our spontaneous adventure
...And I say "spontaneous" because it was just that. When the littles and I woke Friday morning to nothing on our agenda except time, we decided to go to the Living Planet Aquarium. In record time, they ate breakfast, got dressed, packed a day bag full of snacks and toys, and was in the car before 9am. It was incredible.
We arrived to an empty parking lot, 5 minutes prior to opening. After purchasing our tickets, we immediately ran to the penguin exhibit. Our timing couldn't have been better - the crowds were small, the fish/animals were lively, and the littles were having the time of their life!
It didn't take long for them to be on their way to the next exhibit. We saw sea otters, snakes, tarantulas, frogs, birds, the largest air breathing fish (that was bigger than me and can survive in mud during a drought - crazy!), a 4D movie, and lastly... the sharks. It was amazing and the day couldn't have been going better.
In 2.5 hours, we were done and our stomachs were growling - Luckily, our favorite burger joint (In-N-Out) was less than 5 minutes away.
As we consumed our burgers, fries, and shakes... It as only 12:45 and the littles were in great moods, still on a high from the aquarium. No one was fighting over the last fry and we all excitedly talked about what our favorite part of the aquarium was. It made me sad to think the day would be over in less than an hour, so I quickly began to think how we could extend it. As we're not in the Draper area often, I googled Silver Lake (a bucket list of mine) to see how far away it was -- 25 minutes! It was an easy sell to the littles, so we jumped in the car and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The drive was breathtaking, the mountain air was cool and crisp, and the littles were so excited. I didn't know how long they'd last before their little legs gave in to fatigue, but it was a 1-mile stroll around the lake - how bad could it be?
As we walked along, sis picked up every stick and my little man climbed on every rock - we were making GREAT time! But I didn't mind, I clicked away at every opportunity.
It wasn't long before I could see the fatigue set in, so we decided to take a light break. Luckily the timing worked out because as we sat down, a curious little squirrel came over to say hello. Like most squirrels, he didn't stay long and the littles became interested in the delicate little purple flowers that hung over like umbrellas.
After a few minutes, we were back on the trail. Only to take another break...
And another...
And another... but at this stop, it became a game and they strangely decided to do push-ups. Really? lol. Where was this energy five minutes ago? ;)
Our spontaneous adventure finally concluded late that afternoon and I'm so thankful for the day. It was, I kid you not, one of the best days we've had. If summer continues to go like this, I am going to dread the fall when they're BOTH in school. Almost makes me ugly-cry just thinking about it ;)
And look, I was there too! ...Something, we photographers miss out on as we're the ones always taking the pictures <3
