Wally World

On the last day of our trip we decided to go to Legoland!  B absolutely loves legos, so we thought it would be the perfect place.  AND my dad feels the opposite about Legoland, and he had to fly home that day so we headed for Carlsbad- excited as ever.  

We arrived and pulled into a VERY empty parking lot.  WHAT?!  Russ walked up to the empty gate to read the sign stating that after Labor Day, Legoland is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Awesome.  We seriously felt like the Griswalds when they arrived at Wally World.  So disappointed, mostly because I had totally talked it up to Baylor.  But we decided to just drive a little more and go to the San Diego Zoo instead.  Heaven knows we love the zoo, so it was the perfect alternative.  

 Baylor is my little animal enthusiast.  We had to make an immediate purchase of a safari hat so he could cruise the zoo in style.

 We loved seeing all the animals, but especially the ones we don't have at our zoo.  

The sweet little Koalas were sleepy, but so cute.

 I tell ya, this boy LOVES animals.

 The PANDA bears!

 To our excitement, there was not just one baby giraffe but TWO!

 It was a highlight for us to see a real cheetah- I've failed to mention that for over a month we have been a family of cheetahs.  One random day Baylor started calling me "mama cheetah", he's "big boy cheetah", Lexi is "baby cheetah", you get the idea.  And it's not a one time or random thing, it's ALWAYS and I think it's HILARIOUS.  So our little cheetah family got to watch this amazing cheetah.

 Big boy cheetah did nothing but smile :)

 We had the BEST time at the zoo!  It's crazy big, with lots of twists, turns, and hills, but so fun.  The habitats are amazing and you can get so close to so many different animals.  And another highlight, Baylor got his own "baby" and yes, it's a little cheetah that he since hauls everywhere.  He's still holding Patch from Disneyland in this pic :) and sadly, the other day he told us that baby tiger was still at Disneyland.  We thought he had forgotten, but he hasn't.  We've talked and someday maybe we'll get another tiger, but for now baby cheetah is a hit.  

And look at that little safari smile.  Nothing makes me happier.

 The sun was setting as we left the zoo, but we decided to hurry to the nearest beach so we could have Lex put her feet in the ocean for the first time. 

She thought it was funny, even though it was so cold.  Our happy little lady.

B thought it was pretty fun too

 And we even had enough light to look for a few shells.

 We had the best trip.  Nothing beats making memories with the people you love.  

Our last memory was at the airport.  Russ was returning the rental car and so my mom and I got the privilege of taking this load through security.  Keep in mind, shoes, jackets, baby out of seat... you get the idea.  And I know what you're thinking- why didn't you just check the carry-on luggage... we just didn't want to pay all the extra money!  I would much rather get some fabulous Disney souvenirs (which we did;) than spend it on checking bags.  So we whipped out our super skills and got us through.  We rock.

And that my friends, was our California, October 2012 adventure