The living planet aquarium

On Friday I found myself in the rare situation of having no daycare kids. Times like this call for some much needed time out with the kiddos. Matthais was at his cousins so I loaded up Ian, Emilia and Owen and headed to the aquarium. I was a bit nervous about taking Ian out on an outing like this by myself. Last year we ventured out to the zoo and I felt like we were one of the exhibits. Ian threw so many fits and people literally stopped and stared at us. I left feeling frustrated and defeated...and last year his behavior was much better than it is now. Before the aquarium we stopped to see Adam at work and grabbed some lunch. Ian's first fit started in the Tahoe when I wouldn't let him bring his drink inside. Once we were in the aquarium he threw himself on the floor a few times but didn't have any major tantrums. That is, until I wouldn't let him put his shoes in with the stingrays. He started screaming and threw himself on the floor. It was pretty crowded so I dragged him to an open space and let him lay there. After he was done screaming I gave him my phone with the music playing and he spent the rest of the time with the phone glued to his ear like this...

The other kids had a lot of fun and really enjoyed seeing the different sea creatures.

Millie thought she wanted to touch the stingray but in the end she chickened out.

The penguins were pretty fun to watch

I can't remember what was in this exhibit. Owen just stood there smiling and said "take a picture of me" so I did. Overall I was happy with how our day turned out. It wasn't as stressful as I anticipated and I might even do it again!