Aquarium...Revisted

Thanks to some dear friends, the kids wish for a family pass to the aquarium came true. They were all too excited to use their Easter present. We went on a Friday morning and were almost the only folks there. Actually, we only stayed for about 30 minutes because we were running errands but it was an action packed, fun filled adventure.

First, those errands were for my nurse practitioner application process (documenting as this is my scrap book at the moment - feel free to skip to photos and videos):

- State police station for finger printing - this will be my fourth criminal background check in three years - talk about a vigorous process. So far, I've always checked out clean and I anticipate the same this time. However, the kids were SO well behaved - cute, actually. They knew a police officer were literally just around the corner in case of any misbehavior.

- Allergy office for my monthly shot

- Aquarium as a reward for being so well-behaved, calm and quiet during the early part of the morning

- Library - pick up reserved books

- Postal annex for 2X2 photo for the application, notarized three documents for the application, copied everything, and dropped in the mail

- Grocery store for some supplies

I was actually impressed by how good they were through this entire process. We were gone for over 4 hours running errands and I did not hear a peep, complaint, or a hint of bickering/fighting. They really did earn that trip to the aquarium. So without further ado, here are some photos, a bit of commentary, and a couple of fun videos. 

Some disclaimers about the videos - I was a cheerleader for many years so I have a tendency to urge and coach a lot so feel free to mute the videos if you like (although, Lil Sister's sweet voice is worth listening for). Lastly, I am helping the kids and also petting the rays so the camera is not the steadiest but you'll get the idea of what's going on.

Oh, Lil Sister insisted on wearing her cat ears to match her cat dress (which she also insisted on wearing)

Feeding the tropical fish - this was a ton of fun. They LOVE seaweed.

Next the shark/ray tank. The rays are absolutely amazing. They were not the least bit interested in the food we were trying to offer. They were more interested in being petted. I know that sounds odd but they really liked the attention and the biggest ray would actually come up, blow bubbles, and wait for pets. The kids, of course, think it's awesome but it made for a huge highlight to our aquarium visit and a major high point of all our toddler/preschooler play experiences thus far.

 

Lastly, the octopus - a personal favorite of T Rex.

The kids are very excited that sea turtles will be coming soon. Oh, and the aquarium does have hand dryers in the bathroom which we learned can dry water soaked dresses and shirts pretty quickly. And yes, Lil Sis did try to eat the feeder fish (I told you she liked sushi, but don't worry, she only tasted it).


Thank you, Shelley and Rich, for this spectacular gift. We're looking forward to a time when you can join us at the ray tank. 

By the way, in the time it took me to post this, the kids made another trip to the aquarium with their dad (I was home studying). I sense a future birthday party there, too.