California Day 1 - San Diego Zoo

On Friday, July 1, we took our first family trip as a family of 5 to California. We were a bit nervous about the cross country flight but everything went amazingly smoothly. So much better than we ever could have anticipated! Thank goodness!

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We were visiting my cousin, Stacy, and her family and had an absolutely fabulous time! They were wonderful hosts and showed us all around Southern California. We wouldn't have had nearly as much fun without them and were extremely appreciative of all their efforts to entertain us. Thank you so much for having us stay in your home for a little more than a week! We hope we can return the favor someday!

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After a great breakfast, prepared by Uncle Rich Saturday morning, we took off for our first day of fun at the San Diego Zoo. Here's Reagan with her cousins Rory and Riley with a Black Mangabey from Africa behind them.

Rory showing and explaining to Reagan how a Venus Fly Trap works. I wish that sign had not been in the way because this was so sweet! :) Reagan and Rory were both fascinated with the maps during our trip to the zooKennedy's favorite animal of the day was this large Python. She kept referring to it as the "Big Snake, as big as Daddy!"The four big kids, Riley (3 yrs), Reagan (4 yrs), Rory (6yrs) and Kennedy (2 yrs) riding on a hippo together :) Reagan and Riley with a Lion Mascot

Cute Koala Pics with the kids :)Daddy sporting his new Pith (splg?) Helmet since we forgot his hat at home. We knew he'd never survive the week without something on his head as he burns at the drop of a hat (no pun intended). I thought he looked very festive with this bamboo in the background. lol :)Jackson throughly enjoying his Goldfish during a snack breakWe had great views of the Giant Pandas. Besides not wanting to miss them since they're not at very many zoos we also had to see them because they have been one of Kennedy's favorite animals for a long time. One of her most prized possesions is her "Baby Panda" that we got on our last visit to the National Zoo before moving away from DC. The kids loved checking out the fossils on their way to the elephantsReagan, Riley and Kennedy riding an elephant calfThis Jaguar was pacing back and forth right in front of the girls and they had an awesome time pacing back and forth with him. There were all sorts of cool things to do at the Polar Bear exhibit. Ironically while the kids had some of the most fun here all day we never actually saw a Polar Bear. lol :) One activity was a scale you could stand on to see how you compared to the size of a Polar Bear at various ages. Our 4 cubs combined didn't weigh as much as a 3 month old Polar Bear.The kids loved playing in the "ice" and hoping up through the holes next to Seals where Polar Bears might be watching and trying to grab an easy snack.All four of the big kids enjoyed exploring this helicopter used to track Polar BearsWe took the skyride back to the entrance of the zoo and the kids loved it!Since the San Diego Zoo is open until 9:00 PM we went back to the house to have naps and dinner. We then ventured back out to catch a couple of fun summer evening shows as well as see the animals a little more active at night.Rory and Reagan received "kisses" (actually stamps) from one of the acrobats. They also received some brightly colored necklaces. Rory was actually extremely sweet because Reagan did not intially receive a necklace while a number of older kids had several. Rory noticed this and that Reagan was upset and took her by the hand to go back up and ask for one especially for her. It was so sweet of him! They didn't end up having anymore but another family noticed in the mean time and gave one to Reagan. Thank you Rory for being so thoughtful and such an awesome big cousin!Missy K and Riley had a great time climbing on these rocks togetherUncle Rich helping Kennedy watch the Meerkats Mommy with her precious baby boy - so sweet! Love those two little front teeth! :)The Three MusketeersAs I mentioned previously we went back in the evening because some of the animals, in particular the big cats, tend to be more active. Boy were they ever and it was so much fun to see them in action. Jackson especially loved it! Missy K on the other hand was too busy being determined to button up her sweater all by herself to pay any attention to either the Snow Leopards or the Mountain Lions that were having a blast literally running around their enclosures.One of the very active Snow LeopardsKennedy in the gift shop loving a big plastic snake. She is such a nut! We had a great day at the San Diego Zoo. After we returned Kennedy told us multiple times that it was her favorite part of the trip with her favorite animal being the big snake, the Panda Bears or the Koalas. It was all great and a fantastic way to begin our vacation!