San Diego Trip

I'm finally getting around to posting what we've been up to the past few months. Forgive me for falling off the face of the earth for a while. So, in October we took a family trip to San Diego. It is only about a 6 hour drive from here and Joe D's family decided they wanted to go too. It was such a fun little trip over our fall break. Joe D was on a business trip when we set off, so he flew in to San Diego and we met up there the second day. Here are some pictures from the Wild Animal Park the first day we were there.Here is a little blast from the past. This is Kenzi in August of 2004 and all of them in October 2009. Crazy, huh? Will was a baby last time we went to San Diego.The next day we headed to the San Diego Zoo. It was surprisingly busy, but the kids got in free that day, which was awesome. I forgot how exhausting it is to wander up and down hills and trails with three kids in 90 degree heat. I just realized a couple of the photos in the collage below are actually from the Wild Animal Park, not the zoo, but oh well. The koalas might have been my favorite. Seriously- how cute is that little guy!? The bad part about that day was poor Sadie came down with the flu. Joe D took her back to the hotel and tried to get the fever down and let her nap. Little did we know....she'd pass it on to the rest of us before the trip was over.Another little flashback. Was she really ever that little!?And a few more pics. I was really tempted to pick that pretty flower, but I figured a picture would last longer. There were so many beautiful plants and flowers that can grow there in the humidity! Will was totally freaked out by the bird- he seemed interested, but when he tried to hold it it bit him because he didn't have any food for it. After that he kept his distance. In the bottom left corner is a photo of the kids checking out the polar bears. We probably stayed there for a half hour. That was one of their favorites.Then the third day we headed to Sea World. That was my favorite. We headed straight over to Shamu stadium and caught the show first. They have changed the show since we last went and it isn't as good, but none of the kids remembered that of course, so they thought it was amazing. Which it really was. The exhibits they have are really neat. My kids loved the penguins and the sharks, which you viewed from a moving walkway. It was dark and hard to get any good photos, but I thought the one of the shark teeth was pretty effective. When we took a break for lunch, we noticed a climbing wall across the way from us and the kids gave it a try. It wasn't really Will's cup of tea, which surprised me since he climbs on anything when given the chance. Kenzi made it all the way to the top.One of the shows we went to was a sea lion Halloween show. They danced to Thriller. Not the best plot line, but the kids found it entertaining.And at the end of this day both Will and I had fevers and were feeling miserable. Here are some high and low lights from this trip.

Low Lights: The dang flu of course, sweating in the humid heat, the crowds, and California drivers, Sadie having an all out screaming tantrum on the floor of a gas station for 20 minutes.
High Lights: relaxing in the hot tub at the hotel, spending time with all the family, spoiling my kids with silly souvenirs, seeing their excitement and their eyes light up when they saw the animals, the beautiful plants, going 4 days without cooking a meal, getting out of town for a change.