Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers in the world!  I'd like to especially wish my own mother a very Happy Mother's Day!  I feel so blessed to have her as my mother.  I look up to her for her strength, her wisdom, her kindness, her example, her belief in us, and her beautiful heart.  She is the mom that welcomes you with open arms when she sees you...the one that can strike up a conversation with anyone and can make anyone feel at home, the one that loves books, loves learning, loves giving and sharing...she is the one who works selflessly for her children...the one that puts others first never thinking of herself...the one that reads at least 3 newspapers a day to keep up on current events...the one that makes the best enchiladas ever...the one that I can sit and talk with for hours...she is the one that is at the sidelines of every sporting event cheering her heart out for me...She is who I look for as my example as I have just entered motherhood...The close relationship I have with her is what I hope to have with my little girl!  Happy Mother's Day to all! And to my wonderful mother-in-law- Happy Mother's Day to you...you have raised the best son ever...and I am forever grateful to you! Today I feel richly blessed for the wonderful mothers in my life! 

Today our little family enjoyed a nice walk through the Conservatory Gardens at Central Park.  The tulips were in full bloom! If you haven't made it over there yet make sure to get there in the next day or so...it's beautiful!

The Huntington Library - Botanical Gardens

Two weeks ago Jeremiah and I made a trip out to Pasadena to visit the Huntington Library. The buildings are full of incredible art collections and the grounds are covered in beautiful botanical gardens.  207 Acres are covered in a dozen of principal garden areas including the Japanese, Rose, Shakespeare, Camelia, Jungle, Palm, and Chinese gardens.  Henry Huntington puchased the original 600 acres of this working ranch in 1903 to turn it into a botanical garden of rare and exotic plants.  He and William Hertrich searched local nurseries for unique specimens and imported plants from many parts of the world to experiment their cultivation in Southern California.  

Our one piece of advice for when you go...get there RIGHT when it opens so that you can spend the full day there! You will not be disappointed! And bring a picnic and enjoy the day!

    

Downtown Santa Barbara

Downtown Santa Barbara is a not-to-be-missed spot.  Everything is so picturesque...all the buildings are in Spanish architecture, every step covered in beautiful patterned tiles, every railing in iron, and every door in a beautiful wood finish.  Even the gas stations are in spanish style!  We instantly fell in love with this beautiful town.  We drove all around the beautiful Montecito and Hope Ranch neighborhoods, ate and shopped downtown and toured the beautiful courthouse.  The courthouse is unbelieveably beautiful! I don't think anyone would even mind going to court in such a beautiful and historic building!

 

Butterfly Beach

Butterfly Beach is one of the most pristine beaches in Santa Barbara.  It was so fun to step foot in the ocean again! It has been too long since we last went for a walk along the beach.  It was fun capturing K's first steps in the water...a little cold I think! She'll learn to love it soon enough- with a native Californian mom and a native Hawaiian dad it's in her blood to love the water!

 

Mission Santa Barbara

We spent our time in Santa Barbara enjoying the outdoors. We loved visiting the Santa Barbara Mission with its rich history and beautiful colors and architecture. We read that Mission Santa Barbara is called "Queen of the Missions for its graceful beauty" and it definitely fits this description. The original buildings were of adobe and were established in 1786. It is said that the church was probably constructed under the direction of a master mason, Jose Antonio Ramirez and represents the greatest engineering achievement of the combined efforts of the Indian, Spanish and Mexican artisans in Santa Barbara.