finding nemo

The final entry to our California adventure—hallelujah! I think I’m beginning to realize the reason all wise bloggers keep their posts short, sweet, and to the point. I babble on and on about the same thing for days, and that’s what it takes to write it all too…days and days and days.

Parker and I cruised up the coast from San Diego to Long Beach to meet up with my parents for their last few hours in town. We strolled along the pier, admired the lighthouse, found an ice cream shop (of course), and tried to make the most of the last of the time we’d have together.

It’s funny how hard it hits me every time I have to say goodbye to my family. The gap between now and Christmas isn’t long and I’ve done it a million times, but it still makes me sad to be so far for so long. But, what can you do? Let’s just hope this semester flies by…

We snapped a few last pics in front of the Queen Mary, hugged goodbye and sent them on their way before heading over to the aquarium. My family took a trip there on Wednesday as we’d made our way into town and insisted they treat us to a visit as well. As if they hadn’t done enough for us that week!

Parker’s always said something he admires most about my dad is the generosity. He’s always looking for ways to give others a bit of happiness on his dollar. He says the memories are worth so much more to him. As much as I tease him for being a giver to even the biggest of money-grubbers, it is definitely one of the reasons I love him most. I had the best childhood a daughter could ask for, and I’m not sure when his days for helping his little girl are going to end so I can finally try to return the favor. Thanks daddy dave for being so good to us always!

So yes…after the goodbyes we headed to the aquarium which is, as my family assured us, super neat! Parker had never been to an aquarium and was eager to see all the “big stuff.” We pet jellyfish, baby sharks, sea anemones, urchins, stingrays, you name it! We had to eye the bigger fish from afar, but the eels and sharks were so dang creepy I’m actually kind of glad.

I only wish the same rule didn’t apply to the sea lions and otters. Oh man they are so stinkin’ cute! My sister begged my dad to have and otter as a pet…an idea he entertained until he found out they eat 25% of their body weight every day…and I even found another Parker there who I’d be happy to snuggle up with for a night (minus the fish breath). Parker loved the fact that his seal was “kissin’ his guns” in the pic too. Funny boy…

Fun Facts:

Did you know…otters have over 1 million hairs on every square inch of their body? Every inch! Craziness…

And, did you know…there are fish that are sex

changers?! Girl fish become boy fish when certain environments or situations require it. Weird…fish are weird.

Exhausted and a little on edge from our nonstop activities, we decided to head to my brother’s place in Aliso Viejo and take the rest of the night off. We had the yummiest paninis at the Panini Café and made another pit stop at, you guessed it, Yogurtland!

We had Harry Potter to keep us company on the long ride home and it’s cute to see how, little by little, Parker is becoming a fan just like the rest of the population. J He listened to it to and from work every day this week and would ask each night whether we could have Potter time. He is just as stinkin’ cute as that seal that bears his name. Maybe even cuter…

It was hard to come back to real life. I wanted to stay and soak up the sun on the beach forever. Maybe someday that’ll be our life. ‘Til then, we’ll enjoy these vacations and treasure these memories. Thanks everyone for a killer vacation!