Choose Your Own Adventure: #1

With daycare off and no specific post-holiday plans in sight, I was getting a little antsy.
I'm not very good at just relaxing at home like a cozy bear by the fire. That's what weekend nights are for!
Vacation time, however, must be used for adventures, otherwise I feel guilty that I'm wasting my precious
time-off from work. Since we didn't have any exotic travel plans, I decided instead to explore our own city.

On Friday, Addie chose our adventure - and her outfit. Decked out in her new pink “ballerina-ballerina” tutu (thanks Auntie Snorg!) and her black boots (that was my touch) we headed off to the aquarium. It was exciting to see many of the
same critters that we have in our own saltwater aquarium and to greet a few fishy friends like the
clownfish and damsels that got the "ich" and had to go to fishy heaven. Addie of course was always the one
to find them floating belly up in our tank at home. "Mommy, that fish is scary!" and when the last of the yellowtail damsels died last week she told me, "Mommy, that fish doesn't make sounds anymore." Broke my heart. We buried that
one in the front yard. At the Long Beach aquarium, Addie’s favorites are now based more on the characters from Finding Nemo. Clownfish and Palette Tang (Dory) are high on her list. Divers are considered bad news and are to be avoided, and she still has a fondness for sea horses and moon jellies.

After the aquarium we checked out a few stores in the Belmont Shores neighborhood of Long Beach including this amazing candy store where Addie picked out a piece of green clownfish gummy candy, and I drank a rather syrupy cherry-limeade soda called Frostie. Cap called it hummingbird food.

Inspired by the aquarium, we drove to our fish store and bought some new hermit crabs, snails, a carnation anemone and two new yellowtail damsels. Oh and some anti-ich drops. (thanks Mom for the gift certificate!)

Check out a few more photos from our adventure here.