The Florida Aquarium

For months now, we have talked about taking the boys to the Florida Aquarium. Thomas desperately LOVES the octopus. We looked up the aquarium's information and when we saw that they had an octopus, we HAD to go! Since winter break was very long this year, we decided to take a day and ride over to Tampa. The boys were super during the car ride. We got there in good time and spent several hours touring the aquarium. Of course, Thomas' favorite part was the octopus. In fact, we saw two! Nathan loved the Coral Reef exhibit. He kept shouting, "Oh, WOW!" while pointing at every animal.

"Mom, it's too bright to smile!"

The sting ray tank. We couldn't touch them like you're allowed to due to water conditions.

"Look, it's NEMO!"

"Cheese."

Touching starfish.

Another octopus. This one is hiding!

playground area

"Cheese."

Sitting in the daddy seahorse's pouch

We thought that it would be too much on the boys if we drove home that same day, so we stayed overnight. It was nice that we booked at an extended stay hotel so that way there was plenty of room for the kids and a full kitchen for all the snacks and juice we brought. Plus, Papa has some good connections. (wink.wink.)After we checked in we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. The boys behaved great! I have to admit it was a different dining experience with children, but it was great that they had a children's menu. We had such a fun time and look forward to going back to Tampa. We didn't get a chance to go to the Lowry Zoo or The Children's Museum, so those places are now on the top of the list of places to visit!

Thomas jumping on the bed.

Nathan jumping on his.





Spreading Out the Holidays

Thanks to the Stomach Bug of 2010, we weren't able to celebrate Christmas with my family on the day we originally planned. It ended up working out even better since Elizabeth and Brian were back from their week long trip to New Hampshire. The kids loved opening more presents and were super excited to get Pillow Pets! It was certainly a wonderful holiday season and it was the perfect way to ring in the New Year together!

Christian LOVED making Thomas laugh!

"I'll take a picture of you while you take a picture of me."

We TRIED to get one of the boys, but wiggly Nathan had other plans.

Thomas is Five and a Half!

On January 2nd, Thomas "celebrated" his half birthday. Only six months until he turns 6 years old. Gee, it's going so fast! We were at Nana's and Papa's to celebrate Christmas and we also celebrated Christian turning 15 (yikes). We sang only half the birthday song to Thomas but let him eat the whole cupcake. :)

Gadget from Santa

Thomas loves cheese. I mean....he only eats cheese! Cheese quesadillas are his absolute favorite. This year Santa brought the family a quesadilla maker! We have already used it a few times and everyone in the family LOVES it! Thomas and Nathan can have the simple cheese ones while Ken and I get to load chicken, onions, and peppers on ours. It's so nice to fix a meal the entire family will eat! Yay!

Time for a Bath

"Nathan, time for a bath." Well, he was very ready as we gathered his jammies and diaper. He's so quick! He loves getting a shower! Can you tell?!

Thomas Learns to Shave

Thomas' favorite Christmas gift was the Toy Story shaving kit that Ken and I got him. He thinks he is so grown up and literally shaves three times a day. He has already told me that he plans to wake up early on the mornings we have school so that he has time to shave. ha! Today I even let him wear a little bit of aftershave. He said he LOVES the way his face smells!

 

Thomas' First Camp Out

Thomas and Nathan got a tent with a detachable tunnel for Christmas and they have had a lot of fun with it in the house. (Not nearly as much as the shark tent.) On Tuesday night Thomas asked if he could camp out in the living room. Oh, he loves camping out now! Plus, he slept in his tent the whole night. :)