Saturday at the Aquarium

My husband and I have planned several outings this summer for our children. They spent the first two weeks of their summer at family reunions with my parents. They will spend the last three weeks of July with my husband’s parents. This gives us five weeks to enjoy being a family before the hectic schedules of four of us being in school begins. I want to state that we do not have something for everyday of those five weeks and there will only be three big trips. They have already burst their pool in the backyard by using it as riding equipment. I have already heard, “I am bored.” And the bottomless pit of two of their stomachs is mindboggling.

Since it is hot in my part of the world right now, I insisted on an indoor activity. So, this past Saturday we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium. Let’s remember that we are a family of five. This was not an inexpensive trip even though we brought breakfast and snacks from home, we also had to have lunch before we headed home. This could have been made cheaper but I had budgeted it into the plan. I am also annoyed that feeding the turtles and stingrays cost extra and not a one dollar bag of grain that you get at a zoo to feed the goats that can be shared. We did not participate in the feeding of animals.

What I did do was watch the amazement in my children’s eyes as they stared at the glowing jellyfish, the trepidation they had as they placed their hands in water to pet the sharks and stingrays, and the curiosity they portrayed waiting for answers to rapid-fire questions that came non-stop. I turned to find my husband looking at me the same way as I squealed over the baby hammerhead or these amazing red-knobbed sea stars.  We got to touch a horn shark egg. We got to touch an abalone clam which if you touch its foot, it will grab you. It was a unique experience. There are areas where the kids can climb into tunnels that lead to a more close up and personal experience. We ended our trip walking through the bull shark tunnel. The silence of the other visitors increased the wondrous gasps of both children and adults as the sharks swam around and above us.

The trip was worth getting up early on a Saturday to drive two hours in order to get there when it opened. J1 recommends the jellyfish. J2 was enthralled by the seahorses. J3 didn’t want to leave the sharks.  I loved the leopard and hammerhead sharks. My husband loved it all and thought watching our reactions to the creatures as the best part.

This is just one aspect of trying to become a writer. Making time for my family is not something I always succeed at but when I do it is always worth it. The balance comes when I have to make time to write this blog or create a new story and let’s not forget that I start seminary next Monday. If you liked this blog or anything I have written like my page to get automatic updates. As a final note, Wednesday, I will be introducing you to one of my characters in the Temple series.