Saturday brought more sun and temps approaching 80 degrees, so we grabbed our beach towel and sunscreen and headed out to grab some rays.  But first, breakfast at M Street Kitchen.
(Please, Mama, can I have pancakes and syrup, light on the pancakes, heavy on the syrup?)
We spent the rest of the morning at Annenberg Beach House, melting into our lounge chairs while Juliette ran wild in the splash park. Â Dude, this girl loves water.
I went for a run while Shane put a tuckered-out Jules down for a nap and then hydrated with a bottle of bubbly on our house’s patio. Â Perfecto.
Juliette woke up pink-cheeked and crazy-haired and came out to join me. Â Those arms! Â I’ve missed seeing them these past few months.
We packed up our things and then spent an hour strolling down the 3rd Street promenade, stopping every few minutes to watch the street performers and share a fro-yo. Â Since we were so close to Tongva Park, and since Juliette had such a blast there the day before, we popped over for another go at the playground.
Soon it was beach:30, so we made our way to the sand, armed with pail and shovel, and settled in for another sunset.
She makes me so damn happy. Â I love to be able to return the favor.
A breeze kicked up as the sun went down and Juliette wanted nothing more than to crawl into papa’s lap and snuggle. Â It took about 37 laps up and down the shore, but we had finally worn this girl out!
I sighed as we watched the sun drop behind the horizon, sad to see our final evening in Santa Monica come to a close. Â Shane consoled me by volunteering to go pick up burgers and shakes from In-N-Out for dinner while I put Juliette to bed. Â Yes, please! Â We wolfed down our takeout and then I fell asleep on the couch at 8:00, exhausted in the most satisfying way.
We didn’t need to head to the airport until late morning on Sunday, so we swung by the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market for awhile to eat breakfast and let Jules get her pre-flight wiggles out. Â She was a big fan of the folk band that was playing there, knee-slapping and hand-clapping along with the beat.
And then, too soon, it was time to head to LAX and make the trek back to Seattle. Â Juliette did alright on the flight, squirming a bit through the first half, but eventually passing out in my arms. Â And then, we were home. Â Home sweet home, where we don’t have to worry about getting a sunburn or dumping the sand out of our shoes (I’m doing my best to look on the bright side here).
Thanks, Santa Monica, for treating us right! Â See you next winter.