The Aquarium

It has been years since Cory and I have been to the aquarium and I don't think any of the kids have ever been.  It was really great.  It was small enough that we could see everything we wanted to see in about an hour and a half.  That was the perfect amount of time for parents and kids.

We started off by taking advantage of the water screens for a nice photo op.  Thanks for humoring me, kids.

Elise wanted a picture with the Alligator statue.  She's laughing because I told her to stick her head in it's mouth for the picture. :)

Checking out the real Alligator.  There were five or six of them and they were really neat.

The older kids by the "hands-on" pool.  Definitely one of the highlights.

It took Elise a little bit to gather her courage to touch the things in the pool.

Merry Grace and Ian even picked up the starfish.  They couldn't believe it was a real starfish.

We loved the giant fish tank.  Elise makes a cute fishy face.

What a good Daddy to let Paigie escape from the stroller.  And then carry her around and show her things.  Some people think she's easier to watch when she's strapped in.

The "giant sting ray" was also a highlight for the kids.  He swam right up to the edge and made friends.

When Ian saw this in the tank he said, "Look!!!  It's Nemo!!!  And his dad!!!"  Love it. :)

 Once we made it through the aquarium we walked out side and looked at the birds through the giant binoculars.  This was only a moment before Ian let the "giant binoculars" slam down on Merry Grace's finger.  For those of you who know how she handles "owies", you can imagine how that went down.  Truthfully, I'm surprised it didn't break them.  Poor girl.

Luckily, she recovered in time for another cute photo-op.  Those are four CUTE kiddos. :)

We did make a pass through the gift shop, only to realize there was nothing in our budget.  $2.00 for a pencil?  Are you kidding me?  But the kids were great about it and didn't beg.  Even they realized the outlandish prices were crazy.  It was a fun trip and we can't wait to come back!