Camping, a theme park, and a zoo

Camping

What better way to have a summer vacation than to drive several hundred miles with 3 kids...

The exciting adventure started with leaving Reno almost on time and heading to Mammoth Lakes, California. Mammoth was exciting as Jay and I like to camp and the kids said they would love to camp. We tried camping in the living room, without complete success as someone would always start getting a little wild. However, out in the wild, the kids did great. We took them on a longer hike than anticipated, but they did great once we got to the destination. Heart Lake was the destination, and the view did not disappoint. Using a camping site, I thought we would be really annoying to the campers around us with 3 kids...but turns out, we were right next to a site that had 2 kids the same age as 2 of ours...jackpot. They played and played and had a blast. The S'mores were great, the hiking was great, and the kids were great. 

SoCal in June

What an amazing time in Southern California. I got to see some family, and my dad got to meet the kids. They were great with him and enjoyed seeing some baby pictures of me. We also got to drive around town, see the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Japanese Gardens. The Japanese Gardens were really great since the kids really like to watch The Next Generation and we got to see where a scene from Starfleet Academy.

Fresno Zoo

Who knew that Fresno had a Zoo. I didn't, but we went and had a great time. I was surprised at how many cool animals they have. The safari section was really large and a fun place to explore.

It was the last stop on the trip before heading home. The best part of the vacation was watching the kids face when they see something new to them. And hearing the excitement in their voice was also amazing. Small is 4 now, and is slowly losing his toddler voice and getting a regular kid voice. I do wish I could bottle the toddler voice up and sell it, toddler giggles are one of the happiest sounds I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.