THE SAN DIEGO ZOO

Well, after spending 3 days walking around Disneyland, California Adventure, and Universal Studios, we were all way too tired to walk much around the zoo. We rode the tram. That gave us the basic tour. So we really didn't walk up close to see any of the animals. I'm glad Matt and I think alike, "If you've seen one warthog in your life, you've seen 'em all!". (We're not Zoo people). So, that should explain the lack of pics from this portion of our trip!

We did manage to make sure we took pics of our girls playing on the fake gorillas! Gotta make sure you take pics of fake animals at a zoo! :)

Don't worry. We did manage to get one photo of our kids with a real animal! A hippo. Look how gigantic that animal is! Crazy! I only wish it would have had it's mouth open! What an awesome picture that would have made.

SEA WORLD

Our first stop at Sea World? A ride. Not just any ride, but Abby's Sea Star Spin. I only have 1 question : "Why are there so many spinning rides?"

After that experience we decided we'd better see some animals. So here's a glimpse at some of the fascinating animals we saw, touched, and smelled at Sea World.

The dolphins were a hit! Shamu was a hit!

The turtles not so much!

The kids enjoyed touching the Sea Stars and the Bat Rays (I don't know why my pic is sideways....sorry).

The Polar Bear was also fun to see! You all better appreciate this pic. I fought about 15 Asians to get to the front of the line! While in the Polar Bear center, we decided to take advantage of the imitation polar bear caves they had. The kids did an awesome job of posing for a pic!

And my favorite animal......



I hope I can always say that this is the closest I will ever be to a shark!

THE BEACH

We didn't have much time to go to the beach. Our trip was booked, and nobody seemed to plan time to go to the beach. So we got about 45 minutes on our last day in Cali. And, of course, it was cold. We found some local beach and tried not to look like tourists. I don't think we succeeded. Afterall, we were the only ones playing in the water in this seaweed-infested beach! (Not like Hawaii).

Hailey and Matt had fun in the waves! Hailey loves the water!

Leah was more content to play with the seaweed in the sand.

Matt and I actually snapped a good pic while we were there, so the trip wasn't a complete loss! (Nah, just kidding).

OLD TOWN SAN DIEGO

The first thing we saw in Old Town San Diego were giant cacti. They were huge! And yes, they are pokey!

Hailey and a giant Cactus.

Mel and the giant Cacti.

The first building we came across while walking through Old Town San Diego was a little school known as the Mason Street School. They had old desks and we made the kids sit and pose.

There was also a "dunce" cap in the front that I really wanted Matt to put on and stand in the corner, but it had a sign on it that said "Do Not Handle". And there was also an old lady watching us that worked there. (And we all know how really old ladies can be.....)



For lunch we decided to try a little local restaurant called El Fandango. It was way good! Here's a pic of Matt and his parents waiting for their food.








We tried to go see the Mormon Battalion Memorial, but it was closed until next year! Can you believe that? Anyway, I decided I should snap a pic to prove we actually tried!

Track season

Hailey started track this year. She had her first day of practice this last Monday. She was excited, but said that it was "a lot of running and kind of boring". But she did say that she thinks she'll like it more as she gets further into the season. It was so fun to watch her run. She did really well. (I thought, but then again, I'm her mom).


While Hailey's working hard, so is Leah. She's working hard at having fun. This is what Leah does while Hailey's running....