Alice Day!

What a day!

Last night I fell asleep putting the baby down so when Alice woke up at 7 a.m. I seized upon an older-sister-less moment and gave her the presents from me and Ken.  She was very happy to get the little Rapunzel figurines, but she was over the moon with her Jake t-shirt! 

We had breakfast and then got ready for our outing to the AQUARIUM! I had to take her picture in the rocking chair before we went though.

The Aquarium, named Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, located at the base of the CN Tower in Toronto, opened in October of last year.  We saw it under construction (from the outside of course) a few times and were very excited about it opening and actually getting to go.  My Dad's sister Liz was actually instrumental in convincing some of the business community members to build an aquarium in Toronto, and she was honoured because of this at the ribbon cutting ceremony, and presented with a lifetime membership. When we had Kate's birthday dinner at Mom and Dad's we told Andrew and Rayna that we were planning on going to the Aquarium for Ken's birthday.  They asked us to wait so we could all go together, so we did, and I'm glad we did!

The entry way was airy and open, glass everywhere. The girls had fun playing in a lifesize piece of coral and looking at the Koi ponds while we waited for Andrew and Rayna.  When you walk through into the aquarium you can see murals on the walls that make it look like you're outside by the ocean.  (It wasn't until we exited that you could really see them.)  The middle of the aquarium - the children's play area opens up to the second floor, so from the entrance way you could look down on it.  The first section was dedicated to the Great Lakes and the ecosystems native to this area, and Canada.  So of course this means, the ugly fish.  Tropical fish are pretty, cold water fish, not so much!  (Oh and I liked that on the big screens they were playing the Canada/US hockey semi-final game from the Olympics.)

The tanks were all (well mostly all) floor to ceiling, which is of course perfect for kids. The "kelp" tank was awesome.  None of us were sure how they simulated the ocean waves, but it was so tranquil watching the swaying kelp.  This was part of the rainbow reef.  The next tank had divers hanging out cleaning things.  It was funny watching people discover the divers floating around them.

Next was the dangerous lagoon.  This was the best part of the entire aquarium. You travel along a moving sidewalk through a cavern/tunnel underneath a gigantic fish tank.  There are sharks swimming over your head around every turn.  There is also the option to walk along the carpet and take as long as you like, but standing on the moving sidewalk allows you to stand and just take it all in without fear of banging into people.  It was truly amazing.  I don't think the photos that I took could really capture the experience.

At the end of the lagoon you come out to the discovery centre.  Kate climbed through a tunnel, Alice did too with Rayna's help and encouragement.  There were slides, water tables, and a whole area to touch horseshoe crabs.  Kate was scared at first but did it!  The girls played for a while.  We thought we'd reached the end... but no, it was not the end.

There was a little sign that said "the aquarium continues this way".  I wondered, there couldn't be much more, but there was! There were more fish, weird fish, then sharks, then ray bay with all the sting rays and manta rays, and then the jellies... so many fish!  I nursed Fiona by ray bay while everyone else went through to the end, past the water tanks/pumps/filters and up to the top of ray bay.  The whole thing really was incredible. We all thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Aquarium!

Thank you Andrew and Rayna for such a fun outing to the Aquarium!!

But the fun didn't end there!  We left the Aquarium and drove to Mom and Dad's (aka Grandma and Grandpa).  Andrew and Rayna hopped on the subway (they had to pick up Andrew's van and the Thailand gifts) and met us at Mom and Dad's.  Alice fell asleep on the way there, so did Fiona, and then Ken went to sleep when we got there.

Kate, Mom, Dad and I started eating dinner without them... we didn't even wait for Andrew and Rayna... We had Swiss Chalet and Mom also made these "Mashed Potato Puffs" which were divine.  Alice eventually woke up, was given presents (a Rapunzel dress and a Merida doll) and we had cake (a strawberry ice cream cake).  It was a lovely end to a lovely day!

Oh and one final note about Alice's birthday... I'm not entirely sure that Alice understands what a birthday is yet.  Every time I said "happy birthday", she said it right back to me.  Or maybe she gets it more than I think, and she knows that her birth day was kind of a big deal for me too!  I love my Alice so much!  Happy Birthday Alice!

(Thailand notes: Rayna went to Thailand in January.  She was there during the shut down Bangkok Protests.  The protests were non-violent in the beginning.  They are now escalating and no one can be sure what will happen.  Rayna got everyone lovely gifts.  She bought awesome t-shirts for Dad - one of which I took a picture of.  She bought musical croaking frogs for the girls, a pashmina for Mom, and for Ken and I, spices.  We are looking forward to making some Thai soup!  YUM!  And one further note, the spices she bought us are labelled... it took me a while to figure out what the "paper" spice was, until I noticed the peppercorns labelled as "black paper". Thank you RAYNA!!)