A Trip to the Aquarium

I organized a field trip for our homeschool group to visit the local aquarium.  I didn't think it would be that big of an endeavor but it sort of was!  We went a couple of years ago and I really wanted to go again- and no one else wanted to organize it- so I volunteered!  The aquarium gave us a great rate for an all-day pass that gave us unlimited access to the rides and aquarium so it was hard to pass up this opportunity.  We had over 50 kids and their parents attend!

 

Before we started exploring, the kids had a little class prepared for them by some of the aquarium workers.  Their class was jungle-themed.  Basically they got to get close to a parrot!

 We explored the museum and saw one of their resident white tigers.  Ryan noticed that every time an aquarium employee walked by, the tiger got up and started pacing at the window.

 

Next we visited the sting rays, where we could stick our hands in and "pet" them.  Everyone was pretty timid at first but I think Luke was able to put his hands on one!  (A couple of months ago they also got to pet a shark at one of our museum field trip days- even Jack stuck his hand in and touched it!)

 

We went to lunch upstairs at the restaurant, where the kids sat a table with friends and the adults sat at a table alone.  We were right next to the ceiling-high aquarium, and we all enjoyed watching the fish and learning about them from our waitress.

Finally we went outside for the train, carousel, and this thing that took them up in the air and dropped them gradually, bit by bit, back down again.  It wasn't one huge drop which is what I initially was worried about!  Since we had unlimited passes they went on it a couple of times.  Jack even went!

The weather was cold, gray, and dreary, so we didn't stay outside as long as we did a few years ago, but the kids still had a great time.  I know they had a great time when they look like this on the ride home. :-)

Renaissance Festival

The local Renaissance Festival hosts "school days" during the week during which they tame down the bawdy acts and make the whole thing a little more kid-friendly.  We heard it was a fun family activity, so Ryan took a day off and we all went together!

One rainy, cold day while we were dating, Ryan and I went together.  I don't remember why we decided to go, but it was our first time and we were poor college students, so I remember not having a lot of fun!  Upon walking in, a man with an accent called out to Ryan (who was wearing a visor), "Did you pay full price for that half cap?!"  Ryan still says that anytime I put on a visor.  That's my biggest memory from that day, probably 11 or 12 years ago!

I think it's fun that over a decade later, we went back with four children and a little money in our pocket this time.  I think we made up for not spending any before!  The first thing we all did when we walked in was all got our faces painted!

After that we walked around a bit while we made a plan.  We knew we had to see the joust, and we wanted to hit up a few booths for demonstrations.  The first thing we saw was a blacksmith.  The kids were pretty interested in watching him make a tool for turning steaks on a grill.

Almost right after that was the joust.  We wanted to get there early enough to get a seat in the front. 

Jack chose to have a dolphin painted on his face!

Luke kept asking if they were really hurting each other.  As you can imagine, this was his favorite part of the day!

Luke was enamored with all of the knights he kept seeing.  Statues, men dressed as knights, swords and chainmaille in the shops.  He kept asking if everything was real.  We stopped to take lots of pictures.

In this shop, the man demonstrated how sharp his sword was- he said it could cut a person in half! (I don't think the kids picked up on that delightful tidbit.)  Yet it was very light-weight- he let Luke "hold" it!

They started begging to play games so we found some bows and arrows to shoot.  The kids had practiced with the bows and arrows that PawPaw had made for them over the summer, so they looked like professionals in my opinion.

The second show we saw was a man who showcased his skills with a whip, then because that wasn't impressive enough he also lit it on fire!  We didn't get an up-front seat for this act... Which, halfway into the show, I realized I was completely okay with that!

At this point we stopped to have lunch.  We had packed a lunch and left it in the car, so Ryan went to grab it while the rest of us slowly meandered to a table.  Everyone was getting pretty tired but we hadn't accomplished nearly everything yet!  But after lunch it started to rain!  Luckily we had our umbrella and stood in a covered area for about 15 minutes until it passed.  While it got everything muddy, I think a lot of people left at this time because the place seemed to clear out after the rain.  We found some more games for the kids, shopped around for cheap souvenirs, then left for home around 3:00.

Everyone really enjoyed themselves!  I am sure we'll go back next year.  Ryan really wants to dress up, too, so if you see any Robin Hood men's costumes on sale, let me know! 

The Exhibit that Brought Me Back

When I was in high school, 16 years old, my parents did something crazy.  They let me go to Rome.  With a wild group of girlfriends.  Practically alone.

Okay not practically alone, but looking back I do think they were sort of crazy to let me go like that.  I was escorted by a consecrated lay member of Regnum Christi, and I was with a group of girlfriends- yes, we were wild!  What seemed like a non-stop whirlwind behind-the-scenes adventure lasted only a few nights, but at 16 years old I was pretty sure I could do it all!

I remember the boxed lunches, sleeping on the floor of a school room, feeling like the bus driver could have cared a little more for his driving skills, singing and chanting JOHN PAUL TWO, WE LOVE YOU and squeezing our way into St. Peter's Square to wind up being only inches away from him as he drove by in his pope mobile!  Pentecost '98, mass and confirmations at St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Trevi Fountain, gelato, so many basilicas, wearing skirts the entire trip, and the COLD showers!  Talking to the Swiss guards, the bright green grass at a seminary we visited, relics and incorruptible bodies, and the Pieta at St. Peter's.

I remember popping into a convenient store for some Tylenol and just thinking- so this is what it would be like to live in Rome.

That was 16 years ago but I remember the sights and feelings and the emotions like it was yesterday.

I'm so happy my parents put me on that plane.  So grateful they trusted an amazing woman, a woman who changed my life, to take care of me for a few days, halfway across the world.
 

Pope Saint John Paul II will always have a special place in my heart!  John Paul the Great, Pray for Us!