Swimming Along (12 years later)

I was so excited about the Georgia Aquarium Trip (disclaimer in later posts), that we decided to drive to a nearby one with the boy. I was quite impressed that in the gift shop, he patted a manatee on the head and said, "we're going to see you next." He was right!

Now, manatees are fun creatures, but not that uncommon around here and so rarely a cause for a second look. But these guys were so HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE, they reminded me an annoying car dealership. Massive, I tell ya.

We also had the pleasure of a face-to-face with a sea turtle. If you haven't seen these in person, they are also way bigger than you'd expect after little pet red-ears or even run-ins with a few snappers. No matter where/when we see sea turtles, we're always a bit suprised at how big they are. Another of our favorites.

Mote seemed a tad smaller than other places we've been, but the exhibits they had were really cool. They had quite a few tanks with lower windows, which made it a ton easier for Kaden to explore a bit on his own. Above, he's fascinated with a crab. I was fairly encouraged that he can recognize a fair amount of sea life already. Of course, all 3 of us were stumped by the chocolate chip sea cucumber, which looked a bit like an overripe banana. But still...

I also got some great ideas on ways to do "religious education" differently. Above is a mural where kids each got a puzzle piece to paint- when assembled, it formed the outline of a shark and was part of an educational display. I'm thinking this might be good for a saint's feast day!

Even with the plexi-glass, it was a bit unnerving to see Kaden staring down a shark or two. It was his immediate goal when we announced our mini adventure.

Me: Want to go to the aquarium?

Kaden: Oh, yes! yay-yay-yay!

Me: Do you know what an aquarium is?

Kaden: No.

Me: It's like a really big fish tank with all kinds of different fish in there. Big ones, that we don't usually see.

Kaden: Can we see the bad sharks?

Me: Well, not all sharks are bad, you know. They help keep the oceans healthy.

Kaden: Ok. Can we see the bad sharks?

Me: Honey, sharks have an important place in the ecosystem (a look from JimDad)... uh, sure.

***

Even now, he'll tell you his favorite part was the sharks. I'm not sure if he even remembers anything else. We spent a goodly amount of time at that exhibit... after his staring, he started assuming superhero poses and 'shooting' the sharks (complete with sound effects). Sigh.

Oh, and the trip was the 1st part of our '12 days for 12 years' anniversary celebration :) Part 2 was a "great date" last night, and we'll stretch the other 10 out through the summer!

Home Sweet Home

TWO supermans picked me up from the airport today! One was wearing his costume and trying to wake up... the other was Clark Kent style.

But Clarkie boy came in quite handy when I unpacked and found out that about HALF of the resources I bought at the conference were soaking wet! It was a really long day, and I'm tired. And now I have to email a stinking airline to discuss their policy of CHARGING to check a bag but then leaving it stand outside during a 2 hour RAIN delay, which doesn't seem like "checking" anything at all.



This past week I was off to Atlanta for a ministry conference. A few friends also went, and it was the first conference since Kaden's been born that we were at without family or volunteers around. And you know what? It was MORE productive and MORE rejuvenating than any other multi-task attempt. Amazing.

And since it was downtown Atlanta, we had fun walking around and visiting some touristy sites. Aquarium- Great fun! That Centennial Olypmic Park is waaaay cool! But the Coca-Cola world? Not so much. Save your money folks- just google "coke art" and then liquify some bright candy into a too-sweet beverage to sip and dump down the sink. Oh, then give about 50 kids a TON of caffeine and sugar and let them run around you and scream. That's pretty much the scoop.

Anyway, one of the benefits of the trip (besides some really neat connections /ideas / resources) was that I realized how much my family needs a real vacation: us relaxing together somewhere away from all the ordinary stuff. So I guess it's a good thing summer's coming up, eh? What's your vacation plans?

Another Day, another Tri

First of all, let's hear it for middle aged, slightly out of shape women. While we don't currently have any people who fit that description on our team, I was so. very. impressed! by all the women racing in this morning's triathlon.

It was a 400 yard swim in the river, then into transition and off on an 11 mile bike race, and then a 3.1 mile run. Any one of those would tucker me out for the day. Below is Jim after the swim, getting ready to start the biking leg.

It's hard to say if he was happy or not. I'm not sure 'happy' applies during the competition. And while it looks like he's moseying along above, he's not. They have a rule about walking your bike out of the area. Tho' he is making it look easy in the photo, it (competing) looks much different in person.

But the suprising, and very cool, thing about tri's is this: there is such a wide range of competitors and people involved. There's the folks who you'd picture in your head when you say "he's a triathlete" or "she does triathlons". They're the ones who finish in the top 5 or 10 overall. Today's winner was around 54 minutes total, I think. Then there's the folks who LOOK like they should be placing: namebrand gear, special tri-suits, $3000 bikes (yes, you read that right). And then they get on the course, and they're huffing and puffing the whole way. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

There's other folks who are genuinely competitive with the field, despite the lack of fancy gear and clothes. And there's a whole heck of a lot of people who are just aiming for the finish line. Their goal is to complete their first race. To shave a few minutes off their last time. To not panic on the run, or not throw up after the race. Or even just to avoid cute pirates on the course.

But seriously? There's something to be said for all that. I got choked up cheering complete strangers on, because they made eye contact and nodded. I could see how they were "giving it all she's got, Captain." Some said thank you, others smiled. It could've been the annoying duck quacker I was using to accompany my shouts. Or maybe just that we showed up to acknowledge their effort.

Let's face it, folks. Triathlons are exhausting. I get so used to Jim's training and his teammates talking strategy, I forget that. He's done 2 sprint lengths (like this), 1 mini and a few relays. It seems like anyone could just throw on some shoes and get out there. Maybe. But did I mention the firetruck and ambulance came today? Because not everyone who starts finishes. And not a whole lot of us start to begin with.

Which is why I'm so proud of TriDad, who is spurred on each race by a little voice yelling "Go Daddy Go! Go Daddy Go!" The sweat in his eyes, the stitch in his side, the cramps in his legs: none of it stops him from finishing.

E-R-E spells Everything

Our toddler can read. Sure enough, anytime he wants to correct you, he points to a written word and says "E-R-E. King" or "E-R-E. Cousins" or "E.R.E. Tomorrow". It's his answer for everything right now.

We also have the first (documented) incident of the child working the parental circuit. The other morning, he walked up to me with some clothes: 'Mama, do these match?' I mentally noted that he was ahead of the game by caring if they matched, then told him that he need a pair of green shorts. Ten minutes later, I see him fully dressed in the original clothes. Er?

Turns out Jimdad had sent him in to request the matchy-matchy service, and then Kaden returned to his dad, saying "it's good". Jimdad, slightly incredulous, "Mom said it matched?" Kaden: "yes, see here (pointing to a logo) and here (holding up shorts). It matches." I'm not sure if we should be impressed with his powers of reasoning, impressed with his ability to run around the parentals, or just dismayed at it all.

Oooh- see the stingray in this pic above? We saw some at the beach the other day. I stayed in the water long enough to snap the blurry pic, then headed for some sand castle building.

This pic is of a baby gator (head toward the left, about the middle of the pic). This was slightly MORE exciting, because we were on a boardwalk and not actually IN the water with the little guy. We hit the swamp and the beaches when some family came down- loads of people and loads of fun. And a great excuse to adverture in our amazing wild 'backyard' too!