Guess what!?! Spencer actually had school today! I can hardly believe it! Also, my mom has been in the hospital. I made arrangements to head over to the hospital and spend the afternoon with her while Brodie's parents watched the kids. So instead of making the kids clean first, we headed to the Living Planet Aquarium straight after picking Spencer up from school. We got there and unloaded the kids from the van, set up Clara in the stroller, and walked in the cold drizzling weather to the doors to discover they were locked. And there weren't any hours posted on the door itself. But apparently they don't open until 11 am. Really????? What place that relies on people visiting (mainly kids) is only open from 11 am to 6 pm???? I can't believe it! I would think 9 am to 8 pm would make the most sense. Even 10 am to 7 pm would be okay. But 11 am to 6 pm????
After standing in the cold, wet weather for 20 minutes quite a crowd had formed but people were respectful and orderly as we all entered the building. Despite the many times we have visited the Aquarium, my kids still get so excited to see the fish! We usually go later in the afternoon so this was a bit different of an experience for us. First of all, it was more crowded as there were field trips going on. Second, the fish seemed more lively than usual! I really enjoyed watching the octopus climbing up and down the glass! I always get bothered at the octopus tank when, without fail, each time I am there I see someone taking a picture of their kid by the octopus tank while using their flash. There is a sign right next to the tank saying NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY. The seahorses were also fluttering around. Usually they are just hanging onto their grass things swaying back and forth. Sleeping, maybe? But today they were all over and it was fun to watch their little fins in the back and on the sides of their head fluttering about so quickly. The sharks were also all over their tank, when usually the bigger ones are just chilling on the bottom of the tank. And the huge sea turtle was trying so hard to dive down into the water. Good for him for trying! He was rescued after being struck by a boat and can no longer dive down into the water, which is why he's at the Aquarium rather than back in the ocean. The other turtle in the South America exhibit was also actively swimming around, when we usually find him hiding in the rocks at the bottom. It was fun to see them so active!
Clara LOVED the Aquarium this time. She really loved the puff fish, probably because of his huge eyes that would look right at her. She also loved the coral reef tank with so many colorful fish swimming back and forth. Tessa and Spencer really wanted to touch a sting ray but they were one of the few fish who weren't active this morning so we just stood around with our hands in the water of the tank for quite a while before moving on. But they touched the little starfish, urchin, and horseshoe crab at the counter. Usually Tessa's too nervous to touch those ones, but today she really wanted to and didn't seem the least bit apprehensive!
My favorite exhibits are the South America exhibits. It is the newer section of the Aquarium. The tanks are large and it is easy to see the fish inside of them. I also like the themed feeling of the inside of the tanks and the walls. They have all sorts of things like piranhas, anaconda, caiman (like miniature crocodiles), poisonous yellow and blue frogs (and other cute little frogs), and the penguins. The penguins at the Aquarium are so much funner to watch than at the zoo. You can see them diving and swimming in the water as well as waddling around on the rocks above. The kids love touching the electric eel sample shock (like putting your tongue on a battery) and pushing the buttons to make the frog sounds.
Spencer has dubbed our "Friday Fun Days" "Clara's losing something days" because she seems to lose something almost every Friday Fun Day. Usually it's a binki or a hairbow. Today was the hairbow. Luckily we found it back at the Anaconda viewing tank before we went home. The worst part of the Aquarium is passing the gift shop on the way out. My kids don't usually care about buying something from a gift shop or even a store, except when it comes to the Aquarium. We have a whole bucket of fish toys plus some stuffed animals. We've bought a shark, stingray, frogs, jellyfish, octopus, fish, and more toys over time. Today Tessa had her sweet little heart set on a stuffed penguin. And she loves stuffed animals and is so hard to say no to. The kids do have about $10 saved up. I try to make them choose something to actually save up for (it takes a while at a quarter a day) but when we go to the store to buy it they almost always change their minds anyway. A couple weeks ago they counted their money, took out 10% for tithing, and had over $7 ready to spend but I convinced them to keep saving to get to $10 to get the things they wanted. Today they both told me they didn't want what they were saving up for anymore and they wanted a toy at the Aquarium. Tessa's penguin was $7 and Spencer chose a stuffed alligator for the same price. Then there was a darling stuffed penguin with large eyes that cost a bit more than that but was too cute so I had to get it for Clara. Totally unjustified as we're trying to be careful with money and Clara has more toys than any 9 month old needs, but I did it anyway.
We hurried out of the Aquarium in the snow at this point, to get the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's so I could go with my mom in the hospital. And the best part of the day was that my mom was doing so much better they discharged her and I got to bring her home! I'm so glad that she'll most likely get a better night's sleep in her own bed than she has the last few nights at the hospital!
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