Starting her young...

S and I would agree that our mutual favorite vacation spot is San Diego. This last week we had the opportunity to go with our friends, the W's, and take our little kiddos on their first Southern California trip. I think our little Bean had a really good time.


Here are some highlights from our trip:

We opted to rent a car and drive down. At first I was thinking a minivan would be just fine. Thankfully this is what we ended up with instead.

We totally looked like a goober-mobile driving down the interstate at 90mph+, with the luggage and stroller strapped to the roof and all. The only thing missing was a sign in the back window saying Disneyland or bust! It was such a nice ride, though. I'm sold on Yukons. I asked S if we could get one. He said no. Four adults and three kids in carseats and it still felt roomy. The drive itself was a little tough with three anxious kids, but I think they did as well as we could have expected them to. Ironically, one would start to fall asleep just as another one would be waking up. There weren't a lot of naps taken. The brains of the trip decided to leave at 2 a.m. on our drive back, so the kids slept half of the time. It was much easier that way. Either way, I'm flying next time.

We got to go to the zoo again. San Diego Zoo is such an awesome place. We had taken Bean to the zoo on her birthday and were rained out so this was sort of a make-up trip. My favorite animal was the Koala. I think his sleeping position is awesome.

Bean seemed to like everything. Look at how close they let you get to the animals at this zoo...

By far one of the biggest surprises for me this trip was how much I enjoyed SeaWorld. I've been before but I usually get bored. I don't know if it was having Bean around or if it had just been awhile since I had gone, but I felt totally excited to be there.

Our friends wanted to sit in the splash zone at the Shamu show so we figured "what the heck?!" C aka "Astroboy", the four-year-old, totally got soaked. We got mildly soaked. It was a riot.

Here is an awesome picture I got of Astroboy petting a sting-ray. This ray totally just camped out for a couple of minutes and let Astroboy play with him. It was pretty cool.

This exhibit was new since I had been there last. Here is my favorite animal at SeaWorld, the balooga whale. They almost look unreal with how they glow under the water. Also pretty cool.

We spent quite a bit of time at the beach this trip. Here is Bean and her dad on Sunday after we ate at our favorite restaurant, Gringos. Astroboy totally took off and ran into the ocean. S barely caught up with him in time. They both got drenched and that water was cold! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

We were able to spend an entire day at the beach on Tuesday. I think Bean wasn't sure what to think of sitting in the sand at first but by the end of the day she was shoveling in it like a pro. A sad thing happened that day, too. We left her favorite dinosaur toy at the beach. Luckily I don't think she has noticed yet. Her Grandma H. bought her this swimsuit for her birthday and she looked so stinkin' cute!! Here she is sitting with J aka "new bff" . They are 16 months apart. And they wear the same size clothing. Awesome!

And what's a trip to SoCal without going to Disneyland?!?! The last 3 times I've done Disney (2 in florida, this trip to Cali) it has been Halloween time. I love how they decorate the park this time of year. It is so festive. I can't wait to get home and pull out my Mickey pumpkin.

Disney rides are the entire reason I love Disney parks. Astroboy was just barely tall enough to go on most of the big rides with the guys while we mommas took our daughters on less adventerous rides. We were actually able to do several rides with Bean. I took her on King Triton's carousel at California Adventures several times while we took turns going on California Screamin'. At first I don't think she got it but by the end, she was picking out the exact creature she wanted to sit on and laughing the whole way. (Astroboy is in the background of this picture--just a little too short for California Screamin' which is, by the way, my favorite roller coaster. Ever.)

All of us went on the Zephyr together at California Adventures. I thought it was pretty intense for a 13-month old, but she seemed to like it!

And the ride I've dreamed about taking my little girl on. Dumbo's Flying Elephants. This was actually the first motion ride we did. She was, like, WHOA! This is awesome!

I would have to say the moment that made this trip was when Bean met Mickey. New bff and her mom and Bean and I decided to make a quick trip into Mickey's house (thank goodness there were no lines) while we were waiting for the guys to do the roller coaster in Toon Town. New bff had been very timid around all of the Disney characters. I wasn't sure how Bean would react but when she saw the big mouse she went crazy!! She started smacking him (literally) on the cheek and grabbing his nose to which he took his nose and started tickling her. To which she started shrieking in delight. I will never forget it. I made sure to buy her a Mickey doll before we left. Like I said, I'm starting her young.

At the end of the day we are still all trying to recover a little bit. I told S I really need a vacation now. But it was honestly one of the craziest and funnest trips I've ever been on. I can't wait to go again.