Fishies, Crocs & Sharks, Oh my!!!

~ Siebert Family Fun Day ~

Keith and I were in need of a family day. No parties, no appointments, no schedules, no where to be, no one to worry about. A day without our friends "hustle" and "bustle."

I had wanted to take Gavin to the Dallas World Aquarium since I visted their event planner back in December for an event our company was hosting in January and remembered that it was a pretty amazing place to visit...especially with kids! (sorry for the run-on sentence)

So, we I woke up bright and early with Gavin. We made breakfast...waffles, of course...Gavin's new breakfast obsession. We showered and dressed and got Daddy on board with preparing to leave the house early. I knew it would be busy since it was a gloomy Saturday with not much to do, so I wanted to get there early (meaning, when they open). We weren't far off and the croud wasn't either...everyone had the SAME idea...GO EARLY.

The walk into the Aquarium, in and of itself, was fun! We zoomed and weaved through the course leading up to the ticket booth. Hey, at least they give you animals to look at as you wait in line to get in. There were birds, monkeys and penquins. Like every good mommy, I packed the awesome DSLR camera that "I just had to have" to record our day. BUT, like any absent minded Mommy, I didn't check to see if it was charged, so we bombed out on the good photos...the iphone would have to do!!

(this photo was not iphone photo...I stole it!)

We paid our price...it was a little high, but well worth it. Gavin was pumped!

First up...Penquins. Yeah, just what I thought, he didn't last two minutes in the stroller and he wanted out! Gav really liked the idea of being able to be so close and see them so well through the glass in the gift shop. We soon followed suit and waited in line for the elevator so we could head to the top of the rainforest and work our way down. Why did we bring a stroller? You walk into a beautiful waterfall and rainforest. This was Keith's first time at the aquarium and he was pretty impressed.

(I secretly think he thought he was in for a boring afternoon looking at fish)

We could have spent ALL day there and still probably missed something. We saw monkeys, otters, frogs, tucans, parrots, owls, bats, crocs, turtles, alligators, fishies, flamingos, sting rays, manatees, & SHARKS! I am sure I am leaving a hundred animals out, but you get the gist. Our travel through the aquarium just happened to be timed perfectly as we hit most of the exhibits during feeding time. This meant that the animals were way more active than they would have been, otherwise. Yay! Why did we bring the stroller, again? Gavin wanted to walk through everything...such a big boy! It was priceless to watch his little face light up as he discovered more and more animals. Of all the exhibits, I would have to say his favorite was a tank that had an ENORMOUS turle. He loved it! When you ask him what he saw at the aquarium, the first thing out of this mouth was, "Really BIG turtle, Mommy!"

After about two hours of exploring and a small snack later, we Gavin was fading. He was in need of some lunch and a nap. So, we headed back to the top of the Aquarium to eat at a restuarant that overlooked the entire Rainforest. It really was an amazing time.

We decided that since it was a little later than Gavin's normal naptime and he is notorious for falling asleep in the car for 30 minutes, getting home and "thinking" he got a good nap and didn't need to go back to sleep, that we would run a few errands and Daddy would stay in the car with our sleepy boy! Good decision. We ran from store to store so I could try on some winter goggles for our upcoming trip to Whitefish for some skiing and snowboarding! So, Keith sat in the car (which was frustrating for me because I needed his opinion and help, but you do what is required to get in a full naptime and avoid Mr. Cranks in the evening.) and I ran in and out of shopping centers. Finally, on the last leg, Gav was awakened and wouldn't go back to sleep, so my boys joined me and we did a little shopping, together. Whew, finally, I had some help. I got some good deals on snowboard pants and goggles at the Oakley Outlet. Yay!

We ended up walking around the Shops at Legacy because it was actually descent outside and neither of us were prepared to go home. We were just enjoying our time. Again, no schedules, nowhere to be.

As we headed home, what better way to spend a relaxing, lazy, fun day, then to order a pizza for dinner. Whoohoo! This means several things...I would NOT have to go to the grocery store...bleh. I would NOT have to spend time away from my boys to cook dinner and I would NOT have to clean dishes!! This day couldn't have come to a better end! We spent the rest of the night chasing and playing with our toddler. Did I mention he was extremely hyper when we got home? Crazy kiddo! Must have been all of that sitting during our stroll through Shops of Legacy and the 2 hour nap in the car. I didn't care, it was fun to be wild and crazy with him. I sooooooo didn't want to put him to bed tonight or bring an end to this day. It was a much needed change from our crazy, busy, overbooked, rushed weekends.