Monterey Part II - the Aquarium

Before posting about our trip to the aquarium, let me just mention the fact that I got sick with the stomach flu the day before. I had never thrown up so much before in my life or felt so completely drained afterwards. It all started around 1:00 am, & by the time 6:30 came around, I'd thrown up 5 times & all I could do was dry-heave. The thing that added to the misery was the fact that the bathroom I was using got so hot! I mean, sauna hot while it was freezing in the rest of the house. So I stood in the doorway of the bathroom, rocking back & forth to distract myself, so I could wait for the heater to turn off before puking - otherwise, the horrible heat would be blowing directly in my face - really not appealing when you're sick & sweaty already. Let's just say this was the worst flu I've ever had, & I was scared for my baby's life with how dehydrated I got (did I mention before that I'm pregnant!!! - The blog has been acting up, so I haven't been able to post very often, which is why I didn't announce earlier. Plus I've been super sensitive to the computer screen glow after morning sickness kicked in back in January). Anyhow, the next day, after getting over the worst of the sickness, we headed to the aquarium for our last day of vacation (we had free passes, & I was so anxious to see Will's reaction to the fish since he loves them so much!).

Will couldn't be contained behind the little blockades. He went right under them & had his hands pressed up against the glass the entire time. The feeling of absolute happiness was almost overwhelming as I saw how excited he was to see all the "bishies." He kept pointing & yelling "Look it! Look it! Bishies!!!" - over & over again. It's like each new fish he saw was the first fish he'd ever seen in his life. He was eccstatic, & so was I seeing how fun he was having.

I love this picture of Scott & Will watching the water rush over the glass above them. It scared Will at first, but he soon realized how awesome it was.

making friends with the starfish - he probably would have jumped in the water with them if we'd let him

looking at all the birdies swimming in the water

The jellyfish are always one of my favorite things to see at the aquarium. They are beautiful, & Will was pretty impressed too.

pardon the nastiness that is me - remember I was still getting over the flu

Monterey Part I

Last month/the beginning of this month, I went down to Monterey with my family for a week. We had such a great time playing at the beach & park, & chasing seaguls. Scott came down for the last couple days (his first vacation since finishing school).

Will & Papa

Chasing the seaguls - this kid was on a mission to catch one of them

(hence all the pictures of him running)!

looking at hermit crabs with Nana

Timmy, Zach & Will playing Nintendo DS.

A beautiful day at the beach!

I love their matching footprints - Will is such a mini-Scott.

Monterey Weekend

On Thursday, my friend Tiffani & I took the kids to my parents' beach house in Monterey. We spent two incredible days there!

After we arrived at the house, we took a walk down to the beach - the sky was beautiful!

the surfers coming in for the night - Isn't the light reflected in the water gorgeous?!

Carson & William - the start of "battle for the shovels"

Caitlin - she is the happiest little girl!

the sky before we went back home for bed - WOW!

Our second day in Monterey, we woke up & went to breakfast at First Awakenings. We all shared an order of huevos rancheros & wheatberry pancakes w/ fresh strawberries & whip cream - so good! 

After breakfast, we went to Dennis the Menace Park to play. This park is so much fun, & we all had a blast.

Will made me nervous on some of the play structures b/c they were so big for him! But I started to calm down after a while & was amazed by how well he did.

This slide was very popular - there were always kids on it. It was so funny watching the kids go down it b/c they would bounce, & their cheeks would shake all the way down.

Will loved watching the planes that were always flying over us - he would scream & point almost every time a plane came b/c he was so out-of-control excited!

I love this bright yellow backdrop & Will's huge smile, but of course his eyes were closed - typical!

Can you guess what he's so excited about up in the sky? . . . That's right, another plane!

After the park, we went home for much needed naps. When everyone had rested (minus Tiffani who had to study for a test), we went down to the beach again.

Will stalking the pigeons.

Tiffani & Carson discovered a dead jellyfish.

more shovel disagreements - Will got mad & threw his.

Tiffani got Carson to take a picture of us - not too shabby!

My favorite part about the beach was chasing Will around while pretending to be planes & then rolling our pants up & jumping over the little waves. We got soaked! The water came up close to Will's stomach, & just below my knees by the time we finished. His jeans were waterlogged & kept falling down, so we just took them off for the rest of the time.

foreshadowing the future tantrum

Will was in heaven seeing all the dogs on the beach!