Aquarium Field Trip

It had been a while since we'd gone on a field trip so I surprised the kids with one a couple of weeks ago.  I had planned on going to the Dallas World Aquarium but when I looked online for prices I found this other, fairly new aquarium in Grapevine.  It was cheaper and closer and I wouldn't have to drive through downtown Dallas all by myself.  SOLD!  

The sting ray tank had a second level with a glass floor and Sawyer was having nothing to do with it.  I was standing on it in this picture and he would not budge!  So funny.  

Here's the tank from above:

This aquarium had lots of cool peep holes just the right size for the kids.  Can you find Maddie? 

These guys are so cute!  Although, I'm sure I would be scared to death if I was near one in the water.  They are much cuter with 2 inches of glass between us.  

Another cool view for the kiddos.  

One of my favorite shots of the day:

Again with the face?!

There was a big glass tunnel - glass floor, walls and ceiling.  

Maddie desperately wanted me to get a picture of the turtle.  Bad lighting but I got it!

Sawyer thought the sharks were cool.

Another little half-tunnel.

She is seriously the best big sister in the whole world.  

I was fascinated by the jellyfish.  The lighting in the tank was changing colors so that's why they're all different colors.  Very cool. 

And then there was the Nemo tank.  Everybody's favorite!

This guy was just funny looking. 

This guy too. . .

And this one was the weirdest of all.  

There are some strange creatures out there!

It was a lot of fun and totally worth it.  I would highly recommend it.  They even had a scavenger hunt for the kids and a free little medal at the end if you completed it.  The kids LOVED that.  

Since we were at Grapevine Mills Mall I decided to take the kids to Rainforest Cafe for lunch.  I forgot about all the "animals" and "rainstorms" there.  Sawyer was NOT happy when the hostess sat us down right in front of the giant gorillas that went off every 10 minutes.  He just about climbed out of the highchair onto me every time they would go off or when it would storm.  The food was horrible too.  The bigger kids liked it but we will not be spending that much money on bad food or traumatizing the baby again.  It was an experience though!