Aquarium Of The Pacific

This summer we were blessed to be able to go to the Aquarium twice- both times for free!  We love the Aquarium, and we always have a great time whenever we go.  Luke and grandma were able to join us both times, and we always have an extra amount of fun when they come along!

The first time we went there were so many people- we went with a group from our church and after we went into the Aquarium we never saw them again!  The second time we went, though, it was a lot less hectic and the boys were able to relax and take their time at their favorite exhibits.  Jack had so much fun showing Luke all of the animals and "teaching" him about them, and Luke really enjoyed getting to see and do all of the fun stuff!

Luke was totally into touching (or rather, trying to touch) the animals in the touch tanks.  I wasn't surprised that Jack didn't want to touch them, though!  He may not have wanted to touch them, but he sure had fun watching them and encouraging us to touch them! The sting rays were so active and kept acting like they were trying to swim right out of their pool- right in front of Jack!  I was teasing him that they thought he looked like a fun friend to play with ;)

My favorite, as usual, were the sharks!  And on this day I just happened to get there in time for the shark feed!  It was really cool to watch the shark at their feeding time.  There was no frenzy, but I did get to watch the swordfish "attack" and eat his meal, which I thought was rad!  Unfortunately, the feeding time didn't photograph very well so I can't share it with you, but I did get some pictures of other sharks in their tank!

Luke didn't really care about the sharks, but he sure loved chasing the pigeons!

If you remember from my last post about the aquarium, Jack is a big fan of the precipitation exhibit.  That still hasn't changed... and Sam loves it, too!

Then we went back inside to look at some more exhibits and to let Sam have a nap!

Okay, pausing to tell a funny story.  My mom had paused to look at a fish and read the name of it, and she started laughing to herself. "Oh boy, he is damn selfish!"  I was surprised at her choice of words and asked "What did you say?!" and she told me again, "It says he is damn selfish! That is his name!" Of course, I had to see that for myself and so I went over to the sign that told his name.  This is what I saw...

We laughed so hard!!! 

After our adventure with the damn selfish damselfish we made our way to the lobby of the aquarium just in time to watch the fish feeding "show".  Mom and I enjoyed listening to the speaker talk about the fish, and Jack and Luke thought it was so cool to watch the scuba divers in the tank, and one of them even "talked" to Jack through the glass wall- she gave him high fives, too!

After that we were done, so we headed back to the car.  On our way there, though, we stopped to see the cool fountain!

And as soon as we were done, it started raining!  Just in time!  We headed back to the car, and by the time we got home all three boys had fallen asleep in the car!  Perfect day :)

Wordless Wednesday

 

Celebrating Luke!

A month after Luke turned one, we finally had his big party!  To make it easier, my sister planned a birthday party on the same day that he would be baptized.  Not only were we having a big birthday bash for him, but we were celebrating his baptism!

So, first we all gathered in the church to worship and to witness Luke's baptism.  Before we could get to the baptism, though, the principal of the school invited my mom up to the front so that we could acknowledge her and give her a gift (which she opened after the service was over... it was the Willow Tree nativity, which was perfect for her!).

And then, Luke was baptized!  I didn't get a good angle of the actual baptism, but I did get Luke telling the pastor to "shhhh"!

And apparently he liked being baptized, because after he was done he tried to get his head back to the water!

After the service Poor Luke had to pose for picture after picture with the people that love him!  The lucky little guy was blessed to have two god-fathers to stand up to sponsor him, Uncle Travis, and his daddy's best friend, Adam!

And of course, mommy and daddy, too!

And Melanie and Kirra wanted in on the photos, too!  I just couldn't resist getting a picture of them in their adorable matching dresses!  

And after that, it was time to eat and play! 

After lunch and some play time, then it was time for cake!  

Jack wanted that cake soooo badly, and he was such a good boy and waited patiently for it... even when Avah snuck some frosting right under his nose!  He looked at that frosting with such longing, but I was so proud of him when he kept his hands to himself and not in the cake!

And then, it was playtime again!  We had so much fun in that bounce house and I took so many pictures that it was really hard to narrow down (and also was the reason that it took me so long to get around to posting this!), but here are some highlights of playing in the bounce house!

This next series of pics crack me up... Amy was "bouncing" Jack, and he was laughing so hard!  Sorry about my poor aim... it's hard to take pictures when both you and your subject are bouncing!

As you can see, we were having so much fun that even Travis came in to join us! All that jumping, though, tired poor Sam out!  Luckily he has a very comfy grandma to nap on!

Luke really seemed to enjoy his party, and we all enjoyed him! By the way, if you ask Luke how old he is, he very enthusiastically will tell you that he is one! See?

Luke, we are so glad that you had such a fun party!  We love you, kid!