Going To The Aquarium

Boys,

Mommy and Daddy both had their vacations this past week and on Monday we were able to take the both of you out to the Aquarium for the first time! Mommy was able to get the tickets at a great price online, and because you're both under the age limit you were both able to get in for free, even better then the deal Mommy found!

Monday morning we woke up, had some breakfast and got ready to go out to the Aquarium. Daddy bought a Portable DVD Player for the long ride to it, and of course the movie you both watched to keep you quiet was "Rio", Daddy's not sure a DVD can be worn out within a few months, but something tells him he might have to buy this movie again soon. Between the two of you the movie must have been watched at least fifty times. It's madness! So, during the ride you both had toys to play with and once they were no longer keeping your attention Daddy put on the movie.

Mommy had printed out some directions, but Daddy also used the GPS on his cell phone to try and get us there without having to rely on the written directions. Only problem is when we got close to where the Aquarium was the GPS took us in the wrong direction and we had to go through a toll! Daddy just kept telling Mommy to look at our detour as an adventure, but she wasn't too pleased with the GPS taking us in the wrong direction. When we finally got to our destination we parked in a parking garage, and the level was called "Lobster". The Aquarium was about ten feet from the parking garage so this worked in our favor! When we got to the line to purchase our tickets there was a tank outside that you got to see for free, and inside the tank were three or four white seals! We decided to head inside and we stopped at the Gift Shop first.

We got a lot of cool things from the Gift Shop. The both of you each got a snow globe for your dressers. Daddy and Mommy both got key chains for our keys. Daddy got a turtle, and Mommy got a penguin. Daddy also got a cool key chain that has water inside of it and two different colors that go back and forth inside the water like a small lava lamp. When we went to check out we had to do it multiple times because the cashier kept making mistakes. Benjamin you had a brand new cup from the Aquarium with a crazy straw that went inside of it. After leaving the Gift Shop and heading inside we were immediately greeted by dozens of real penguins! They had so many different penguins that they were separated in the tanks! While we were walking around looking at all the different penguins it was almost lunch time so we decided to head upstairs to the Cafe. The two of you joined Mommy at the table where she fed you Jonathan with your food from home, and Daddy went to the food area to get the rest of us some food. 

When we left the Cafe we headed back downstairs to see the many different fish they had on display inside their tanks. We went outside and saw large seals and their was a Woman feeding them and showing them doing tricks. They had a soccor ball, but they didn't play with it. Benjamin you were quick to point it out though by pointing and saying "ball". From this area we headed back inside through the opposite side of the buildings doors.

On the way to the door there was a statue that we took pictures in front of. We tried to get the both of you to sit under it and take a picture together, but of course you both immediately started to crawl in different directions! We were able to take some pictures with the two of you though before we walked down the path towards the door back into the building. Along this path there was a view of the water and a boat, where a nice lady working on the boat took some time out of her day to wave to us! The breeze felt great as we were heading back inside, and we were very lucky because it was supposed to rain the majority of the week and on this day it was beautiful outside.

When we went back in we took some time to check out the center of the Aquarium which was a huge circular tank that went around the middle of each floor all the way to the top. At the top you could look down inside of the big tank, but you could not go up to that floor with the strollers so Daddy took you Benjamin to the top to look down inside of it. The view from up top wasn't as good as the view from the bottom floors though because most of the fish did not come to the surface, and instead swam in circles under the water!

On one of the floors they had an area where you could touch certain things in the water and Benjamin you went right up to this section eager to get your hands on whatever it is they would let you touch. The Man working in this area picked up a star fish and Benjamin you were able to touch it. Once he put it back down in the water you splashed all around it trying to pick it back up. You enjoyed splashing your hands in the water, but Daddy thinks you would have enjoyed it much more if you were able to get the star fish back in your hands.

In this same area they had a huge Anaconda! Mommy hates snakes and is very afraid of them so Daddy had to go ahead and see where the snake was so we could avoid him at all costs! He was at the end of the hallway though and Mommy never got a chance to see him thankfully. We started to make our way back down to the bottom floor where Mommy changed both of your diapers one at a time. While she was changing Jonathan, Benjamin you played in the "Curious George Discovery Room". At first you were all alone and then shortly after you started playing two other Mommy's came in with their kids and you immediately ran up to one of the Mommy's and started talking up a storm. Then, you started playing with the kids. You're not a shy little guy! Mommy came back and we waited around a little longer as the workers started to come out and feed the penguins. Once we saw the penguins eat their food we decided it was time to call it a day. We headed back to the car and left the Aquarium, and on the ride home the two of you fell asleep after your long day.

Daddy had a great day with the two of you and Mommy and he looks forward to many other trips we are going to take as a family. This was the first of many, and it couldn't have gone better. The two of you were very good boys and Daddy was very proud of the both of you.

Love Always,
Dad