Happy Valentine's Day 2009

Holidays are tons more fun with family. Especially Valentine's Day. This Hallmark holiday is waayy overrated, unless you make a big deal about it like Mom E did for the kids. She had heart-shaped felt bags with treats in them for me and Little I and gifts wrapped up for Little I--a wooden Thomas the Tank Engine, the Troublesome Trucks, and some track for them to ride on. It has been a big hit all day. Mr. C got a new toy to grab and chew, but he didn't seem to realize it was a holiday. Rather than fight the crowds and spin the roullette wheel of eating out on Valentine's Day, we're continuing our tradition of eating in. I make dinner and Mom E makes dessert. We're having filet mignon, salad greens with homemade roquefort blue cheese dressing, and roasted root vegetables. For dessert, it's made-from-scratch brownies and vanilla ice cream with a mixed berry sauce. Right now, Little I is considering eating some heart-shaped Jello. So here's a Valentine from us to you, we hope your day is special.

Fun at the Aquarium

You've probably realized by now that we love aquariums. We documented our last visit to the Georgia Aquarium with GG and Papa in a previous blog entry. On our way out of the aquarium, we were given discount coupons for a return visit in January or February. My mom was in town for Mr. C's baptism and I took Tuesday off of work to spend time with her and the family. We decided to use the discount coupons to take a trip to Altanta and to spend some time with my sister and her family in Georgia.

We were especially excited about bringing Little I to see the cold water exhibit. Little I has a Curious George book where Curious George visits an aquarium. Inside, Curious George sees beluga whales, sea lions, and penguins. We knew there were beluga whales and penguins in the Georgia Aquarium's cold water exhibit, so we talked them up. Little I loved walking through the exhibit and seeing one fish exhibit after another. The museum was not at all crowded so we gave him a little more freedom to explore the tanks without having to continually hold our hands. He really liked the "booger whales," and kept wanting to go back to them. We got to see the sea otters at feeding time, which was fun. We were at first a bit dismayed because the penguin exhibit was closed for remodeling. However, we discovered that there were "backstage tours" at the information desk that took people to see the penguins in their temporary homes. This was a real treat for Little I who laughed with glee when he saw the penguins jump, dive underwater, and shake water off.

Of course, no visit to the Georgia Aquarium is complete without a visit to the massive shark tank. Check out Little I dancing in front of the whale shark.

Mr. C also enjoyed the sights and seemed to be content to soak everything in.

Thanks to all our friends and family who were able to make it to the 8 a.m. service for Mr. C's baptism--especially GG, Papa, and Grandma who flew in from out of state and to Aunt Ellie who was not only on time, but early for the early service! For those who weren't able to make it, that is okay, we understand the risks of choosing an early service for baptism, we still covet your support and prayers in raising Mr. C to be a Psalm 1:1-3 man.