Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

After our visit with grandma in December, we made our way to the zoo. In lieu of buying Christmas presents, we prefer to spend our resources to go on small family vacations and make memories together. Bright sunny San Diego is what comes to mind when thinking of the state of CA and not the cold northern part that we now call home.

It was a special joy to take my husband and children to a place I loved as a child. I lived in San Diego from seven to nine years old while my father was stationed here with the Navy. My clearest memories (or picture snapshots) of the zoo were the flamingos and the bronze gorilla. We found the flamingos as soon as we entered and then spent the rest of the day hunting for that shiny climbable gorilla.

The day was enjoyed all the more because the four of us entered for free! My friend was able to generously give us two free admission tickets, E was under three, and N got in through their active duty military promotion. We could actually afford lunch at the park and a few little treats.

Baby E wants to see the kangaroos.

It was a perfectly beautiful day!

Dear Mom, I am sorry that you do not get the joy of seeing your grand daughter's dressed in every color of the rainbow at the same time in patterns of hearts, stripes, and florals :) Why go bright when you can go white?  hehe. Or classic plaid?

I LOVE going on these skyrides. Now, it wasn't a horse drawn hay ride, but it was wonderful ;)

We were strollerless at the zoo! It is always a gamble to stroller or not to stroller in a new place. I wasn't sure how it would be, but in the end it was the best decision because of the stairs, hills, and crowds. Plus, all of us minus baby got a great workout.

Seeing this picture reminds me how delighted I am to be able to smile again after my bout with Bell's. Many times in my head I have thought up a post about my Bell's experience, and I hope to write it down for real one of these days and share with you all that I went through and felt.

Look at those eyelashes

This was as close as we got to the amazing Balboa Park. I had hoped we would be able to explore around, but the zoo is all we could handle for one day.

Downtown San Diego and a beautiful bridge

Sleepy polar bears

The zoo boasted a several waterfalls throughout the park.

A tiger cub lapping up some water! One of my favorite animals

Brother cub

Mama tiger watched her cubs like a hawk.

While we were exiting the large exhibit, the tiger cubs rounded the corner of the smaller viewing area and we got more close up views of their beauty.

Even baby enjoyed the sights.

A silly hair day

Smiles for lunch

 

 Being bjorned is tiring

I didn't realize till after I uploaded this picture that the hippo was sculpted from sand.

We found the bronze gorilla!

Three monkeys on the gorilla. See the real one in the background!

M and her little piece of the zoo

A Journey through the Forest

 I love real. I love people who are real, real pie crusts, real ingredients, and real gemstones ;) When it came to acquiring our first Christmas tree, I was sold on getting a real tree and getting it from the source. I did not want grab it at the grocery store and load it into my cart nestled between my pastry flour and butter for my real pie crusts. The means of acquiring the tree was more important to me than the end result of having it in our living room. I had been searching online for a cut-your-own tree farm for awhile when adorable pictures popped up on facebook of The Johnson Farm. That was it! I had found the place. As N was intently working on a paper, I mustered the strength to drive over an hour away into unfamiliar territory to take the girls on an adventure.

 We were welcomed by this sign and the beauty of God's creation in this corner of wooded California.

 A worker lady was kind enough to snap some pictures of us. I had mentioned to her that we just moved to this area, and she asked if we came here for my work. Her question took me aback and then I smilingly replied that it was my husband's work that brought us this way.( Thank you to my new friend Erika for the wonderful bjorn carrier.)

 The beauty of the area was remarkable!

 Excited to get started

 It was darling!

 

 Playing on the bridge

 Looking at the goats

 What this mama will do for a hayride with her kids!

 M grabbed a pumpkin for their pumpkin rolling contest.

 Holding tightly on the pumpkin

 Will one of these be our tree?

 Getting off for the fun pumpkin rolling. Perfect time to be wearing boots!

 She did not successfully roll the pumpkin into the ring at the bottom of the hill and win a free cookie, yet she had a blast.

 We had a wonderful time together bumping up and down along the dirt trail.

 There were many options and a great selection. We had two requirements ~ that it be close to the entrance because it was getting cold and that it fit inside our car.

  

We found it! She is a 5 foot tall Scotch Pine. We were getting cold at this point and ran for the hills.

 As bjorning and sawing do not mix, I asked for some help from one of the nicest strangers this girl has ever met. He was great with the girls. "Timber!" he cried.

 

 This farm christens each tree. When he dubbed our little beauty, I was confused because she did not have any ruddy limbs. I had mistaken his "red bow" for "red bough." With a quick look around, I remembered what adorned my curly headed daughters.

 My beauties with "red bow" all tucked safe and sound in our car.

 I am already looking forward to next year and will make sure N is able to join us on our adventure.