Aquarium Visit

As some of you know, Gabby loves "fishies." Her favorite stuffed toy is a multicolored fish. Her favorite bathing suit has fish on it. And she loves to watch them swim. I recently took the girls to the Seattle Aquarium. They really enjoyed it, so I bought a membership.

Our friends, Tom and Gail, have been visiting from CA. They visit us every year on their way to Canada for their summer vacation. I decided to use my guest passes to take them to see the aquarium with the girls today. A fun time was had by all.

Our aquarium is a pretty nice. As you walk in, there is a floor-to-ceiling fish tank with many, many fish swimming in it. There are little benches to sit on while you watch. (I could sit there for hours sometimes. It's very relaxing.) I call it the Wall o' Fish. It's a name Jack would have liked. I even had Tom take our picture standing in front of said wall.

Another fun exhibit is of what happens when a wave occurs. This is a really long tank with a curve at either end. At the end where the wave is generated, you can tell that the wave will happen soon. Then, the wave is formed, and it travels the entire length of the tank to the other end, and we get to see what happens to the sea life under the surface as it rides out the force of the wave underwater. It's pretty cool. We were standing at the wave generation end. Every time Gabby could see a wave was coming, she'd say something like, "It's doing it!" and jump with joy and excitement. As soon as the wave came, both girls would just scream with laughter. They did this the entire length of the tank. When they saw the wave, they laughed loudly. Some of the attendees got as much fun out of watching my girls as they did watching the fish, if not more!

They also got to play in the tidepools, but they were more interested in playing with the water than touching the starfish. We also saw lots of neat fish in tanks. Of course, Gabby always wanted me to lift her up higher so she could see the fish better. And there was the obligitory visit to the gift shop. Sarah and Gabby both got a new book each, and Tom got Gabby her very own stuffed Nemo which is now a prized posession.

I've promised Gabby a fish tank after we get back from our CA vacation next month. I think she'll really enjoy it. I already have a place picked out where we can all enjoy it.

Sarah hamming it up