The Aquarium

On Sunday Aunt Betty and I took the kids to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. John led the way. He loves reading a map.

We walked through the shipwreck exhibits. And we stopped at an amphitheater. The seats faced a huge tank and we could see a few turtles and sharks. We stopped to watch the turtles and ended up staying to watch a show with some divers. 

 

We checked out the sharks. 

And then John announced "We are going to touch a shark!" There was a touch tank. Gillian immediately said "No way." Aunt Betty tried to get out of it too, but John convinced her to try it. 

They leaned in the tank and touched the shark. And then John said "Let's do it again!" Since convincing Aunt Betty was not enough, John also got me to touch a shark!

But we weren't done yet. There was the stingray tank next. 

After the stingrays, we headed outside to see the penguins. It was feeding time and it was very crowded. We didn't stay long, which made Gillian very unhappy. I promised to bring her back. 

We headed upstairs to the kid zone. 

We checked out the hippos. The kids hated it in there. Gillian said "Why is it so stinky!" John said "I'm going to have shower after are done." 

We ended up in the gift shop where John picked out a new stuffed turtle and Gillian picked a stuffed penguin. We went back outside to see the penguins. It was empty and Gillian got to show the penguins her new friend. 

 

The kids also got to ride on the big slide that was outside. 

 

We had an awesome trip to the aquarium!

A zoo or China

A few weeks ago when I picked John up from school, he asked me "Can we go to a zoo? Or China?" It turns out that he was working on a panda puzzle and wanted to see pandas in their natural habitat. This week is John's spring break. I decided I would surprise him and take him to a zoo. I gave him a few clues, but he wasn't able to guess. 

This morning we got in the car and before we hit the parkway, he said "The zoo! We're going to the zoo!" He was right. We were headed to the Cape May Zoo. We arrived before the gates opened. John played on the huge playground while we waited for the zoo to open. Then we headed inside. John led the way. He is really good at reading maps!

We walked around and saw a cow, an owl, some goats and peacocks. Then I pointed out two bald eagles. John said "They are like the most important animals here." I asked "Why?" He said "Because they represent our country!" 

We walked through the bird house. Two steps inside the door, John said (very loudly) "It stinks in here!" I shhhed him and we walked through and checked out all the various species. He even remembered, "Flamingos are pink because they eat shrimp!"

We saw a camel, some llama (Gillian would have loved them), bison, a lion, a capybara, and a bunch of turtles. The turtles were all sunning themselves on the rocks on the edge of their pond. John told me "I can't wait to tell Travis about all the turtles! They must be friends."

 

Next we saw some snow leopards, giraffes, an ostrich and zebra. We also saw a red panda. Now this wasn't the kind of panda John had hoped to see, but he was still very excited. 

We walked through the reptile house. John pointed out every snake, lizard and turtle to me. He loved seeing all the turtles. We checked out the sea otters and a few more animals. Then we took a little break and John went on the carousel and we both road the train. 

We visited the gift shop. John picked out a stuffed snow leopard for himself and a stuffed sea otter for Gillian. We had a little lunch. After lunch I asked John, "Do you want to go back and see any of the animals again or do you want to go home?" "Well, I want to take my new friends to see their relatives." Basically he wanted to take the snow leopard and the sea otter back to their exhibits. You can't say no to that so we headed back. 

On our way back through the zoo, John said "I can't believe no animals are following me!" I asked "What are you talking about?" He said "Well I'm a boy that likes nature. And I thought that animals would know that and would follow me around the zoo. Cause they would know that I am nice to animals and nature." I love his big heart. 

I had a great day wth my boy. I can't wait to do it again!

Favorite animal

Today Mimi gave me cookies to give the kids, a giraffe and a lion. I picked the kids up from school today and when we got in the car I showed them the cookies. John asked "Can I pick which one I get?" I told him yes. He said "Can I have the lion? Cause I'm so brave!" (As he said this he flexed his biceps). Gillian didn't mind. I think she wanted the giraffe because it was a bigger cookie. As we drove home, I asked "Gillian, do you know what is Grandma's favorite animal? I'll give you a hint look at your cookie." Gillian was a little unsure. John shouted "I know! A giraffe!" Gillian said "I know!" (That's what Gillian says when she doesn't know).

I asked John, "What is your favorite animal?" He said "How many fingers do I have behind my back?" I cringe a little. I hate when he asks me that. I guess and say three. He says "No. I'll give you a hint. One has five." He has completely tricked me. He never puts two hands behind his back. So I guess and say two. He says "No! Six! I have six favorite animals!" I ask him to list his favorites. He says "Leatherback sea turtles, sea turtles, turtles, cheetahs, lions and the animal that Black Panther is." Let me take a second now and explain Black Panther one of Marvel's Avengers. I am laughing in the front seat as he is listing his favorite animals. I respond to John, "It's in his name, Black Panther." I say it slow so that he will listen to what I am saying. He says "I think it's a cat. You know what animal Black Panther is." I again say "It's in his name. Black Panther." John was a little confused. So I finally said, "He is a panther." I asked him  why he had three different turtles on his list. He said "Turtles have regular legs. Sea turtles have fins. That's how you can tell the difference. And leatherback sea turtles are black!"

I asked Gillian "What is your favorite animal?" She said "Giraffes and pandas and snails and bugs and spiders. I like spiders!" John says "I have seven now. I like spiders too!" We arrived home and Gillian waited for me on the front porch as I got everything out of the car. As I approached the porch she screamed "Oh no! A spider!" Guess they aren't her favorite after all.