We Swam With Grandma Tala--And She Bit Our Toes!

So another year has gone by and I am officially a year older!~ Actually this half of the year is great because whenever I forget how old we are, Lady Hiva can answer because we are the same this half! haha

It was a special birthday. Lady Hiva and the kids really made it a wonderful celebration. It started with us watching LEAP! together the night before.  In the morning they woke up and baked cupcakes. Lucky Dragon was so happy that he made them look like a temple and pointed out that all of the candles (left over Cars 3 candles from his birthday) were the 'Moronis'! Awesome little guy. They had also bought gifts the day before and after some great coaching Lucky Dragon would not tell me what it was. Normally he is spilling out of excitement and tells all. He at least waited until I sat down for breakfast to announce that they are giving me a Hungarian Horntail puzzle and a Hogwarts blanket. He then proceeded to remind me that He is in Slytherin, I am in Hufflepuff and Lady Hiva is in Ravenclaw. (When we were at the Harry Potter Park the Sorting Hat put us in those Houses...and of course he remembers). When I asked him which  House Koala Bear was in he said she was in Hufflepuff with me.

We then had planned on going to Lagoon together...but arrived only to find out that it is closed on weekdays now! LAME! So plans changed quickly. We went to Hill Air force Museum and were amazed by the large collection of planes. It is not as big as the Smithsonian Air and Space Collection, but it was quite extensive. We talked about the military and the service they render us and about how each plane had a different use. Lucky Dragon was so interested in reading each caption (totally not the way I do museums! I skim read...but he was NOT having that. He wanted details! HAHA).

Lucky Dragon deemed this the "T-Bone" Plane (reference to Cars 3)

She will not crawl...but LOVES to walk

It was sobering to see this exhibit of Utahns that have died in service of our country. It sits off to the side of the museum so I am sure many miss it, but in an eerie chime when the wind blows it reminds us of all that is sacrificed to keep us safe.

From there we went to the Layton Hills Mall to the SeaQuest Aquarium. That was a highlight of the day! We were able to get discounted tickets (I love Google for coupon searching). It was SO worth the money. While smaller than the aquarium in Draper, it is interactive. This means that we actually were able to touch, hold and feed the animals. There is nothing that brings more happiness to my heart than hearing the utter joy of my children's laughter. At one point we were feeding the Lorakeets and they were landing all over us and both children were laughing hysterically. Koala Bear was laughing so hard her tummy was pulling a Santa Claus and shaking like a bowl full of jelly!

We fed iguanas, monitor lizards, parakeets, turtles, tortoises, lorakeets, parrots and fish! Actually, one way we fed fish was by placing our hands in the tank of small fish that eat dead skin. It is a popular tourist attraction in Asia for the feet, but they had some there for the hands. What an odd feeling. Not sure I could handle that on my feet.

We saw sharks and were interested in the shark eggs. Apparently there are only 8-9 species of sharks that lay eggs and the aquarium has some of them.

Shark Eggs...you can see the little sharks in by the embryos

We then went swimming in the tank full of rays and sharks. It was so much fun to do. They are graceful species. There were multiple species of rays and small sharks. We snorkeled with them for awhile and then fed them. It was crazy to feed them. Lucky Dragon loved to feed the sharks. He was a bit bothered by the rays because as we were standing on the platform to feed them they would come looking for food and nibble on your feet. He was so worried they were going to bit his feet off. I was proud of him for doing as well as he did. One brave Dragon in our family! We swam with Grandma Tala (Reference to Moana).

To end the day we went to Pineview Reservoir and played on the deserted beach and swam until the sun went down. Again, it was so amazing to hear the laughter of our little family. It was a perfect day. I was able to spend time with the three people that mean the most to me in the whole world. I would not have wanted to spend it any other way. My heart was full of love and gratitude.