On the one hand, it feels like we just got back from vacation yesterday… I still want to take naps every day and eat food that hates my thighs. But on the other hand, vacation already seems like a distant memory.

I posted on Facebook the other day that Dorothy asks us EVERY night if she’s going to get to see Mickey Mouse and all the princesses “tomorrow”, and it breaks my heart to tell her no. It’s a good thing we don’t live in Southern California. We’d absolutely have season passes, and then we’d just never get anything done. I’d be one of those people who goes to Disneyland once a week, and cries every time they light the castle up.

But that’s about Disneyland… I’m getting ahead of myself…

Over the next three days, I’m going to blog about our trip. I know lots of you followed Mack and I on Instagram while we were gone, and I promise you won’t just be seeing those same pictures over again. You’ll be seeing the same PLACES… I mean, that’s just a given. But we had a lot of fun documenting this trip on the “big camera” too, and we’re excited to share it with you!

Our vacation started by driving from Wichita Falls, TX to Tucson, AZ, and then from Tucson to San Diego, CA. It was a LONG two days, but we were all so happy to get there! San Diego is my favorite city in the world, and Mack is quickly coming around to my point of view. We planned four days in San Diego for this trip, and this blog is about that first chunk of our travels!

As a matter of tradition, our first stop in San Diego is always Seaport Village, where we can walk around and watch the sun go down and eat fish tacos. Now, the day we arrived, it was cold and raining. Did that stop us? No! We’d been in the car for 23 hours over two days! We don’t care about no stinkin’ rain!

This is her, “Dang, that fountain got me!” face.

On our first full day in San Diego, we woke up super early before dawn to head down to La Jolla Cove, where Maggie took our family pictures. I shared those last week… you should definitely scroll down and look for them if you missed that post. I took a few pictures, too, and had Maggie take a family shot with our camera as well. 🙂

I love me some La Jolla. Love love love love.

After a nap, we headed to Cabrillo National Monument, which was quite busy, but still totally gorgeous. I can just sit on the rocks and watch the waves crash in there for hours.

I got lucky and was able to snag a few more artistic shots without many people in them… and then I removed even those few people in Photoshop. 🙂 These will be hanging in our bedroom, for sure!

Thanks nice Random Man who offered to take a picture of all four of us, and then decided to go ahead and go for it when my camera scared you!

That night, we curled up in bed together and ordered pizza, and watched movies (and after the kids went to bed, the UFC fight), and it was so wonderful.

Sunday was New Year’s Eve, and we started it at Balboa Park! It was pretty nearly empty that early in the morning, so the kids had lots of room to run and explore.

I loved watching the kids faces when they saw the Museum of Man for the first time. They both thought it was a castle. Which, if I’m being honest, is the same way I react every time. 🙂 I’m DYING to shoot a Balboa wedding, so spread the word.

The vestiges of Christmas were still up to ogle at. Dorothy loved this Whoville tree!

And then, it was time for the Zoo! As anticipated, it was an absolute madhouse. We didn’t take many pictures. Here’s a little mini-rant… the zoo was WAY more fun before everyone was a photographer. If the zoo is empty, I’ve been known to take a picture or two. It’s fun! But I just can’t for the life of me understand those people who plaster themselves to the front of an exhibit with their cameras (or worse, their cell phones) and block all the kids from being able to see any animals. What, do you think you’re going to take an earth-shattering picture of a monkey? You’re seeing the same thing everyone who walks by sees. Just enjoy it. If you need to see it again, COME BACK TO THE ZOO. Sorry. Rant over.

New Year’s Day was a gorgeous morning, and we started it by exploring the Junipero Serra museum just up the road from our hotel. They have weddings there, too… just sayin’.

Everyone had a blast hiking the trails around Presidio Park all morning… so much gorgeousness to love!

And that night, after ice cream and shopping in Ocean Beach, we experienced a jaw-droppingly incredible sunset. Just mind blowing! These clouds were NOT created in photoshop, I cross my heart and hope to die!

Oh, San Diego, how I love thee!

Tomorrow, we’ll share our favorite images from our three-day Disney Adventure. See you then!