My worst nightmare come true....a trip to the aquarium

I'm still recovering from Sunday's adventure. I don't even know where to start.

Guy's mom was in Long Beach for her annual convention and the only day we could see her was Sunday. We grabbed the boys at their house and I made a feeble attempt to groom Spencer's curls. I want him to look hip but alas....not happening.

The wait before the surprise

Gorgeous day! I figured things might be a little calmer on Sunday since the weekdays jam pack every second grade classroom in Southern California into that building. Turns out Sundays are jam packed with screaming two year olds who want a nap and not another family outing.

Ty with the awesome fidgets I knew they needed.

We timed our arrival perfectly and met Leta in the foyer. That is when the nightmare began. All standing together we look up at that big blue whale hanging from the ceiling. When I glance down, not two seconds later, Spencer is gone.

Spencer is gone.

"Wait a minute....where is Spencer"?!?!?!?!

There are crowds of people, lots of noise, strollers, fish, whales and not a single sign of Spencer.

Guy and I fully start panicking. He runs outside to see if Spence made a break for the harbor. I start circling frantically searching for anything familiar. Somewhere we manage to get Leta to take Ty into the gift shop to wait. DJ is racing around trying to catch a glimpse of him.

I race to the guest services desk. I felt utterly helpless trying to describe him....He's taller than I, brown hair, blue eyes, Blue, Yellow and white striped shirt, tan shorts, cannot talk....won't answer to his name. Please...help us. They got on the radio right away and told me to stay near them so they could update me.

I was SICK to my stomach. This was the worst feeling I had ever had. My baby was lost...really lost. This was worse than when the police knocked on my door asking me if I was missing my son that I thought was playing in the back yard. He was up at the top of the street. This was worse than when they knocked on the door and told me that Tyler was sitting on the second story window ledge dangling over the concrete driveway.

I've prided myself in my cat like reflexes. My ability to snag his shirt just as he makes a break for it are LEGENDARY. And now none of that was enough. He had utterly disappeared and wasn't vocalizing.

This is when I start praying. Please Heavenly Father...help us find our boy. In that instant I feel inspired to walk over to the big tank right next to the foyer. They have couches set up like a little living room. As soon as I got close to the couches I spotted Spencer's shirt....on the ground.

He was lying on the ground next to the tank with his face mashed up against the glass.

Relief....horror at what might have been.....elation that he was fully dressed....relief......gratitude

I wish I had a camera to capture that moment but all I could get was the look on his face after he stood up. The look on his face was....I can't believe we haven't started looking at the fish yet.

HOLY COW

What? I just wanted to look at the fish.

What a way to start the day. it took me half an hour to process all the adrenaline and calm down.

The rest of the day was lovely. The boys LOVED stimming on the water, waves, plants waving in the water. It went so much nicer than trips we have tried in the past.

Afterwards we grabbed some dinner and Grandma loved every minute she got to spend with her grandbabies.

Spence preferred this angle most of the day

This is what it looked like from his point of view. I kind of like it myself. Ripples, water and fish.

They have these great mini grottos. Spence hung out in there 15 minutes at a time. My apologies to all the other little kids waiting to get in there.

Ty can't get enough of the waves

Shark tank

taking a picture of DJ taking a picture. 

Guy's death grip on our boy's hand.

dinner

Spence pointing to the eighth slice of pizza he wanted from Ty.

Good bye Grandma...it was real.

What a day.