Aquarium visit....

This past Friday since it was so rainy and gross out Josh and I decided that we would go to the aquarium here in Monterey...which by the way is in the book/on the list of the top things to do/see before you die....and since we are members we can go as much as we want. Josh really just wanted to go to get some pictures with the new camera. He is still trying to figure it all out and get to where he knows all the settings and the right things to use at the right time to get the best picture! Here are a few shots from our visit.

This shot is for my brother Justin....when he was here he was obsessed with the otters and this one was just floating on the top of the water sleeping the whole time we were there. This is a salt water otter...it lives in a tank that has water circulated through it from the bay and is actually open to the outside.
This one is a crazy...creepy...scary eel coming out of the rock to attack Josh for taking a picture!

This is some of the beautiful Jellies....one of the most popular exhibits at the aquarium.

a different type of jelly....

One of the sharks in the outer bay exhibit.....

This is one of the fresh water otters at meal time...the one in the water was trying to get his fish...he had already had his own but ate it so fast that he wanted everyones as well.

Pictures.....Hearst Castle....Highway 1....snow topped Mountain...

Finally...I know! I guess our camera takes too good of pictures that Josh had to do some editing and downsizing on the ones that I wanted to post on here....so if you would like to see it bigger just click on the picture....! I will try and give a short description of each. Enjoy! In case you didn't already know these are taken with the new camera that we got for christmas from my mom and dad! Thank you mommy and daddy! WE LOVE IT! It is a Nikon D90 for you camera folks out there!

Oh and just a little bit of exciting news....I felt the baby for the first time last night....it was WEIRD and exciting...I think Josh was a little sad that he didn't get to feel...he had a huge smile and was asking all these questions about it!

This is just one of the many views along highway 1!
Another Highway 1 view.....

This is the view from our front door...we thought it was neat that the mountains had snow on them!

One of 3 guest houses at Hearst Castle!!!

The view of Hearst Castle on the hill in the distance driving in!

The crazy huge elephant seals we stopped to see along the way...they males come in November and the females arrive in December to give birth by early January!

Waterfall at Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park along Highway 1 in Big Sur!

This was our evening view leaving the castle driving back in land to Highway 101 so I wouldn't be scared driving back on 1 in the dark!

The main dining room at Hearst Castle...decorated for Christmas!

The main house(Casa Grande) at Hearst Castle where William Randolph Hearst stayed in the upper levels and the main dining, meeting room, theater, game room, etc where. It stands 137 feet tall and features 165 rooms and 127 acres of Gardens, terraces, pools and walkways.

The Roman outdoor heated pool in from of the main house.....

New Song

I have added a song to the blog for the Holidays....it is a GREAT song....if you have not heard it before you should take the time to listen to it and the words....we sang it at church this past Sunday and it is now one of my new favorite Christmas songs! I'll be updating again later on our day trip from yesterday!

Bored at work...

Since it is the slow season for visitors and tourists here in Monterey, work is super slow!  Our hours have been cut and so I only work 4 hours a day 3 days a week right now...which I can't complain because Josh and I have so much more time together...just less money to do things with.  Since we have internet access at work my boss told me that I can bring my laptop in everyday so that I have something to do!  Yeah!  Like I need to spend more time on the internet.  So I have been taking advantage of researching baby stuff.....ratings...quality....consumer reports and what not so that our little one will be safe in and with whatever we buy IT(not to be confused with me accidentally writing them...thanks teacher rachel for pointing that out :) We are ONLY having ONE baby)!  I also have written down our list of about 5 boy and 5 girl names that we like and I have been searching for meanings and origins....and popularity because I really don't want my child to have a name that 10 other people in their class has!  Since Josh and I both have the most common names in the world...we want it to be a little different for our kids.  Now don't freak out and think we are going to name our child something off the wall like a piece of fruit or vegetable.....we just want something that everyone else isn't naming their kid!  3 of the names we chose (2 girl and 1 boy) are officially out because they are too close to being in the top 20 names for 2008 and that is just too close for me!  I know it may be a little ridiculous and anal...but hey I get to do that!  Anyway....don't ask me what the names are cause I'm not gonna tell.  A couple of you who read this know a few of them...but I think those are the ones that we are getting rid of!  Well...better get back to doing some work.