On the third day, the morning was cloudy and rainy, so we decided to head to the nearby Fort Fisher Aquarium.
We had to hook the kids up to some cartoons so that we could all get ready and out the door in a timely fashion.
The aquarium was really fun, especially since Simon could be fully engaged. He's been coming along with us on outings like this since birth, but it's only now that his verbal skills are fully online and he seems to really know what's going on.
Simon loved watching the tortoises run around. I think turtles are Simon's spirit animal. (-:
Alice was afraid I would put her in the petting tank. In a book of hers, that I brought on the trip, a kid falls in the petting tank and comes out with an octopus on his head. Maybe that's why she was nervous.
After we had looked at all the sea creatures, we went to the outdoor area, that has a little playground for the kids.
We were lucky on our timing at the aquarium, because it wasn't too crowded when we were there, but as we were leaving, there was a giant line. We headed back to our condo for lunch and naps. Zac and I actually had an hour or so to sit on the deck and read books. We both marveled at the moment; we hadn't actually expected any time to relax on this trip.
Eventually all the kids woke up, and we played inside for bit, then had an early supper.
After supper, we headed back out to the beach for the last time. All weekend, we'd been giving the kids popsicles as they headed out the door. It was great way to give them a special treat and not have to worry about the mess, since they just ate them on the walk to the beach.
This picture, below, is just to remember how Simon loved playing with the shells in the pot of this fake palm tree, but he kept dropping them on his toes.
