Longest. Birthday. Ever.

What's the best way to get your money's worth out of your birthday?  Get up at 4 a.m. so you can make the day last as long as humanly possible!  Not that M2 planned such an early wake-up call on her own, mind you, but it did work out to her advantage, I suppose.

I jumped up when my alarm went off at 3:45.  Washed up, hair in ponytail and body in workout clothes.  I let M2 sleep as long as she could.  I was surprised how well she woke up and dressed.  We left the house around 4:25.  We drove the the track where our school's Relay for Life team was participating.  Walking between 5 and 6 a.m. was very nice!  The field was beautifully lined with luminaries and everyone who walked was in a good mood.  There was a very nice vibe about the place.  M2 even did several laps with me before retiring to her Dora blanket and baggie of Fruit Loops in the bleachers.  We left around 6:15 and headed to our favorite breakfast spot.  After we ate, I was ready to snooze for a bit.  M2 was having none of it.  It was torture.  I'd just doze off and then someone would call or my text would buzz.  I finally gave up and showered so we could go to the aquarium.

We took a short drive and went to the Newport Aquarium.  I quickly determined as we stood in line that 1) finding the place was super easy; 2) finding parking was a breeze; 3) parking was cheap and 4) we'd be back again soon.  So, I purchased an annual pass for M2 and myself.  (We'll get M1's when she's along for the ride).  We saw all kinds of neat things.

M2 is shark crazy.  She has been looking at all kinds of books about underwater life and all that.  We walked past some tank today that had different kinds of coral in and she named every kind.  I asked her where she learned that and she said, 'In a book!'  Amazing.

There was also an "experience" exhibit where you walk through what looks like the metal door on a shark cage--you know, the kind researchers use in the ocean to observe sharks?  Inside, it's dark and there is a big screen on which sharks, with varying degrees of intensity, "bump" the screen.  The bump is amplified and the floor actually shakes.  I had my hands on M2's shoulders and she quickly shrugged them off.  As even the adults, backed away from the screen and the shark, M2 kept inching forward.  I have no doubt this child will turn my hair completely white well before my time.

The shark tunnel (you walk through and are surrounded by the shark tank) and the video I took inside is super cool too.  I liked the jellyfish room and the Frog Bog.  There was also an aviary where you could buy some nectar and feed the birds.  I'm not that crazy about birds, which I remembered when I had two perched on my hand squawking at each other over who was going to drink the sugar water in the shot-sized container I had gripped in my fist.  Some boy, M1's age, got scared and jerked his hand away from the bird, spilling the 'nectar' all over M2.  I could have slugged him.  Um.  Get a grip.

M2 and I had a nice, late lunch after our trip through the gift shop and then headed home.  She slept a majority of the way which was nice because when she gets that tired, she is frenetic.  She talks NON-STOP about anything and everything and makes noise just to hear herself and keep herself awake. 

We talked to pretty much everyone today and I'm not sure I'll ever be able to convince M2 to talk on the phone again.  Birthdays are hard on the kids who don't usually talk much.  She did have the chance to tell her Daddy all about the aquarium trip and he cannot wait to see the video.  He will have to wait until at least tomorrow, though, because I'm wiped.  I have a load of laundry to hang up and then, it's lights out.  M2's grandparents (Hubs' dad and stepmom) are coming to take us to lunch tomorrow.

So tired!