David had this past week off so we took advantage and explored. On Tuesday (David's 30th birthday) we rode the light rail train to Baltimore's inner harbor and visited the National Aquarium. Although it took longer to ride the train Ben and Kate loved every minute of it. Kate said "choo choo" the whole way. At the aquarium, Ben and Kate especially loved the Dolphin show and all of the sharks. Ben thought it was so funny when the dolphins splashed the crowd. When Ben grows up, he now wants to be a "fish doctor". That evening David and I were able to go out to dinner for David's birthday, while my new friend Kristen (I do have 2 friends!) watched the kids. I don't think I will ever take for granted a meal without little kids around!
On Wednesday, we decided to drive to the nearest beach in Delaware. It took us about 3 hours, but it was a very pretty drive. Kate was terrified of the tide, but loved playing in the sand. Ben had a great time burying David in the sand and building a sand castle. On the way to the beach, Ben informed us that we needed to review the beach rules which according to him were: #1. Don't wander off. #2. Don't go into the water without mom or dad. #3. No coconuts on the beach. #4. Have fun! Apparently, he learned these on the television show, "Little Bill." Ben remembers everything. While we were there we even saw a group of dolphins swimming very near to the shore. It was pretty cool to see them in the wild, just a day after we had seen some at the aquarium.
On Friday, we went to the Baltimore Zoo. We had planned on going to the National Zoo in D.C., but the weather called for rain so we stayed close. We had a good time. Ben's favorite animals were the polar bears, penguins, a baby elephant and the camel that he got to ride with David. After about 3 hours it started to downpour...quickly ending our trip.
Sunday was our 8th wedding anniversary. We had a pretty relaxing day. David let me take a nice long nap and I made him lasagna for dinner. It's crazy how time has flown by. We decided to buy an area rug we really liked for our family room as a gift to each other. I had been eyeing it for quite some time.
It's monday and it's back to the grind...working...bills...laundry...errands...cleaning and of course blogging!