Did I Mention the Aquarium?

There's been so much going on lately...it's like living on a roller coaster.  We have these great ups...like starting basketball for Sumner, visiting with family or friends, or having a successful project at school...you know the little things that make a week great and things seem on track.  Then the roller coaster heads down hill and someone gets sick.  We are so sick of having someone sick.  Saw was sick a week ago...then 4 days later I was sick...then Saw (again) and Bebe were sick this past Friday!  I am so sick of people being sick!  I have Lysoled and wiped up everything.  I've vacuumed, Jason's vacuumed, I've washed 84567 loads of laundry, bleached, nearly cried, wiped up bottoms, cleaned up pottys and throw up.  And the whole time...I kid you not...I am thinking "as much as I hate this, I am thankful that it is only temporary".  I think of people who suffer lifelong ailments or problems that they deal with everyday and I am thankful for our temporary illness and grateful for great days of health that really outnumber the "bad" days.

So, did I mention we went to the Georgia Aquarium awhile back?  It was really cool.  We went on a day that was REALLY crowded.  That's our own fault I guess...we did choose the day after all.  So, with the exception of the crowds, it was really neat.  The kids loved the dolphins and the beluga whales.  Bebe just did a report at school on belugas, so she was excited that she had just seen them "in person".  The BIG tank they have is absolutely amazing.  I saw Matt Lauer standing in front of it on the Today Show back when it opened and it really was as HUGE as it was on tv.  The fact that they had 4 whale sharks in there with so much room that you couldn't even see them when they swam to the other side of the tank was unbelievable.  Also, they had these huge manta rays that had plenty of room to swim about and do flips...and the different types of sharks, tuna, crazy-looking fish, etc. was just crazy!  In another tank, they had a reef simulated with waves that crashed over the top...really cool.  So, other than the crowds (oh, and the hefty price tag)...it really was worth seeing once!  The kids loved it and Jason and I did too.  We might go again another day...someday in the far, far-off future.  Here's some shots (along with my snappy captions beneath each pic) from the visit...keeping in mind 1)my photog skills suck and 2) my camera is not the stuff of great photographers! ha

This is just at the entrance...a tank bigger than my living room...where these schools of fish swim by.  Very Nemo-like.

Here are the kids at the dolphin tank.  They were mesmerized.  I didn't really get a good pic of the dolphins (Lily and Shaka (sp?)), but you can see one of their tails in the top R.  I just love them all together looking a the tank.

The mantas would make these big O's with their front "fins" (I don't know what they're called), then skim over the rocks and dig up a little sand to filter into their mouths.

Here's a whale shark from inside the tunnel where you can walk under & through the big tank.

Drum fish, maybe?  Crazy looking noggin, huh?

More of the whale sharks.  You can see one up close and another further back.  The back one is not a baby...it's huge...it's just back in the tank!  HUGE tank...have I mentioned that?

Here's the reef with a wave crashing overhead.

Annnd...another shot as the waves crashed.  Also, it gives a little perspective on the size of the tanks.  You couldn't even get it all in a shot from the back of the room!

It looks like Summy's watching this little orange fish above his head.  Hardy har har.

The Sass loved it...she kept bopping up and down grunting and squealing at the fish.

If you're still reading this...and I commend you if you are...it's definitely worth the visit.  I really do think it's something we would go back to see somewhere down the road when the kids are a bit bigger.  I didn't love having to have the stroller...or diapers!  And if you haven't fed the kiddos...be prepared to fork out the cash for the food court, which luckily we just bribed with the promise of snacks and just starved them until we left!