Thursday, December 20, 2012

San Diego Zoo

Three days after we returned from Casper for Thanksgiving, I decided to do something a little crazy...
Dallas had left for a business trip to Asia and was going to be gone for a few days so I figured I would take little Daxton on an adventure.  I packed up the car (with literally EVERYTHING we might need), booked a hotel, and took my first road trip with just me and my little man.  I have taken hundreds of road trips in my day; I've even taken several with a baby, but I had NEVER taken a road trip on my own and a baby.  I felt quite brave embarking on our journey...and then pretty exhausted by the end...
Daxton and I left early Monday morning after Thanksgiving and drove down to San Diego.  I tried to leave as early as possible so we wouldn't have to hit L.A. traffic.  Daxton did amazing in the car, only crying to let me know when he was hungry.  He literally slept or sang along with mommy for the entire drive.  We did end up hitting some traffic while trying to maneuver through the L.A. area and then again when we hit San Diego, which made for a 7.5 hour drive into a 9.5 hour drive.  By the time we reached our hotel we were both exhausted and ready for bed.
The biggest realization I had within the first day of our adventure...
How much I missed Dallas!
I have definitely been spoiled by that man and having to do everything on my own made me appreciate him that much more.  Traveling with a baby is a lot of work; everything from putting up his port-a-crib to grocery shopping.  I was exhausted!
Don't you worry, though.  The very next day I met up with my dear friends from college, sisters Kim and Becky, and their four children.  They have passes to the San Diego Zoo so we thought a day exploring would be the perfect way to catch up.
I wish I could put into words how much I love these girls.
To know them; is to love them.
The day was perfect, even down to the crying melt downs from each of our children.  It was SO good to catch up with them and see their gorgeous families.

  All the kiddos lined up at the entrance of the Zoo.
LtoR: Naomi (Becky's youngest), Layla (Kim's youngest), Daxton (my little man), Hattie (Becky's oldest), and Lydia (Kim's oldest)
Yes, almost all of them were picking their noses for the picture...and it was perfect!

Checking out the Koi pond
We love the San Diego Zoo!
Learned a very interesting fact about how males check for females' fertility...the male will taste the females urine...yuck!  It made our ovulation pee sticks seem pretty great.
Daxton loved being around so many kids.  He also loved sitting everywhere BUT his own car seat.  Mommy's back was killing by the end of the day having to take him in and out of the baby carrier.  He loved looking at sweet Layla, though.  They are already matched for the future!
We loved the Elephant Odyssey portion of the zoo.  They've done an amazing job with the design of each of the enclosures.  As you can tell, Daxton LOVED watching the elephants and especially loved how they worked their trunks to get food.
Watching the elephants
LOVE my Kimmy
Many a perfect memory with this girl!
I loved watching all the kiddos play throughout the different exhibits.  I also thought our caravan of packed strollers was quite the sight!
Playing in the Polar Bear ice bergs while Daxton was napping.
Another favorite of mine was visiting the Panda Trek.
There were a few pandas, but my favorite was the lounging one in the tree.  He reminded me of a Winnie the Pooh cartoon!
Loving all the different animals!
Becky with Lydia, Hattie, and Naomi.
It was such a PERFECT day and SO much fun to see Kim and Becky.  I love them so much and count myself incredibly blessed to call them dear friends.

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