Sucker for a Sob Story

I didn't sign up for any college classes this semester because I had a feeling that life was going to be really crazy this winter/spring. I was right. Things have been very busy and I can't imagine what life would have been like if I had added school on top of things.

On Tuesday of this week the phone rang and I saw that it was the elementary school. I groaned inside fearing that one of my boys was calling to tell me they had thrown up at school. With both Brett and myself falling victim to the stomach flu and various others in the neighborhood dropping like flies I figured my kids are gonners. But instead, it was Smiley asking if I was going to go on the 2nd grade field trip the next day. I had already told Smiley before that I would not be going on this particular field trip but that I would go on the one to the farm so I was confused as to why he was calling and asking. I told him no and figured that was that. He asked again, "but are you going on the field trip tomorrow?". Huh? Didn't he hear my answer? I told him again that I wasn't going to the aquarium but would be going to the farm. "But can you go on the field trip tomorrow?" he asked again. Seriously?

This was going nowhere. Then I made the mistake of having him put his teacher on the phone. That was when his teacher explained that they were in DESPERATE need of parents. -sigh- Desperate huh?

Ibuprofin and Maxalt here I come.



At least I was smart enough to meet them there instead of joining the bouncing/screaming 2nd graders on the half-hour bus ride to the aquarium. My group of six was a great group of excited kids who insisted that I see everything that they saw. It reminded me of my boys. I lost count of the number of times I heard, "Look at this! Look at this!"



I didn't bring my Canon with me and just took pictures with my phone. They don't allow flash photography in the aquarium which makes it difficult to take good pictures in a dim environment. But the lighting was just right for a great shot of the jellyfish.

We had a great time (noisy time) and at the end the kids even had an upclose encounter with a tarantula.

They quickly became bored... BORED! And turned their backs on the giant arachnid. I, however, kept a close eye on the hairy beast. I also gave myself a pat on the back for even getting as close as I did. I also resisted the urge to scream for my dad to come and kill it.