Did I Mention I Would Gladly Live In California?!

Even on a rainy day this place is heaven. The GREEN....Oh the GREEN! I wanted to soak it all in!

On Saturday, of our Vacation, we decided that it would be best if we headed to San Diego to hit the Wild Animal Park...as opposed to the San Diego Zoo. We had heard it was quite a cool place.

This is a look out point that looks over most of the park. It was certainly beautiful! However, those clouds meant trouble! While trying to find the Cheetahs so we could watch them be fed, we survived a total down pour! Obviously many others had decided this was not the day for the park. We were like 1 of 5 families there all day, it seemed. Downside....shops and some attractions closed. Upside....the price of your ticket gets you through the front gate. Every other attraction (hot air balloon ride, zip line, safari tour) are about $70 each! Yeah, well, at least we didn't have that to tempt us! :) 

We did however make it on a tram type ride around the park. I think the giraffes were my fave.

It was really quite cool to see them in their natural habitat. You can also pay a load to drive in the back of a truck right next to these animals. We opted out. Too darn wet!

Jake was thrilled to get to ride a Rhino. NICE FACE JAKERS!

The highlight of the day....other than the baby Elephant that weighs like a gazillion pounds at birth...I mean, really! How is that even possible! We got a kick out of feeding the parakeets. For a "small" fee you can buy a bit of nectar and walk into a tent filled with birds. They land all over you and eat the nectar, your hair, your clothes, Mallory's fingers....whatever!

The kids really had a blast. Ry and I discovered we aren't really zoo people, but we are glad we went. I mean, how many 4 year old have pet a baby deer in their life?! Mal has! Pretty fun, although we were all ready to be dry!

Let's toss in Sunday, shall we?! Yeah, I thought so too.

Well, Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We slept in, laid around and played with each other. Then sought out the ward we were headed to. The problem.....we waited around until 2:30pm, when the ward we wanted to go to was supposed to start, and THEN realized it was a Tongan ward. So, we opted for a lesson on Lot and the direction his tent door faced (Sodom) and where we want to focus our attention in our lives, made a little soup and then headed to the beach for a walk.

Man was the beach ever a sight! Really, have I mentioned I could live in California?! Oh I have....a million times, well let's make it a million and one! I could SO live in California!

The funny little guys playin music. Ry got a kick out of them.

After chasing the waves for a while we finally stripped Mallory down and she went crazy in the water with Jake. Well, up until a double wave took her out and she went under the water. She thought she was done, but I took her back down to run in it a bit more, just to make sure she didn't leave afraid of the ocean. She didn't. She's like her Mama. We LOVE the water!

Jake does too! He got more and more brave!

The sunset was unbelievable. I will say it again....well, no I won't you get the picture. {SIGH} I could stand to see this everyday!

(And a "by the way" for Courtney...thanks for the suggestion on the Lumix! We LOVE it! I mean really, how many camera's take a pic that looks like that right out of the box?! Thanks a bunch!)