Usually when we have vacation time, we head up to Utah to visit family. But this year, we actually ventured the opposite direction and took our little family on our own California trip. First, we went to Kernville, CA. Once again thanks to KSHP AM 1400, I got us a cheap two night stay at the Kern Lodge. Kernville is a small town next to the Kern River and Lake Isabella. Our hotel room had a kitchenette in it and right outside our door there was a giant checker and chess board. Demarie was excited to beat Daddy in her first game of checkers!
The big thing to do in Kernville is fishing. There was a nice park right along the river where I was able to fish with Demarie. I think she enjoyed it for about the first eight minutes. She would ask me every 30 seconds if we had caught one yet, and after realizing that fishing required lots of patience, she decided it wasn't that much fun. 
Since Aaron's not much of a fisherman either (I guess I'm my kids only hope to learn about the great outdoors), he took the kids on a walk and found some toys that were much more fun than fishing with Mommy! Broyden and Preslyn loved the swings and Demarie learned how to do an "under-dog"!
While we were eating lunch by the river, a truck came and stocked the river with fish. The man let the girls carry a bucket with fish in down to the river and dump it out. We came back later that evening to fish some more and the kids found a nice sandy beach and played along the riverbank. I'm sure that the only reason I didn't catch anything is because the fish needed time to adjust to the river.
The beds were very uncomfortable and the AC was loud, but Broyden enjoyed the bathing arrangements!
For our next adventure, we headed to San Diego where we took the kids to see the ocean for the first time. Unfortunately, it was a chilly, overcast day.
The water was freezing and the crashing waves were a little too scary for Preslyn! (When we were leaving Kernville, the seatbelt hit Preslyn in the eye and she got a nice little shiner. She also fell several times during our trip so her legs were all scraped up. It's a good thing nobody turned us in for child abuse! I have to admit the black eye was pretty cute! Poor Preslyn!)
Broyden enjoyed playing in the sand until it started getting in his eyes and sticking to his hands. He's such a happy little guy!
Demarie enjoyed gathering up sea shells and would have loved to take all the sea shells on the beach home with us! Instead, we only brought a few home and used the rest to decorate a beautiful sand castle!
Our first sand castle on the beach!
Even with the overcast cold day, the view was beautiful! 
Once again, thanks to KSHP AM 1400, we enjoyed a free day at San Diego Zoo! We thought maybe we would spend the morning there and then do something else, but it ended up being such a spectacular place that we were one of the last ones to leave the park!
Some of our favorite exhibits were:
The Gorilla. He really enjoyed strutting his stuff around and put on a really great show for everyone!
The Gorilla. He really enjoyed strutting his stuff around and put on a really great show for everyone!
The Hippos. Who knew that hippos could be so hilarious??? They kept coming up to the glass and showing us their teeth and then they would swim around in a great big circle and come back to do it all over again. They were so silly!
The Panda Bear. The girls loved watching the Panda Bear climb up high in the tree and then come down backwards, making it look so effortless!
The Polar Bears. While we were watching them, Demarie turned to me and asked if they ever fought each other. Just then, one of the bears got mad at the other one and started fighting him for food. It was a short spat, but pretty exciting!
The Mountain Lion. For some reason, Demarie has had this obsession about mountain lions lately. It was fun to finally be able to show her what a real mountain lion looks like!
The Koala Bear. Ok, so everyone enjoyed her except for Preslyn. She has a fear of people dressed up in costumes. It all started with Elmo at the Touch-a-Truck event!
The Giraffes. How can you not love the giraffe with its long legs, neck, and tongue? Fascinating!
The Petting Zoo. Demarie was so brave and let the goats and sheep eat right out of her hands! Preslyn and Broyden... not so brave!
The Aerial Tram. Ok, not an animal, but a georgeous view over the entire park! We rode it several times. Finally, on the last ride, Preslyn announces, "Mommy! I liked it!"
The Mini Train. Wow! What a thrill!
On our last day, before heading home, we went to Costa Mesa Bay. There was a beautiful park overlooking the bay. We played on the toys for awhile, watched the sail boats and then found some lucky ducks to eat some of my home-made bread. It was a perfect moment!
Our little two-and a half year old summarized all of our feelings when we pulled into our driveway. As soon as she saw our house, Preslyn burst into tears, crying, "Mommy! I don't want to sleep at home! I want to sleep in the hotel!" I think we would all agree that we would have liked our vacation to last a little bit longer too. I guess we'll just have to dream about the fun times we had in our own beds!
The kids had a blast feeding the seagulls!
