San Diego Trip day 1-- flying and the ZOO

The day had finally arrived.  SAN DIEGO here we come!! Our children had made paper chains and were counting down the days until MARCH 6th for weeks.   Since we were leaving the Wednesday before Spring Break, that meant getting makeup work done ahead of time, packing 5 suitcases, a stroller and carseat, double-checking flights, car rental, getting a birth certificate, requesting the quietest room possible at the trendy Hardrock Hotel, ordering stuff from Amazon and making a lot of lists...it's no joke flying with an 11 month old.  So after all the junk was completed we picked the kids up from school and headed straight to Grapevine to spend the night close to the airport.

They were so excited that we were all five going.  Ally had been praying that Brady could go at school each day, and every night that he would sleep good so he could go on the trip...precious big sis. 

 checking in to the Holiday Inn Express

 exploring

 we had an early dinner and off to bed so we could get up and get on that plane.  I should have gotten an accurate picture of all the stuff we traveled with.  Too much, but I wanted to be prepared for everything :).

 Glad somebody was excited about flying

 photo by Ally

 On the way there Brady slept 2 hours! And then was a perfect Angel the other hour...we felt major relief and had a very smooth flight.

 Since we gained two hours and couldn't check into our hotel until 4:00 we got our sweet minivan :), and headed straight to the wonderful San Diego Zoo.  Now I must admit, everyone raves about this zoo, and I kept thinking...I mean it's just a zoo. right? wrong.  This is by far the best Zoo we've ever been too.  The exhibits are massive, the zoo itself is very large, and it is a must see in San Diego.  

(Ally was floating she was so excited)

 (Oops this is out of order...Brady loving the minivan, and facing front)

hilarious Mark

 lots of cool animals

 and my own Monkeys

 each exhibit had an animal expert with a wealth of information

 And this little guy loved being outside in the cool California air

 cool waterfall

 and Tiger

 and Brady not knowing what to think about this fake lion

 my sweet boy

We only saw about 3/4 of the zoo and that was plenty.  Lots of walking and very hilly with a stroller so we were all ready to go check-in to the hotel and shower! 

Mark had a welcome reception at Club 207 at the Hardrock Hotel...here I am with the kids at da club!!:)) 

NFIB always treats us great on these trips and this one was no exception.  The hotel and staff were VERY accommodating ( I know this hotel doesn't see many families, minivans or strollers--ha!), and my fears were stilled because our room was on the top floor in the corner and super quiet, every one slept great! We had a great trip, and day one was in the books.