Today we checked an item off our Summer Bucket List and we thought it deserved it's own post because we had such an awesome time (and it is bound to be super pic heavy). As it turned out, Steven put his time in at work this week in 4 days so he was able to not work Friday. So, we decided to think about checking off an item on our bucket list. We talked about possibly going to the Science Center, but decided that since we had the opportunity to go over to Tampa on a Friday and visit the aquarium, we should do that while we had the chance. When we put the aquarium on our bucket list, we pretty much knew it meant the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. We just didn't know if it would happen. When we made it to July without going, I thought we were done because July is so crazy for us. But, here we are. We decided to keep it a secret until the morning when we left in case we had to change the plans last minute. Kenzie was super excited to find out what our fun day was going to hold. She was exceptionally excited when we told her there was also a splash pad at the aquarium because this kid loves herself a splash pad.
The drive out to Tampa was pretty uneventful. Thankfully. We left late enough to miss most of the rush hour traffic and made it to the aquarium pretty quickly. The kids were super excited to get inside. We bought tickets online beforehand so we made it inside really quickly. Kenzie immediately wanted a map and started to plan out her day. As best as a 3-year-old that can't actually read a map can plan.
We started at the touch tank in the lobby. Will wasn't able to reach inside and Kenzie wasn't super excited about touching any fish. She liked watching them... touching them though? Not so much. I did. Might as well. Haha!
At this point, we had removed Will from the umbrella stroller we walked in. We chose to push him (or so we thought) instead of have me wear him because we figured it would be easier to get him in and out. As it turned out, that stroller did little more for us than hold the bag we carried in because he decided he wanted to see everything possible and walking was the best way to do that. Okay, then. We were off!
One thing I really like about this aquarium (though I didn't really remember from our last visit because it was years ago) is that all the exhibits seems to run into one another. You start in one and gradually make your way through each one in an organized manner. You don't accidentally miss anything that way. We started in the Florida Wetlands exhibit. This was pretty exciting for the kids because they recognized a ton of the animals and fish in the exhibit. From the alligators to the gar. We stopped for a few minutes to watch a talk about the alligator. The kids seemed to enjoy it. We were noticing that Will was super into everything he saw. Pleasantly surprised us. We were wondering how much he would get out of everything, but he LOVED it. He ran from tank to tank, pointing, and telling us about "fish" and "gators" that "chomp chomp". He continued in this manner throughout the entire aquarium. It was awesome. We knew it was right up Kenzie's alley because she has loved aquariums for years, but this was probably one of the first times that Will has gotten so excited.
We headed up to the Madagascar section next. That means... lemurs!!! Love those things. Will seemed to think that lemurs talk by opening and closing their mouths really fast. He is so strange. Kenzie just kept talking about how she has met one before (at the library) and it really liked her and jumped on her. That one was much larger though. I think she was hoping one of these would come out to play. I really just enjoyed the lemur and tortoise sharing a meal.
The next exhibit was the reef. We got to meet quite a few fun creatures. I think everyone's favorite were the little eels that bury themselves in the sand. I can't remember if they were grass eels, garden eels, or something else. Whatever it was, they were pretty cool. Will even did an interpretive dance to explain to us how they dance. Kenzie just couldn't help herself and was super excited with every tank and we could barely keep up with her. She also spent a ton of time watching the people that worked there test the salt water. Future marine biologist in the making, maybe. She was super enthused with that. Not quite sure why that seemed like such an exciting process to an almost 4-year-old... but it was. We practically had to drag her away from there.
The next exhibit was everyone's favorite, I think. We worked our way towards the shark tank. First, we checked out some pretty cool tanks along the way. It was all fun and games until a super large fish swam up by Will without any warning and freaked him out. I admit... I laughed. A lot. His reaction was priceless. Eventually, we found the shark. Okay, I think it found us. My fav pic of the day was the shark photobomb. Steven had to sit down with the kids while we watching him though because Kenzie was faking being scared and I think she really scared Will. He wasn't super into that shark getting that close. Again, sort of funny. As we worked our way around the tank, we ran into Tango the Turtle. Kenzie ran right in for a hug. Will made me carry him until Tango had danced away and was no longer in his sight. He wasn't having it with that turtle. We then got a chance to check out the large shark tank viewing area. We didn't hang around for the show though since a couple of huge camp groups were wandering in and it was getting pretty crowded.
There were a few more tanks after that. I'm not sure off the top of my head what the exhibit was called, but it included some of our favorite wildlife. Jellyfish and lionfish. They are both so pretty! There were also some fun interactive type things along the way that both kids insisted on trying out. We were both just still super surprised that their excitement had continued at the same level until this point. Also, that Will was still walking... no, running... and super involved.
At this point, we had worked our way through all of the exhibits and it was almost time for lunch. We decided to run outside and check out the splash pad before lunch just to see what we were dealing with.
