summer in santa barbara

we had a lovely week in santa barbara with my parents.  they were kind enough to let us bring with us the newest addition to our family - little riggy.  apparently there is no such thing as too many male dogs under one roof!  all four of them got along great, and riggy chased uco around most of the time trying to hump his tail.   we spent time at the beach, the kids went to camp at the SB zoo, and i even got to finish a book.  i think our whole pellegrini family felt like we were at summer camp!

the van is fully loaded and ready to go!

riggy got a comfy seat in the back

herbie managed to stay comfortable

it was so hot out when we stopped that these two
would pass out once we got back into the car

i'm hoping we have a few more years of this sleeping arrangement

who's ready for the beach??

she would have happily rode in the back with the boys

herbie was in heaven...better than any dog beach in SF

we were a little surprised at how quickly these two jumped right in the water

blue, warm water...now that is vacation!

uco and carter love a good swim while our doggies prefer the shallow end

these two weren't eager to get wet

during a bath following the beach, jacks cut his knee

3 stitches later and he was as good as new

getting ready for zoo camp while a furry audience looked on

all three in camp together!!

they were even in the same group which was pretty cute

we got some tacos following camp and
even tried out the batting cages

the kids had fun but hitting slow-pitch softballs
was not easy!

while my dad took the big dogs to the park, we were
in charge of riggy after camp drop-off

he LOVED the nordstrom sale and
didn't even pee on anything

the 8 pounder was definitely the odd man out 

but he'd attempt to get in the mix on occasion

warm temps in the evening means a pleasant
post-dinner stroll for everyone

we even had time for a quick swing at the local park

lyla's a natural! we couldn't add carter
or lyla would have been eating pavement

real grass!  they're probably thinking about the
crappy fake grass we make them lie on at home

a boy and his favorite pup

jacks requested a special trip to the mall to play jenga

john and jacks played while livi and i shopped

isn't he just the cutest??

concentration

building without his less focused and less careful sisters
was exactly what he needed

this takes real skill...i have more appreciation
for all the dog walkers i see in SF

an uninvited guest crashed the pool party

carter loves a good soak

having a water-loving dog is pretty fun!

who gave miss crazy a hose?!?

there is still room for more!

in their own world, together

this is about as far as she would go in the water =)

yep, they're sisters!

our sweetie-pie throwing rocks

our messy explorer getting dirty

our baby forcing us to play the cat or dog or other
 character in her elaborate game of make-believe

everyone wanted to help john with his exercises

sorry john, lyla looks to have better form

family dog portrait

because i had a treat in my hand, they would not let me move more than
one foot away from them to take the picture

a piñata? well, of course, why not!

come here little unicorn....

her face was a lot meaner than her swing

post-pinata photo
(do you notice who is always closest to the treat?)

welcome to camp hull

sunshine and real grass and someone home all day...
maybe they should move in permanently!

a serious game of monopoly to cap off the week

while my mom read us the obituaries
(which she claims is normal at her age??)

by the last night, herbie was starting to feel right at home

one last romp with his buddy uco

after taking this family pic, we realized someone was missing

phew...everyone's here now!

our final stop on the drive back...ice cream!

these two were so over it

not back in the car....again?!?