Aquarium

While out in Utah, another adventure that Lily got to go on was a trip to the Aquarium.

This Aquarium is impressive.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (1=the worst Aquarium I've ever been to and 10 = the best Aquarium I've ever been to), I would rank this as a 10.  However, this is the ONLY Aquarium I've ever been to, so I don't have much to compare it to.  I was just really impressed with how much there was to see, but also how fascinated Lily was with all the different exhibits that she explored.

My absolute favorite part was watching Lily point to all the objects and ask "What's This" (Lily translation: eezzz issss). (Notice in almost every picture her cute little finger is pointing to something). Or when a large object would swim by she would "oooooo" at the fish.

At the Utah Aquarium, they had this super cool shark exhibit where you walked through a tunnel and the sharks swam up above you and on both sides of you.  There were Manta Rays, Large Sea Turtles, and at least a dozen sharks, large and small.

Beyond the normal fish tanks, they had a various number of exhibits which displayed desert animals, numerous reptiles, exotic birds, a Manta Ray touch tank, and Penguins.

Lily had so much fun that she fell right to sleep on the way home.  Thanks Grammy & Grandpa for a fun adventure to see the 'fishies'!

Feeding the Ducks

While I was in Utah, one of the fun adventures that the four of us went on was a trip to the park to feed the ducks.

We thought Lily would absolutely love feeding, like actually feeding, the ducks.  But we were quite surprised that she was more interested in feeding herself the broken pieces of bread we had prepared to give to the ducks.  She sure did like to look at them, and she sure did like to say "Duck" a million times, but the bread was definitely more appealing to her on this adventure.

After a full belly of bread, we decided to just relax and let Lily explore the playground.

(Notice on the slide she must have found another piece of bread and is eating it.  I'm telling you... sometimes you go to all this preparation and planning to make an "adventure" for your kids, but they are more entertained by the simplest pleasures).

Nevertheless, Lily had a lot of fun at our time in the park.  She didn't want to leave and can't wait until she can go back.

Trip to Utah

In July, I went out to Utah for a visit.  It was a selfish visit, and mostly because I was so tired and didn't feel well and wanted someone else to entertain Lily.  It was also selfish because I wanted to find out the gender of our baby instead of waiting another month and a half. 

Lily was sure entertained!  She had a lot of fun with Grammy and even gave us a few surprises. 

My parents were able to see how she goes crazy for dolls whenever we go shopping at a store which has them.  If they are hidden, she will surely find them.  But I also now know the tricks of marketing and how they put the toys on shelves for those who can easily reach them (ex: toddlers).

After shopping, we took Lily to experience her very first splash pad.  Unfortunately there are no splash pads in Winston Salem, so Lily was quite unaware of what was going on.  Once she got the hang of it, she was all wet and got to drive home as a naked baby.

Since Lily loves shopping so much, we decided to hit a more "indoor" mall and check out their LoveSac couches.  I was perfectly sold on getting one of these couches.  But I'm glad Michal wasn't so sold because I actually like the one we ended up purchasing much more than the one Lily and I posed on below.

While shopping we had a pleasant, happy surprise.  I was able to meet up with Liz Jaggard.  This woman deserves to be canonized (in the Mormon faith) for how much guidance, help, and love she showed me while I lived in Poland.  Friends like these are few and far between and hard to come by.  Any day seeing Liz is a good day, and therefore, this day was absolutely perfect.

Later in the week, I was able to go to one of my YSA's weddings.  Kill two birds with one stone right? Add this to my list of selfish reasons to come out to Utah.  I was able to attend the temple - and have a FREE babysitter while doing it.  I even got an added bonus and ran into my 4th Grade Teacher in the sealing room.  We ended up on the same table for the Luncheon and it was so grande catching up with her and reminiscing.  Normally it would be awkward to run into a teacher from that long ago, but not this sweet lady.  She exudes kindness and charity from her very smile and I felt so much more at ease knowing she was present and that I at least knew one person in the wedding party other than the Bride. Needless to say, she was only the escort of a family friend (of the bride) who could not drive.  So she didn't know anyone.  So, as Forrest Gump would say, we were like "peas and carrots" together at this wedding.

Lily wanted to go everywhere Grammy went, so she did.  And she had a lot of fun following her around for a change.

She even followed Grammy into her Sunbeams class.  This was more of a treat for Lily than anyone else because she got to go around the rom and give everyone hugs and kisses... but the best part of it all... she got to try on everyone's shoes.  I swear that she was in absolute heaven!

While in Utah, Lily was able to meet her cousin Madeline for the first time...

 ... and wasn't shy about showing others that she loved them.

But no matter what... saying Goodbye is still the very hardest part of any trip.  

I was super nervous for the airplane right back home because it left at 5:00 pm and didn't arrive to Charlotte until 11:05 pm.  How was I supposed to keep a toddler entertained when she's sleepy and ornery?

Well, let's just say it was such a blessing that I was assigned to sit next to a cute 10 year old boy who Lily fell in love with right away.  During the whole flight she made sure this cute guy wouldn't fall asleep because anytime he closed his eyes, she reached over and gave him a hug (more like leaped out of my lap).  She gave him kisses, and patted him, and even snuggles.  At first I wasn't embarrassed, more nervous for what his reaction would be.  But I think that he loved all the attention he received also.  It was a match made in heaven.  Thank you little boy for entertaining my little girl and making this journey pleasant instead of a nightmare.

But big, ginormous, super-huge thank you goes out to my parents.  Thank you Mom & Dad for letting me come visit.  For loving Lily.  For loving me.  And... for all the fun adventures and talks we had while I was in Utah!