Family Update 05.19.2015

Time is FLYING by as we get closer and closer to the end of the school year for Dillon. I for one will be happy when it is over...I am so over the homework, alarm clocks, deadlines, homework, projects, car lines,  uniforms...and did I mention homework??? Of course I will inevitably be wishing school could start up again somewhere around  July 20th when mid-summer boredom sets in. But at this moment the freedom of summer is so close I can almost taste it!!! I guess I never lost that "can't wait for summer" feeling from when I was a kid. =)

This past week was not incredibly busy for us, which was a welcome change! The most eventful day was Friday when Dill and I brought Nate to Grandma's house and set off with his entire class to check out the new Orlando Sea Life Aquarium. This was the last field trip of the year for my Dill Bug, and since the aquarium just opened a few weeks ago I was pretty excited to get to be a chaperone!

At Dillon's insistence, we rode the school bus to the aquarium with most of the class instead of meeting them like some parents did. As the bus rolled out and the traditional top of your lungs singing began, I was beginning to regret my decision. But then my sweet little Dill ignored his classmates, snuggled up to me and said "I'm so glad I get to spend time with you today." My heart melted, and I choked back tears as I embraced my big boy. His loving heart and sweet spirit continually blow me away. Suddenly "The Wheels on the Bus" screamed out by second grade boys was not irritating at all.

We arrived at the Orlando Sea Life Aquarium, which is part of the new complex that also houses the new wax museum and the Orlando Eye. I chuckled to myself when we saw the news crews out front reporting that the newly opened Eye was once again closed for repairs. With all the reports I have heard of it being closed for repairs in its short time open...I can tell you it will be a long time before this girl braves the giant ferris wheel!

As we entered the aquarium, we learned that our group of twenty five second graders and about eighteen parent and teacher chaperones was the largest group they had yet accommodated. Very quickly we realized that this facility was not prepared to handle us. From the "deer in headlights" looks we got from the (very pleasant) employees, to the clear lack of logistical planning, it was clear that the aquarium did not plan to encounter many field trip groups, choosing to instead focus on the tourism market.

The aquarium itself was beautiful, very artistically put together with many interactive touch screens for visitors to learn more about various species of sea life. The also had a huge tidepool area where the kids could touch sea stars, anemones and other cool creatures.

The issue we faced is that it did not feel like the facility was equipped to handle large groups. The interactive screens looked like they were supposed to have accompanying audio (the cartoon shark's mouth was moving) but either it wasn't functioning or it wasn't turned up loud enough to be heard over the crowd. In addition, the whole aquarium is considered a "self led tour", which meant that the adults spent the entire time simply trying to keep track of everyone, and there wasn't much time to focus on actually learning about what we were looking at.

That being said, we really enjoyed getting to see the different animals and beautiful exhibits. Dillon LOVED the tidepool area, and he said that touching the anemone was his second favorite part of the trip! Lunch was number one...yep...that's my boy!

After lunch (which we ate sitting outside the entrance on the concrete because they had no where else to put us) we went back in to visit the playground. That didn't end so well for us, since two of the kids in the class were too tall to play on the equipment and told they had to sit out! In an effort to give all the children a chance to be included in playtime, Dillon's sweet teacher decided we would cut our trip short and they would do a special activity in the classroom. My overall opinion of the aquarium is that it would have been very nice if we had gone as a family of four instead of a group of almost forty. As I said, it felt like the designers of the facility were too focused on the tourism aspect and not enough on local Floridian school groups.

The field trip may not have been as mind blowing as everyone had hoped, but as we rode back to school on the incredibly loud bus, I looked at my Dill (who again was snuggled up to me) and wished I could freeze that moment in time and keep it forever. Soon enough, my sweet Dill Bug won't want much to do with his lame mother. The days are coming soon when instead of a smile and a snuggle I will most likely get an eye roll and a scoff...it's just the natural progression of life. The biggest lesson I learned in the past week was to cherish every second I get with my boys. Every day is a new and special gift, and instead of focusing on what has to be done at home or arguing about things that don't matter, I am going to try to focus more on those beautiful little moments that make me realized how very blessed I am to be their mommy.

My boys sharing storytime...another one of those sweet moments