Underwater Field Trip

This Tuesday Lucy's preschool class got to go on a field trip to the Mandalay Bay's "Shark Reef." She was sooooooo excited for many days beforehand since she'd already been and knew what was in store, thus Zach and I got to hear all about it (and I mean ALL about it). And when Miss Andrea asked for parent volunteers to help out, I decided, "What the heck?!?" and signed Zachy and myself up too!


Unfortunately my daughter is already in the "too cool for Mom" stage at the ripe ol' age of 4, because when I told her I would be going on the field trip I expected a super excited response, but instead she was like, "You're not staying, right?? You're just dropping me off." She sure LOVES being independent.

Zachary was in "wubba" HEAVEN. He LOVED the fishies, the sharks, the "wa-wa," and being a "big kid" like Lucy. I didnt' even bring his stroller because I knew he'd want to walk around with the rest!

Touching the stingrays!! Lucy was brave enough to stick her fingers out, but seriously, with no help from me. I'm too afraid they will bite me!

Zachary was terrified of touching the glass. He tried to stay as far away from it as possible-- while still trying to be as close as possible.:)

They got the High Roller's/VIP guided tour for preschoolers, and then were taken to a special classroom where they got to see some cool fish fossils and skeletons. Then they paraded around the room like various fish (this is Lucy being a shark).


Lucy and her preschool class (it includes morning and afternoon kids). I can't say it enough that she LOVES preschool-- and I am so grateful we were able to find such a great one while we are here!!

True Grit

March has been a month to determine which of us has True Grit. It's been one thing after another. March 5th was Jon's official "halfway point" for this residency, but instead of celebrating we both just kind of looked at each other-- not sure which was more depressing; the though of what we'd just been through for 6 months, or the fact that he has just that amount more to go? Then the FORECLOSURE posted on the door. Then the 1st LIST came out with ample availabilities in places like Minot, North Dakota. And now LIST #2 which is more official than List #1 comes out tomorrow. Then illness falls on all four of us at once.... That darn spring cold that just won't go away!! And now our beautiful spring weather is playing games. Plus let's face it, if I have to wake up one more time at 4:30 a.m. listening to Zachary crying to be let out to play, I might really do something stupid. Like go grocery shopping at WalMart, get through the check out line with a cart FULL of a $160 worth of groceries, and then realize I left my wallet at home. Oh wait! I just did that. Lack of sleep makes you do really, really stupid things...

So this weekend, despite that I was feeling feverish and had a sinus headache that was near-blinding, I decided we needed a day out. Something blog-worthy, something to free us of these Ides of March, something I could FORCE us to have fun doing. So we drove out to Red Rock seeking some adventures.

But first, Lucy had to randomly puke all over herself. I figure it had been awhile since our last public puking (two weekends ago to be exact-- Zach randomly puked all over a Panda Express at dinner), so we were due for Public Humiliation #468. Actually it wasn't that public since we were just pulled over on the side of the highway, but still. I didn't let that stop us! No sir! Drive on! And notice how in this picture she's eating, so apparently she DID feel better after puking. Go figure. Just crossing my fingers she was car sick and didn't have stomach flu to pass on to us all...

We finally made it to our picnic destination only to discover that there were gale force winds and a temperature of 47 degrees. Refusing to give up we picnicked inside the car. Jonathan's favorite!! (If you know my husband, you know his one, undying beef is about keeping the car spotless until we pay it off). I'm not too sure he enjoyed our "inside" picnic.

Here I am! Forcing one and all to have FUN!! We only got out to use the porta-potty once, so according to my mom's picnicking scale, it ranked disastrously low. No points for scenery-- and definitely NO water to be found (waterfalls score bonus points), no points for gourmet food (Subway sandwiches don't count), no points for company since I was sick, Jon was half-asleep, and Lucy had just barfed, so I'd only give it a 2 out of 10.

What do you think? Would you have liked to attend our car picnic with Zachy banging his head against the windows trying to get out? Have we earned a reputation for True Grit with all the barf, colds, pre-dawn wake-up calls, breeches of rental contracts, and 47 Places-You-Don't-Want-To-Live lists this month? Sound off!!