6:30 am - quietly pack snacks and supplies for trip into the van.
7:30 am - put clothes on unconscious children; buckle them into their carseats.
7:31 am - try to explain to whining children that we're going someplace FUN.
7:45 am - re-explain to children that really we're going somewhere S-U-P-E-R fun, now eat something and enjoy the car ride.
8:17 am - break down and tell the boys that we're going to the Zoo, their favorite place ever, and if you don't eat something you're going to be cranky when we get there.
9:00 am - bundle everyone in coats and load up the stroller.
9:03 am - bliss.
It was a cold and blustery day at the park, but we didn't mind, because we spent most of our visit inside the aquarium complex. My kids are infatuated with the aquarium; they find the bubbles enthralling, the motion of the water soothing, and the flitting, darting fish mesmerizing.
Our favorite exhibit of the day was probably the jellyfish. They have always fascinated and terrified me. As a child, I would run up and down the docks, climbing all over my grandpa's and uncles' fishing boats, and occasionally pausing to look straight down into the water, where I would see clouds of jellyfish floating and bobbing in the waves. My mom and cousins didn't mind sharing stories about themselves or someone they knew who got tangled up with a jellyfish, and the extreme measures they sometimes took to counteract the pain.
They may be a little scary, but they sure are beautiful.
And now for a quiet day at home. A little crafting, some coffee-drinking, and a large dose of quality time with the kiddos.
Kim
It's funny that you mentioned the Jelly Fish. I had never really paid much attention to them, I'd only ever seen them on the beach, where they'd be either dead, or dying, and quite smelly! They didnt look like anything special.
ReplyDeleteLast summer though, we went to the zoo with the kids, and I saw them for the first time IN water, and they really do look so magical! I had no idea how beautiful they were when they were in water. They were the highlight of my day too. (well, that and the monkeys;)