Aquarium Fun!

When a work trip took me to Cincinnati the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I couldn't have been more thankful!  The trip meant an opportunity to visit with my favorite niece and nephew along with my sister-in-law and parents.  We made plans to check out the Newport Aquarium.  And then I was even more excited because they have penguins there!! :)

It was an absolute blast watching Brinley and Landon explore and play all day.  We had fun checking out all the animals.  So many unique and different types were swimming around! Brinley and I even managed to pet a few of them.  She was so brave to pet the sharks!  I wasn't bold enough to try that one!

We even found Scuba Santa!!  Brinley was quick to let him know she wanted a "swed" for Christmas.  I have no idea where she learned so much about all the fun you can have on a sled, but I sure hope Santa is able to fit one down the chimney for her!!  Landon wasn't quite as vocal, but did seem intrigued by the whole operation.

I loved watching Landon chase the penguins.  The penguin area has a huge open space where little ones can view the penguins that decide to take a swim.  One particular penguin was really showing off swimming back and forth as kids chased after him!  He sure managed to tire the kids out!

The kids were mesmerized by the bubble machines at the entrance and a couple other locations throughout so we spent a good chuck of time playing there after we crossed the Shark Tank Hanging Bridge.  The other favorite moment of the day for the kids included the play area in the frog exhibit.  Brinley kept asking about it all day!

It was such a blessing that I was able to spend some time with these two cuties over the weekend!  Big thanks to Jen for driving them up for the brief visit!  Mom and Dad stayed the night so we had a tasty dinner and went to the movies before heading back to the hotel.  We all three highly recommend Brooklyn - great movie, but get your tissues ready!

Andrea :)