Aquarium and Sports Camp

This past weekend we went to visit the Aquarium. They have a restaurant there that lets you sit next to a fish tank while you were eating so we made lunch reservations, loaded up the kids and went. Well, lunch was way overpriced, the service had something to be desired, and even though I made reservations, we didn't get to sit next to the tank. It just got worse from there. It was extremely crowded because (gasp) it was actually raining for a change. They make you wear a bracelet showing that you paid for your entrance fee. When Evie saw she wasn't getting one because she was still free she got extremely upset and it just stayed downhill from there. Every time we thought we got her calmed down, she would eyeball one of us wearing a bracelet and start crying all over again. At one of the viewing tanks a little girl came and placed herself between Evie and Sam. Well Evie wasn't having that and pushed the little girl out of the way and then proceeded to start screaming again. The little girl eyeballed her and Dwayne went right over to have Evie apologize for pushing. We moved on to the next section and it turns out the little girl followed us over. She then walked right up to Evie and gave her a big ole giant headbutt. Her daddy came right over and started to apologize and we explained that Evie had actually started it but the father's quick reaction made us think that that was the little girl's typical response to situations she doesn't like. It made us laugh because it reminded us that our children's reactions could always be worse and some things just aren't as bad as others. Of course, Evie was screaming again at this point and I finally just worked my way through the crowds more quickly and end this experience for us all. I was so upset because I was looking forward to going and it just turned out to be one of those experiences that wasn't worth the time and energy. Especially since they charged $15 a person.

Today I got to take Sam to his first ever Sports Camp. Our church hosts several camps throughout the year and this was the first one where the timing and money worked out. It is a generic camp that lets the kids play and experience several different sports throughout the day. The preschoolers just go for half a day. Sam had so much fun and came home just chattering about all the different things he did today. He was excited to find out that he gets to go 2 more days. One of the highlights for him was his being able to play soccer. He told me that he could also play basketball if he wanted to but he emphatically told me that he did NOT want to play basketball and likes soccer much better. They are going to be having sign-ups this summer for flag football starting in August. Hopefully, I can come up with the $100 to sign him up again. That will be a more traditional sports activity in that they will have one practice and one game a week for several weeks. I love that they are making it co-ed and girls will be allowed to play too. Evie wants to participate soooo bad but I keep telling her that as soon as she is 4 we will let her.