Monterey Bay Aquarium

It rained every day for a full week before Christmas. The kids were off school, and they were so excited about Christmas they were literally bouncing off the walls. So I took them to the aquarium one day, since we still had a couple weeks left on our family pass. We went a few days after Christmas last year, and it was way less crowded this time. We went to the snow after Christmas this year, and a guy on the ski lift told Dave he had been skiing the week before and there hadn't been nearly as many people. So we're learning that the week before Christmas is the time to do fun stuff like that.

I love jellyfish. I always end up with more pictures of them than anything else. They're just so graceful and artistic and beautiful.

It stopped raining about halfway to Monterey. Twelve years ago it rained on our wedding day and half of our honeymoon, and the day we woke up in Monterey was sunny and beautiful. We've loved it there ever since.

I just can't get enough of this toothless grin.

They saw sea otters eating out in the bay.

Spencer took this shot from a little tunnel for kids. He loves to take pictures too. I was nervous handing him my camera, but he was super careful.

What is it about sharks that makes them so freakish? This was just a little guy. The big huge tank was closed for renovations. If you're thinking about going to this aquarium, wait until it opens in June/July.

Spencer tells me those aren't his eyes/mouth, but it sure looks like it. He was so cute bobbing up and down.

Kelp forest

Cuttlefish.

Their absolute favorite part of the whole aquarium is this overhead wave. We stand under a glass arch, and every 15 seconds or so a huge wave roars over us. We always spend more time here than anywhere else.

Spencer was such a huge help with the boys. He kept Levi happy (no easy task) and found Brennan when he got lost...

That was sure scary. We were in the Splash Zone, which is a loud, crowded, play section (this picture in not the Splash Zone. I was so shaken up afterwards that I couldn't take any more pictures). Mostly Brennan and Levi stayed in the stroller the whole day, but they got out to play there. At one point I looked down and Brennan was gone. I yelled for him but there was no answer. I said, "Guys, Brennan's lost!" Spencer immediately ran out of the section and found him crying and surrounded by adults on the bridge, about to go to the other side of the aquarium. He thought we had left. One thing I've learned about lost kids - they don't stay put, like we tell them to. They freak out and run to the exit because they assume we've left without them, when actually we are right around the corner.

Afterwards we stopped at the Dennis the Menace park so the kids could climb on the huge train.