It's a Gulfarium...Not an aquarium...

Thought I'd start this post with pretty cool pic...At least I think it's cool.  I had to leave my "mark" and represent.  It didn't last long though...The time came in soon after I took the picture.  I tried at least...

The Florida vaca started out pretty rainy.  We decided not to let it get us down and spent one of the rainy days at the Florida Gulfarium.  Before I get into this or post pics I have to tell you that you CANNOT  call it an aquarium down there.  If you do, you WILL be corrected.  I really don't know what the difference is, but apparently there is a difference.  And we know better than to screw the name up again...  :)

This place was pretty neat.  They had a lot of different tanks and shows.  The seating for them was pretty good too.  You were never too far back so you could see and take pictures.  The girls LOVED seeing the dolphins. 

Allison decided on that day that she might want to be a dolphin trainer and decided to ask the trainer what she would have to do to become a trainer herself.  Apparently you need a degree in sociology so you can learn to train the dolphins using behavior training.  Never thought of that before, but it makes sense.  She also found out that she'd have to do a lot of internships, even some that don't pay.  I don't know that she completely understood that she wouldn't get money for it.  I don't think her 11 year old brain quite comprehends that yet...

This is from the multi species show.  This sea lion was pretty cool!  In the second picture, there was also a dolphin that jumped up and touched a buoy in the air.  I wish I had gotten a picture of the dolphin too!

This is after the sea lion show.  These 3 sea lions were too funny.  They danced, clapped, and "asked" for applause every chance they got.  I guess they wore themselves out!

These sharks almost looked like they were fake.  They really didn't move much.  Every now and then you'd see one of them shift just slightly.  The picture doesn't really show how big they were.  They weren't huge, but they definitely weren't small either.  I'd be scared to death to be in there with them!

Overall, the Gulfarium was a lot of fun.  Even for the grown-ups.  :)  I'd definitely go there again!  :)

Vacation...becoming Beach Bums

The past month has been busy! June ended with a round of VBS for the girls. They attended VBS at Mobberly Baptist Church and absolutely loved it. Dennis Lee, a ventriloquist, opened and ended each night and was really quite entertaining. I even giggled at some of his jokes. :) Truly a guy with gifts. (Click on his name to check out his website.) The girls seemed to really listen to the lessons at church and talked nonstop about how fun it was for them. Mobberly is a huge church that offers tons of stuff for the kiddos. I was very impressed!

A couple days after VBS ended, we drove 10 1/2 hours to Fort Walton Beach, Florida to visit my sister and her family. We left out on Sat., July 3rd and stayed until Friday the 9th. We spent the 4th at the beach. It was a lot of fun! It was also my sister's birthday. (She always thought the fireworks were for her...Ha!)

The girls had a blast at the beach. I think it was one of the things they looked forward to the most. The last time they were at the beach was in 2001. I think Allison was 2 1/2 and Whit was about 7 months old. I can't believe how long it had been...

The boat in the background of this picture is a dolphin cruise boat. Basically, you ride around on the boat and watch the dophins that swim around the boat. We went on one in 2001. It was pretty cool. I was amazed at the number of dolphins that swam around the boat. We didn't have time to go on it this trip, but we'll definitely try next trip. :)

These are a couple of my favorite pictures of the girls on the beach.

Allison and Whitney spent a lot of time looking for shells - both broken and unbroken shells. I can't tell you how many we brought home...it was a lot, mostly broken ones though. They also tried to catch small crabs and fish that were coming up with the tide. Watching them hop like deer and dive on what they were trying to catch was quite entertaining to say the least. They never did catch any...

Mike finally got a little R&R. He needed it desperately. He has been swamped at work and needed some time away. He hasn't had a real vacation in at least 3 years. It was a much needed brain break for him. It was good to see him relax a bit. And, quite frankly, it was fun to hang out with him. He's an okay kind of guy. I think I'll keep him. ;)

Got a cute pic of me and Ally on the beach. She is growing up and maturing pretty quickly. It was fun to watch her still be a kid. Especially when she hunted for see shells. Each new shell proved to be an amazing find to her. :)

One of the last pics we took that day. The day was a bit overcast and cloudy so when I saw the light shining through the clouds as the sun set, I had to get this picture. I absolutely love how beautiful the sky looked that night. Perfect ending to a great day.

Enough pictures for tonight. I'll post more manana!

Hugs!

B~