We could see it from sea-level.

 And we went back to sea-level to enjoy our last sunset surfing and boogie boarding session!

 ahh.

 So much fun and so many laughs!!

That's all!

fun fun fun in the sun

We've been having some amazing days here in Santa Barbara, and some even sweeter sunsets!!

Yesterday I was boogie boarding until after the sun had set, under a DOUBLE RAINBOW!!

It was crazy.    I've never seen such a perfectly connected rainbow, let alone a double one.

I felt like the double rainbow guy in Yosemite...  But I didn't cry.

Chelsea was nice enough to grab my camera as I was intensely boogie boarding and snap some pics!! It's hard to see the second part of the rainbow in the pictures, but it was SO AWESOME that I don't even care!! It was one of those moments where I didn't worry about capturing it on any sort of media-application-camera thingy, but just enjoyed the scene instead.

 WHAT DOES IT MEAN!???

 Some other sweet moments have been watching everyone get aggressive at volleyball!!! Marco and "wilson" the ball.

 CITRUS!!!!

 SO many delicious and colourful fruits to choose from!!

 MP's been ripping some waves!!!!

 My rehab-mode is not yet ready for surfing, but boogie boarding is pretty sweet. (or ill. it's our new cali word that means awesome....)

 All the surf and boogie boards!!!!! so much fun!! A huge thanks to the Robinson's for letting us hang out!!

One more day of sweet road bike rides, boogie board sessions and fun in the sun!!!!!!!

vacation

Vacation time.

Four days at the beach in Santa Barbara.

I woke up this morning and jumped in the ocean before breakfast!  It's so nice to be soaking up some sun and enjoying something very far away from the snow and the mountains!

 Boogie boarding, walking, road biking, watching the others catch some waves, sunsets, sunshine, lots of smiles!

Biking, crafts, and randomness because it's spring!

Since being back in Cali land I've been busy biking, doing crafts and enjoying the sunshine!!

This is the best way to unwind after roadbiking in the sunshine: coffee and yummy sandwiches on the patio!  Coffeebar in Truckee is the best place for coffee!

Road biking is awesome! 

AND so is baking and dressing up!

Dierndl's and Leiderhosen for Davey's 28th!

 OR at least that's what Marco told me!! We were the only ones dressed up! haha! But it's always fun to break out the German clothes.

RUSHING out the door fully leiderhose'd!

Dave's birthday revolved around his famous PIG ROAST!!!

 They even let me hack off a couple pieces!! 

 Pinata's and pig roasts.

 It was a little creepy, but mostly delicious.

 We still had some furniture from our intense Craigslist adventures last year, so I decided to paint this dresser one morning.

Sanding, painting and assembling.... 

I am soooo focused.

 having soooo much funnnn

 But the final project was worth the effort!!

 After all the furniture painting and sanding and assembling, we headed out into the wilderness for another road ride.

This time we got turned around by the snow.... we eventually caught up to some snowbanks with no way through.
:(

 And then I did more crafts.

I made my BIRCH LAMP!!!!!!!!!!

I took a thrift store lamp and duct taped some magazines around it to make the base.

 I got my supplies ready: birch bark smuggled from home and a glue gun.

 I wrapped and glued the bark all around it and added a piece around the top.

 VOILA! This amazingly beautiful lamp cost me 5 dolla!!

I love it!  

Anyway, that's all I guess!

Heading out on my bike again soon now that I've left the treacherous roads of Quebec!

Butterflies and other natural things.

Anna and I re-created our younger days by going on a field trip today!!

To the botanical gardens!

There's a special butterfly exhibit that we decided to check out.

BUt, to get the the butterflies, first you have to get through the desert.

 and all the cacti! 

 even the flowery ones!

 And then we went through the bonsai gardens.

I want one!!

This little guy is 60 years old!

 we finally found our way to the butterflies.

some of them had found a feast.

 some of them were just chillin.

 having a snack.

 THE CREEPY COCOON area.....................and the massive moths.

 like the bat cave, but not really.

 we were learning things.

 and then anna got attacked!!!! 

 These ones were ugly on the outside and beautiful on the inside.

don't judge a book by its cover, therefore, don't judge a butterfly by the outside of its wings...?

 And then we left through another mini tree area and finished off our educational afternoon!

go check it out if you're in Montreal!