When in doubt, bring the stroller

The kids are way off their routine. Since Keith and Rosellen are in town, they're not in daycare. Monday afternoon we went to the aquarium, after Kate had refused to nap again. We knew it was a bit risky, taking her on an outing late in the day without a pause that refreshes. We did it regardless and then, because we're mildly retarded, we also decided not to bring the cumbersome stroller for her because "she will never sit in it there anyway".

Kate does love the aquarium. This trip she was most excited about the sea lions and once we were at their abode, she didn't want to leave. Jeremiah did a great job coaxing her away and getting her to appreciate the cuteness that is the otters and the penguins (when we got home she went up to her room to retrieve her stuffed penguin and carried it all over the house for the rest of the day). Even Sarah seems to really dig the aquarium - she stared, unblinking, at the huge viewing window until it was too much and she had to go to sleep. That was easy for her, she was suspended from my chest. Kate, on the other hand, had no place to go to relax because her terrible parents didn't bring her stroller. We were justly punished with a full on meltdown in the main entrance to the building. Keith captured the precious moment on film.

Good times, good times. As we were leaving and I was carrying the 30 pound, exhausted child all the way from the exit, down the long sidewalk and up a couple flights of stairs in the parking garage, we could still hear the sea lions barking. I told Kate they were telling her good-bye and she kept saying "STOP! I have to go bye-bye! STOP!" as though she was trying to excuse herself from a conversation at a party she was trying to escape. Even when she's at her most obnoxious, she's still kind of funny.