California Trip Recap Part 5

Our last recap post! Phew!!

Monday 12/29 was Ricardo's 33rd birthday! This is so crazy to me since we met when he was 23. I can't believe I've known him for almost a decade. Things sure have changed in 10 years!

We really wanted to go to the aquarium in Golden Gate Park and has I mentioned in a previous recap it's been newly renovated in October and the lines were 2+ hours long to get in. It was a mad house. Since we couldn't get in the week before, we purchased tickets in advance for Monday and Papa and Abuela got there before it opened to stand in line so we could get in right when it opened.

Even then it was a mob scene. It's absolutely amazing but I sure hope it calms down a bit once the newness wears off because it's almost hard to enjoy it because it's so crowded.

Luckily, because we got there so early, the line to get into the rainforest was only 30 minutes long. By the time we got out it was already over an hour wait and that's on top of waiting the 2 hours to get into the aquarium!!

The rainforest is 3 stories tall and amazing. When you get to the third floor you take an elevator down to the basement which is below the water of the rainforest and you get to walk through a clear tunnel which is surrounded by the water and all the beautiful fish.

Looking down from the second floor. If you enlarge the picture you can see people sitting underneath the water.
As we were walking a butterfly came up and just landed on this woman's head. She was very still and it stayed there for at least 2-3 minutes.
Daddy and Sofia
Walking in to the tunnel
Looking up

We then went to the touch pool. This was really cool, but I always have a difficult time figuring out my shutter speed and exposure when in places like aquariums and my pictures never turn out so there are very few.

Papa and Ella

I didn't take many more pictures because of my sub-par photography skills but I did have to photograph the awesome 5 years and under play area they have. It was such a nice place for the girls to work off some energy and stress from being so crowded everywhere else in the aquarium.
That evening, we celebrated with our friends, Jack (christina was sick), Staci and Brian, Jay, and our favorite cousins, Garrett, Anne, and Cousin Kianna AKA Kanana (per Ella).

We went low key and loud for the kid's sake and went to Chevy's.

The kids, Jay and Ella, coloring
Cousins Anne, Garrett and Kianna with Sofia (Kianna and Sofia are only 3 weeks apart in age)
Ella was loving Kanana!

I have to find a way to pilfer an adorable video of Ella playing with Kianna from Anne's blog. It's so hysterical.

Sofia and Jay
The girls watching tortilla making

Happy Birthday Ricardo!
Ella trying on the birthday hat and yes...she picked out her own outfit again-dress up clothes!
Sofia tried on the hat the next day too.

The next couple of days we hung out at home, visited Tissie/GG, and Ricardo and I went to dinner with our friends Dan and Jenny. I gave my camera a little break.

We were supposed to go over to Cousin Anne, Garrett and Kianna's house to celebrate NYE NYC style (watching the ball drop at 9pm PT instead of 12pm) but we were flying out the next day and both girls were just beyond tired from being pushed so much from the previous 15 days, so we decided to just take it easy and celebrate with a pizza dinner at Gaga's house.

We had a really wonderful trip. It was so hard to come back to NJ. We were so lucky to spend so much time with our friends and family. We all had a blast.

Ella catching a ride to the airplane-back to NJ we go!