San Jose Vacation - Part 4

Okay, so this is the last post from our San Jose vacation. For our last day there, we decided to travel down to Monterey to go to the aquarium and the beach. We also wanted to visit a park there, but we left later than we would have liked and the traffic getting there was AWFUL. So we got there much later than planned. And I don't know why, but the aquarium was a very popular attraction that day and we drove all over just trying to find a parking place. It was ridiculous! Once we got inside, the aquarium was extremely crowded. I definitely could have done without all the throngs of people, but  the aquarium was pretty cool, and the kids had a great time. 

Here they are checking out some of the hands on kids exhibits.  

And as luck would have it, it was another chilly, overcast day.

Corbin loved checking out the aquarium tanks up close. He got upset every time we made him move on to something else.

By the time we were reaching the end of our time at the aquarium, both of my kids reached the point of exhaustion and fell asleep.

While the kids were asleep, Lesley offered to watch them so that I could go check out the otter exhibit by myself. I think the sea otter exhibit was my favorite for two reasons. First, I didn't have to watch my kids and could just enjoy seeing the otters play. And second, if you know me, you know I don't like sea creatures. Fish kind of freak me out. So seeing a tank full of cute mammals was a welcomed sight. 

We left the aquarium, got something to eat and then headed to the beach for what was left of the day. Sadly we didn't get there until around 7:00 so we really didn't get much time there.

Here is Corbin getting his first up close look of the ocean. He really wasn't sure what to think.

Corbin would not let us put him down.

For these two boys who grew up on the Oregon coast, a cold, cloudy day at the beach felt just like home.

I finally made Corbin get down and stand on the sand. He was not happy at all about it! He never did warm up to the idea of being at the beach. He made sure one of us was holding him the whole time. We pretty much had him wrapped up in a blanket the whole time anyway to keep him warm.

Leah on the other hand, was so excited to be at the beach and couldn't get enough of playing in the sand.

Lesley and I were out by the water together and decided to take a selfie with my camera. And as luck would have it, a big wave snuck up behind us and soaked our legs just as I was snapping the picture. That's why we are laughing pretty hard in this picture.

We took about 10-15 pictures trying to get a good family picture of us at the beach and this was about the best we could get. Leah didn't like that we made her stop playing in the sand and Corbin just didn't like being there, so there you go.

I made Leah at least touch the water since being at the ocean is such a rare experience for our family. At first she was very unsure about it. The water felt pretty cold when it first touched you, but after that it wasn't as bad. After a few times of pretending to jump over the waves, she decided that playing in the ocean was a lot of fun and didn't want to stop.

Here's a picture of hour wonderful hosts, the Price family.

On Sunday we got up and went to church with the Prices, then got things packed up to drive back to Reno that day. Before leaving, we got a few more pictures together.

I think I mentioned before that it was Hannah's birthday about a week before we got there. They had got this giant cut-out of Elsa and Anna for her party. I have to admit, on more than one occasion I walked around the corner and for a split second was startled wondering who was standing there. But I wanted to make sure I got a picture of the girls in front of it before we left.

Here we are, the Leslies and the Prices all together.

And one more picture of Leah and Hannah together. Leah loved being there with Hannah. She had a meltdown of epic proportions when we had to leave and always asks when she'll be able to play with Hannah again.

And finally, here is a picture of me and Lesley together. We have a lifelong friendship that started way back in high school. We have been through SOOOO much together. I hate that she lives so far away. But I love that I can talk to her any time and have that closeness instantly return. I love you Lesley, and thank you so much for making our trip to San Jose one of our best family vacations ever!

Our trip home seemed very long. We drove to Reno and spent the night at Ross's aunt Jeannine's. We had a great visit with them and enjoyed hearing about the Alaskan cruise they just got home from. It was especially fun to hear about Ross's mom who was on the cruise too. And Leah had fun being there too since it meant that she would get to spend some more time playing with Ryan.

The next morning we got up and made the LONG trip across Nevada to come back home. On the way back we stopped at Elko again to play at the same park. And by the time we got into Utah again, the kids (and parents) were ready for another break. So we stopped by my parents for a bit. After having some dinner and letting the kids play, we loaded back up one more time for the last leg home. As fun as our vacation was, it was so nice to be done driving for a while. Corbin especially had a hard time being in the car so much. I can't even count how much time he spent screaming in the car because he was tired of being in his car seat, but it felt like HOURS!