Aquarium

Restless and itching for some out-of-the-ordinary fun, we loaded up our pack and headed up to Atlanta to the aquarium--per Jason's suggestion--a few weekends ago. Word to the wise--order tickets online BEFORE you go. After a nearly two-hour drive, we stood in line for nearly another hour--no easy feat with a preschooler, a toddler, and a newborn.
Once we got our tickets, got inside the air-conditioning and fed baby, though, it was magic! Riley has always loved fish tanks. Our babysitter in NY had a nice ten-gallon tank in her kitchen and would hold him up to the counter to watch the fish. He could stare in that tank all day! I knew he'd be thrilled.

James loooves sharks. They had an area with huge tanks and a moving walkway that you could stand on and the tanks surrounded on all sides. Giant whale sharks, smaller sharks, and brightly colored fish swam over our heads. The boys loved it!

We saw every color fish. We saw otters, beluga whales, spider crabs, eels, snakes, frogs, sea horses, sea dragons, anemones, tiny sharks you could pet in a tank, sting rays, all kinds of creatures.

Jason kept up with the boys while I pushed a sleeping Poppy in the stroller. Well, until the frog room where she woke up hungry. Very hungry.

After we explored the aquarium--there was so much to see--we got to go to the dolphin show. Poppy stayed awake for the whole thing--bright lights, loud music, splashing water. The boys were fascinated, especially with the trainers riding the dolphins. Riley clapped after every trick. James said it was his favorite part (which is surprising because it's hard to compete with the sharks!). So even though the prices were ridiculous, the parking was crazy, the people were rude, and we had to navigate through Atlanta traffic, during rush hour on St. Patrick's Day--we still had a great time with no meltdowns. Well, mostly. Poppy hates her carseat and started screaming on the drive home. We pulled over to feed her halfway home, but she still screamed the last hour of driving.

Days later the boys couldn't stop talking about it [the aquarium--not the baby screaming]. Next time we'll plan better and go in the morning, buy tickets ahead of time, and check out the Coca-Cola museum (right across from the aquarium). I hope we get to explore more of Atlanta while we're close enough to do it!