After that came the moment that the kids had been waiting for. The splash pad! We changed Kenzie and then just decided to leave Will in his shorts and add his rash guard. We didn't think he would be super into the splash pad. He is usually a bit more reserved when there are that many people around and he isn't 100% sure. As it turned out, both kids were pretty excited. Kenzie went running right in. Will ended up taking a while, but eventually he was right in there with everyone else. They loved it. It was hot though so we ended up letting them play for about 45 minutes or so (they were super sunblocked) before we had to pull them away. It was nap time after all.
We headed back through the gift shop and I did a double take when I saw a rack of large stuffed dolphins that were usually $20 on sale for $5. Um... sold! The kids were crazy excited about their new dolphins. Kenzie's name is Polka Dotted Fish. Yeah, she's really original. Weird kid. We then made the choice (mistake?) to ask Kenzie if there was anything else she wanted to do. Apparently, she had not yet had enough. She decided she wanted to try the touch tank again. Really, she just wanted to play in the water. Then, she wanted to go see the sharks one more time. Okie doke. As we made it up to the shark tank, they were starting that show again. Secret Sealife Superheros. Kenzie asked to stay. Will had zonked out at this point (at least that stroller I pushed around all day became handy at some point) so we decided to stay. Steven held her for a few minutes until our social butterfly noticed a group of camp kids (older than her) sitting on the floor near the front and asked to go sit with them. Um... sure. She went right up to them and sat down like she belonged there. We ended up staying for most of the show before we decided to pull her away and head home. She said she really liked the shark show. =) It just amazes us constantly 1. how social she is and how much she lacks any sense of fear related to social situations and 2. how much she has grown up. She can sit for long periods of time now and just listen or even participate when necessary. She is growing up too fast. Way too fast.
The entire way to the car, Kenzie talked about what a fun day she had. She said she really liked the sharks but the splash pad was her favorite. Will (continuing to be the most easy going kid ever) was put right into his carseat without ever waking up. Then, we started home. It all broke down at this point though. We got onto I-4 and were doing just fine until we hit traffic. Bad traffic. It took us 45 minutes to go 3 miles. I told Steven that we could both run that distance faster than that. (Apparently we have been running too long at this point.) There was a pretty bad accident. Looked like 1 car, but it wasn't pretty. Downside of all that was that Will ended up waking up. He likely would have slept until we were home, but we were held up for so long. He was pretty good natured though. What really surprised us is that on a 2+ hour trip home, Kenzie never even dozed off. She must have been exhausted but she was so hyped up from her day that she stayed awake the entire way home. She did go right to bed tonight though, so she was obviously tired. Will went right down too so I'm calling it a successful day.
We managed to check one of our bigger things off our list and it ended up being one of our best days this summer so far. So happy we were able to do it and both kids were so involved and excited all day. Totally worth the long trip home and any money we had to spend to make it happen. Love to see these kids smile.
The drive out to Tampa was pretty uneventful. Thankfully. We left late enough to miss most of the rush hour traffic and made it to the aquarium pretty quickly. The kids were super excited to get inside. We bought tickets online beforehand so we made it inside really quickly. Kenzie immediately wanted a map and started to plan out her day. As best as a 3-year-old that can't actually read a map can plan.
At this point, we had removed Will from the umbrella stroller we walked in. We chose to push him (or so we thought) instead of have me wear him because we figured it would be easier to get him in and out. As it turned out, that stroller did little more for us than hold the bag we carried in because he decided he wanted to see everything possible and walking was the best way to do that. Okay, then. We were off!
One thing I really like about this aquarium (though I didn't really remember from our last visit because it was years ago) is that all the exhibits seems to run into one another. You start in one and gradually make your way through each one in an organized manner. You don't accidentally miss anything that way. We started in the Florida Wetlands exhibit. This was pretty exciting for the kids because they recognized a ton of the animals and fish in the exhibit. From the alligators to the gar. We stopped for a few minutes to watch a talk about the alligator. The kids seemed to enjoy it. We were noticing that Will was super into everything he saw. Pleasantly surprised us. We were wondering how much he would get out of everything, but he LOVED it. He ran from tank to tank, pointing, and telling us about "fish" and "gators" that "chomp chomp". He continued in this manner throughout the entire aquarium. It was awesome. We knew it was right up Kenzie's alley because she has loved aquariums for years, but this was probably one of the first times that Will has gotten so excited.
We headed up to the Madagascar section next. That means... lemurs!!! Love those things. Will seemed to think that lemurs talk by opening and closing their mouths really fast. He is so strange. Kenzie just kept talking about how she has met one before (at the library) and it really liked her and jumped on her. That one was much larger though. I think she was hoping one of these would come out to play. I really just enjoyed the lemur and tortoise sharing a meal.
The next exhibit was the reef. We got to meet quite a few fun creatures. I think everyone's favorite were the little eels that bury themselves in the sand. I can't remember if they were grass eels, garden eels, or something else. Whatever it was, they were pretty cool. Will even did an interpretive dance to explain to us how they dance. Kenzie just couldn't help herself and was super excited with every tank and we could barely keep up with her. She also spent a ton of time watching the people that worked there test the salt water. Future marine biologist in the making, maybe. She was super enthused with that. Not quite sure why that seemed like such an exciting process to an almost 4-year-old... but it was. We practically had to drag her away from there.
