The Albuquerque Aquarium and Botanical Gardens

While we were in Albuquerque, we got to go to the Albuquerque Aquarium. The kids love it - especially Max. He is a HUGE Nemo fan, so all fish really fascinated him. We had lunch at the Aquarium restaurant, and the table we sat at was right next to a small corner of the huge tank. Sharks, turtles and tons of other fish swam right by as we enjoyed our food. I couldn't believe how well the kids ate with such a fun distraction!

Bria, Max and Orion inside the Aquarium.


After going through the Aquarium, we headed over the Rio Grande Botanical Gardens. It was fun for me - the only other time I've been was right after it opened. It's amazing what 14 or 15 years worth of growth can do! The kids FAVORITE part was definitely the children's garden. There were life size bugs and vegetation that they could play on. It really was cool! The other favorite part was the butterfly pavilion. There were literally hundreds of butterflies flying all around us. It was so hard for Bria not to try to catch them all! They also had a whole outdoor train city set up. It was amazing! I think watching that train has been a bit of an inspiration for Max - he's played quite a lot with his own Thomas train set since we've been home.

Can you tell our kids love their Grandpa?