Monterey Bay Aquarium

After B's birthday we took the kids to Monterey for the weekend. Borrowed some free passes and spent the night in a hotel (we didn't tell the kids what we were doing, they thought we were just taking them to a hotel for fun. And they probably would've loved it still if that's all we did) The kids were all at the perfect age to enjoy it. It was Tan's first time at the Aquarium and he was pretty impressed too.

The Jellyfish Exhibit

This is maybe one of my favorite pictures

1. breathtaking

2. stunning

3. adorable

4. scary

5. cute

6. curious

The Sea Horse Exhibit

How many can you spot?

1. those aren't little spermies, they're itty bitty Seahorses

2. the beautiful seahorse dome

3. that's not a sea-weed its a seahorse

4. the kids

5. that's Brynn's finger to show how tiny this seahorse is





1. A hammerhead

2 & 3. lay on your back and watch the sharks swim over you

4. Shark

5. A sea-star (basically a starfish with a gazillion arms)

6. mini stingrays incognito

These are BE. YOO. TEE. FUL. Don't know what they are but I loved them

1. those are little flat fish that blend into the sand

2. a stingray getting close

3. two types of sharks

4. penguins swimming near the surface

5. Brynn through the looking glass

6. outside the aquarium

This "tunnel" was cool b/c about every 20 seconds a "wave" would splash over you

1. Stingray petting (the rays are smart and they stay in the far corner where no one can ever touch them.)

2. The wave tunnel

3. cute little clam baby

Poor birthday boy

This is why I never wanted a January baby. The poor kid has had a blizzard on almost every one of his birthdays, its right after Christmas, its never during school, and then we end up moving just days before his 7th. No friends. No party. No fun. I managed to stop unpacking for a little while so I could do some face paint and make a cake. We did get to have both sets of grandparents over for dinner which we've never done and I think he enjoyed that a lot.

He's been begging for a DS for years and he finally got one. He also inherited an entire box of his dad's old baseball/football cards and those 2 items have kept this little boy VERY happy.

You know your boy is growing up when:

* you have to buy new pants every other month

* a week's worth of groceries disappears in 2 days

* he can pick you up off the ground

* he is almost as tall as you

* he can almost fit in your shoes

* can shower and dress himself without even wanting you in the room

* he still wants to be held but it works better if you sit on HIS lap (he thinks I'm hilarious when I do that)

* starts coming up with excuses not to go to school

* can argue a strong point in his defense

(The funniest think Bryson said lately was after he got busted for hurting Brynn. again. - "I hate being so freaking strong! I'm always getting in trouble for it!")

Don't let the door hit you . . .

on your way OUT!!!

To put it lightly, 2009 sucked! We were not sad to see it leave. AT. ALL. But we did celebrate it's being over with. Dropped the kids off in Sac with Gr. and Gr. Zufelt, picked up the Penske, loaded the Penske, and headed out to a masquerade dinner. It was fun but I don't recommend partying the night before you move.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning

Christmas Eve: sledding. . . again

Can you tell how fast we were going?

Hud's mad at Tanner for stopping him from going on a walk by himself

Hudson and Morgan

opening their present

the stocking picture

when both of us were growing up it was tradition to have a slumber party on Christmas Eve and that might have been one of the highlights for the kids this year. But with Hud in the middle I'm sure no one slept great.

After Santa . . . before the mayhem

Christmas Morning