The next exhibit was everyone's favorite, I think. We worked our way towards the shark tank. First, we checked out some pretty cool tanks along the way. It was all fun and games until a super large fish swam up by Will without any warning and freaked him out. I admit... I laughed. A lot. His reaction was priceless. Eventually, we found the shark. Okay, I think it found us. My fav pic of the day was the shark photobomb. Steven had to sit down with the kids while we watching him though because Kenzie was faking being scared and I think she really scared Will. He wasn't super into that shark getting that close. Again, sort of funny. As we worked our way around the tank, we ran into Tango the Turtle. Kenzie ran right in for a hug. Will made me carry him until Tango had danced away and was no longer in his sight. He wasn't having it with that turtle. We then got a chance to check out the large shark tank viewing area. We didn't hang around for the show though since a couple of huge camp groups were wandering in and it was getting pretty crowded.
There were a few more tanks after that. I'm not sure off the top of my head what the exhibit was called, but it included some of our favorite wildlife. Jellyfish and lionfish. They are both so pretty! There were also some fun interactive type things along the way that both kids insisted on trying out. We were both just still super surprised that their excitement had continued at the same level until this point. Also, that Will was still walking... no, running... and super involved.
At this point, we had worked our way through all of the exhibits and it was almost time for lunch. We decided to run outside and check out the splash pad before lunch just to see what we were dealing with.
We then went back inside to eat. So we heard that food wasn't allowed in, but we probably could have easily brought some stuff in. We probably should have because our kids were apparently starving from all their fish spotting. Between them, they polished off a grilled cheese, hot dog, a ton of fries, about 3 (of our 5 that Steven and I were eating) chicken tenders, and milk. We aren't sure what came over them. At some point, Steven and I stopped eating so we could let them finish and make sure they got everything they wanted. It was a bit crazy.
After that came the moment that the kids had been waiting for. The splash pad! We changed Kenzie and then just decided to leave Will in his shorts and add his rash guard. We didn't think he would be super into the splash pad. He is usually a bit more reserved when there are that many people around and he isn't 100% sure. As it turned out, both kids were pretty excited. Kenzie went running right in. Will ended up taking a while, but eventually he was right in there with everyone else. They loved it. It was hot though so we ended up letting them play for about 45 minutes or so (they were super sunblocked) before we had to pull them away. It was nap time after all.
We headed back through the gift shop and I did a double take when I saw a rack of large stuffed dolphins that were usually $20 on sale for $5. Um... sold! The kids were crazy excited about their new dolphins. Kenzie's name is Polka Dotted Fish. Yeah, she's really original. Weird kid. We then made the choice (mistake?) to ask Kenzie if there was anything else she wanted to do. Apparently, she had not yet had enough. She decided she wanted to try the touch tank again. Really, she just wanted to play in the water. Then, she wanted to go see the sharks one more time. Okie doke. As we made it up to the shark tank, they were starting that show again. Secret Sealife Superheros. Kenzie asked to stay. Will had zonked out at this point (at least that stroller I pushed around all day became handy at some point) so we decided to stay. Steven held her for a few minutes until our social butterfly noticed a group of camp kids (older than her) sitting on the floor near the front and asked to go sit with them. Um... sure. She went right up to them and sat down like she belonged there. We ended up staying for most of the show before we decided to pull her away and head home. She said she really liked the shark show. =) It just amazes us constantly 1. how social she is and how much she lacks any sense of fear related to social situations and 2. how much she has grown up. She can sit for long periods of time now and just listen or even participate when necessary. She is growing up too fast. Way too fast.
The entire way to the car, Kenzie talked about what a fun day she had. She said she really liked the sharks but the splash pad was her favorite. Will (continuing to be the most easy going kid ever) was put right into his carseat without ever waking up. Then, we started home. It all broke down at this point though. We got onto I-4 and were doing just fine until we hit traffic. Bad traffic. It took us 45 minutes to go 3 miles. I told Steven that we could both run that distance faster than that. (Apparently we have been running too long at this point.) There was a pretty bad accident. Looked like 1 car, but it wasn't pretty. Downside of all that was that Will ended up waking up. He likely would have slept until we were home, but we were held up for so long. He was pretty good natured though. What really surprised us is that on a 2+ hour trip home, Kenzie never even dozed off. She must have been exhausted but she was so hyped up from her day that she stayed awake the entire way home. She did go right to bed tonight though, so she was obviously tired. Will went right down too so I'm calling it a successful day.
We managed to check one of our bigger things off our list and it ended up being one of our best days this summer so far. So happy we were able to do it and both kids were so involved and excited all day. Totally worth the long trip home and any money we had to spend to make it happen. Love to see these kids smile.
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