The O.C.

We spent the end of July in Orange County, California, living it up near the beach. Here are some of the highlights.

We hit the San Diego Wild Animal Park which isn't even in San Diego, but Escondido.

We don't get to see Jeff and Susanna very often. They're some of our favorite people in the universe. With a little luck, we'll live close soon! But for now, we're really glad they could come and spend a couple of days with us. Uh, hey you guys. Where's your little girl Natalie?

[Hello, Social Services? Yes, I'd like to report . . . ]




Whew! Looks like you found her. Zola and Natalie are BFF's, although Zola here looks like she just wants that tour guide to quit talking (she used the word "weird" about 1,437 times during our 17 minute tour). Special guest appearances in this photo by Spencer, Porter, Drew, Frank, and Marshal)


I guess Ducks are technically wild animals, but they're not all that exotic. They were fun to feed, though, and this one got pretty close.



Somewhere around the gorilla's enclosure, both Zola and Natalie conked out. Even the anonymous little kid in the background is catching a snooze.



A nice picture with mom.



Zola had lots of fun playing with Natalie, but things could get rough.

[Okay, to be fair, Zola didn't really push Natalie over here, although the angle of the picture makes it look that way. Natalie is a walker; Zola is still a crawler. The two were standing together until Natalie dove for the blue cup.]



After all the excitement, it was time for a bath. Zola liked the slip-and-slide features of this model, while Natalie intently studied the bath toys. It seemed like both girls had fun.




It was lots of fun to see Mimi. Zola seemed to play her cards just right and enjoyed the bountiful fruits of Mimi's patronage.



Aaah, the fabled Pine Cone of Truth! Guard it well, young lass.



The 21st was Mom's birthday. We had a bunch of pies to celebrate.



The beach is always lots of fun.



Zola claimed this beach in the name of the Queen.
Jana, Marshal, and Frank look pretty cool here


Zola ate a lot of sand, but there still seemed to be enough for the next time.


We spent some time at a stylish mall called Fashion Island, a 1.3 million-square-foot mall in Newport Beach. I was amazed to see a $1100.00 stroller in one of the stores. I was even more amazed to see someone pushing a kid around in one a few days later. Despite the steep price tag, the company still had to issue a safety recall for faulty front tires in 2007. Sometimes, I guess, you don't get what you pay for.

Instead of dropping a cool grand on a stroller, we settled for Jen buying Zola a ticket for her first ride on a Merry-Go-Round.