Afternoon at the aquarium

Chris had this past Monday off work for New Years. He brought the kids to meet me for pancakes that morning when I got off work, then after a short nap, we headed down to Newport and to the aquarium. We wouldn't tell Ella where we were going, just that it was going to be a special family date. It was driving her nuts! Once we started getting closer to Newport, she saw a sign for the aquarium and figured it out. She was so excited! She kept saying, "Bubby, you are going to LOVE this!"
A picture in front of the shark mouth. Cade was trying to figure it all out.
One with Momma...

I love these tunnels. It feels like the fish are all around you. The kiddos were having such a great time.For some reason, they both got a little freaked out and clung to their daddy when they saw the octopus and the huge spider crabs. They're both looking a little worried here. =)

Ella declared this "Nemo Fish" her favorite of the day.

She really liked the turtles, too.

They played a little Frogger in the frog bog...

Haha! They were cracking me up trying to look through the floors with their little bums in the air. They were trying to spot "Mighty Mike", the 14 foot alligator that is the aquarium's special exhibit right now. He was hiding and all we could see was his tail. We even doubled around later and came back, hoping to see him, but he was still hidden.

At the shark tanks...

The jellyfish were some of our favorites, too. (Have I mentioned how much I'm loving my new camera? It takes the neatest pictures!)

Checking out more big fish...

Cade was trying to get nose to nose with this big guy. The fish was being so still and, for some reason, Cade didn't like this. He ended up smacking the cage and saying, "Bad boy!" haha!

We stopped for some pizza then headed home. What a fun family date! Chris took some pictures of the city as we were leaving. I think this one looks like a postcard.