San Diego Zoo

 

on our last day in San Diego, we were able to go out with a bang all because of my good friend Ginny!
like mentioned before, the trip wasn’t really turning out quite well and things kept falling through.
the night before, Elijah hadn’t slept at all and so me and Adam were both exhausted and on edge.
Adam had to give a big presentation and present his research poster so he was going to be gone for most of the day and i had no idea what to do with the Elijah-man.

i felt saved when i found out one of my good friends from high school lived and worked in downtown San Diego and we could meet up for lunch {after 6 years!}.
but then Elijah turned out to be an absolute terror and we didn’t get to eat at all…
so even the one thing i was looking forward to didn’t work out. 

then Ginny mentioned to me that she had a San Diego Zoo membership and she can get a friend in for free if we wanted to go.
whhhaaaaa???
MIRACLE!!
of course we would love to go! 

so Ginny, being the saint that she is, took an extra long lunch break to take us back to our hotel so we could get our zoo supplies and then drop us off.

and seriously, even with all the walking around for 5-6 hours, it was definitely the crowning jewel of our trip!

we had never taken Elijah to a zoo [at least now that he’s more aware of the world] and he LOVED it!!
he absolutely loves animals & was so fascinated by all of them.
so much so that he didn’t understand why i wouldn’t let him go over the fence to play with them.
he was pretty upset when he couldn’t go pet the tigers or run around with the elephants
{his two favorite}
how do you explain to a 2-year-old that they would maul and kill him if i let him climb the fence?

but once we moved past that and he was distracted by something else it was a pretty enjoyable trip,
just the two of us!


 

i cannot thank Ginny enough for all her help, love, & kindness!!
just remembering the experience brings tears of gratitude and love for her.

i’m so SO grateful for good friends who see a need and step up to help, even when it means making their own sacrifices [like staying late at work so she can use her lunch break to take me and my son to the zoo].
to me, that is not just a simple thing and it completely changed our trip around.
i will always remember this experience and Ginny’s loving friendship even after not seeing each other for 6 years.
i hope i can someday be as good of friend to others and she is to me!

thank you thank you, Ginny!

Mormon Battalion Visitor Center

while we were in San Diego, we had the opportunity to go to the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center and learn more about the Mormon pioneers and their service in the U.S. Army. 

it was fun to get transported back to simpler times where child labor was allowed and kids were forced to pan for your gold, wash your clothes, and fetch your water.
sounds like a nice deal. 
and Elijah LOVED it!

but in all seriousness, it was a really great experience.
i always thought of the Mormon Battalion as another sucky trial that the pioneers had to deal with on top of everything else they were going through.
and it’s true it was really tough especially because a lot of men left their wives and children to cross the plains by themselves.

but what i didn’t realize was how much of a blessing the Mormon Battalion was for the pioneers as well and helped so many saints get to the Salt Lake Valley in addition to helping shape the West to be what it is now.
it was a really great experience and testimony builder to me to hear their stories and realize the Lord knows all things and His plan is perfect!
which was a good thing to be reminded of since i need the boost to get me through the rest of the trip….

if you have a chance to go to San Diego, be sure to check out the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center!
it’s free and it’s great for kids!

San Diego

i’ve been trying to figure out how i want to write this post.
and in addition, how i want remember our trip to San Diego last week.
i want to be positive but i also want to be honest
which is sometimes a hard balance to strike.

so i’ll just start from the beginning and try to tell it how it is.

+ Adam had to opportunity to go to the International Experimental Biology conference in San Diego and present his research. it was a big honor and i’m so proud of him to be able to go!
and since it was a school thing, BYU paid for him to go AND he got extra grant money from the conference which paid for me and Elijah to tag along as well.
so not a bad place for a free trip!

- it is a 11 hour drive and Elijah screamed most of the way home {torture}. and then Adam was gone at the conference most of the day each day so i was left with a really grumpy Elijah trying to figure out what to do most days (minus one day where Adam only went for a half day. but the morning was brutal!)

+ we were able to visit La Jolla beach and see the tide pools & seals, check out Seaport Village, walk around the Gaslamp District, see the Mormon Battalion visitor center, go to the San Diego Zoo [by the miracle which is my good friend Ginny!!], get to hang out with Adam’s lab, get serenaded in Old Town, see the U.S.S. Midway, and eat lots of yummy food!

- Elijah fell in the water [twice!!] and is now completely traumatized of water {an after effect we are still dealing with!}, we had to walk everywhere! and when we wanted to take the train we missed it so my legs are still aching, Elijah screamed at every restaurant we went to and we had to take him outside most of the time [or in one instance when i went to lunch with my friend Ginny, we had to give up eating altogether and just leave], Elijah also didn’t sleep 3 out of the 4 nights we were there

[Elijah’s progression of getting taken out by a wave.]
  

+ we stayed in a really nice hotel downtown that was actually a suite so we could have a separate sleeping area than Elijah and he had his own corner. and although he didn’t sleep at night, he did take his naps all but one day which was nice.

- although people told us downtown San Diego was nice, walking around by myself with Elijah [and at one time after 8:00 at night] i found out it was NOT the nicest area and at one point i’m pretty certain i saw a drug deal. there were people yelling and some that were drunk along each street and let’s just say i found out i’m a lot more brave than i thought i was!

+ we made lots of good family memories despite all the bad parts! 

nope, it was not this perfect, glamorous trip.
yep, we are still feeling the effects of what a messed up sleep schedule can do to a toddler.
but overall, i do not regret going.
{although in the first 5 hours i definitely wanted to get on a plane and come home… }

i’m glad i got to go support Adam and we could be together and celebrate his accomplishments.
even though having a 2-year-old puts a whole new twist on family vacations, there were still many moments that i was happy to see Elijah’s face light up in pure joy.
it was definitely a trip we will not forget!

{Mormon Battalion & zoo will have another post. too many pictures as you can see!}