Good Morning Baltimore

Yesterday for Labor Day, we took a much needed family day trip to the National Aquarium in Balitmore.  We really hadn't done anything "fun" (other than picnics and parks) since our family reunion vacation in June, so it was about time. 

The drive there took about 1 hour and 45 minutes or so.  We made one lunch stop, so I could feed Anna.  The boys were OK, but boy do I miss our van DVD player (it is broken).  After about an hour, I finally gave Jackson my ipod nano that has a Mickey Mouse episode and let Wyatt look at Erik's android phone that has a netflix app on it.  We are weak parents! 

It was my first time ever in Baltimore, and I really liked it! The moment we were really in the city, I blasted "Good Morning Baltimore" from Hairspray, and sang along.  For some reason Erik didn't join in :), but seriously that might have been the highlight of the day for me. 

I wanted to take a picture of both boys by the boats at the Harbor, but Wyatt was a little too nervous to be close to the water without me or Erik!

Those are some big jaws aren't they?  The aquarium was really great.  I have to say I didn't like it quite as much as the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  I'm not sure if that's just my California bias or not, but this one was still pretty cool.

It was fun to see the boys so excited to see all of the sea creatures.  Unfortunately the place was pretty packed, so we had to keep a pretty tight reign on them lest they get lost in the crowds.  As the afternoon wore on though, the crowds thinned and it got easier to meander around.  One of the things the boys really loved was a little 4-D movie with Dora and Diego.  It was 4-D because the theater would spray you with water, fill the room with bubbles, or blast you with wind at different times.  I loved hearing all of the children shriek with delight.  After the second water spray though, Anna was not amused!

Of course Anna was in the trusty front pack!  She did really great, even though she really never got longer than 10 minute naps all day.

Waiting for the dolphin show to begin.

I thought the trainers were good, and I just pictured each trainer as a little girl (there were no boys, are there boy dolphin trainers?  I'm not sure) going to her first dolphin show and thinking, "this is totally what I want to do when I grow up!"   

The rain forest exhibit was pretty neat.  But is was sooooo hot and humid inside (as a rain forest should be I guess!).  Wyatt loved mimicking the noisy, exotic birds.  Sometimes I honestly couldn't tell who was who, just listening.

I really started to become worried about Anna in the humid heat.  She doesn't look too energetic here does she?

It rained on and off all day, and by the evening when we were heading home it was pouring!  Wyatt was having fun sneaking out in the rain while we waited for Erik to come up with the car.  The drive home was better for the boys (even without shows- all of the batteries died on our devices) but much worse for Anna.  She pretty much cried hard the whole way home.  We kept stopping so I could nurse her, but I think she was over tired.  We had a nice dinner at a pizzeria on the way home.  All in all it was a really fun labor day for the Nyholms!