Back to the Aquarium

Jingle the Elf knew that Madison was going to the Georgia Aquarium today, which is why he set up this elaborate 'under the sea' scene in the kitchen.  He used a mermaid, Winter the dolphin, and as a backdrop, some of the artwork that Madison made during her art camp this past summer.  The thing that seals the deal is the mermaid tail that he's wearing, which actually belongs to Ariel - but she let him borrow it for the day.  Nice girl, that Ariel.

Have you noticed the aquatic theme this year?  Hard to miss, actually.  Today's field trip was not planned by us, but rather the school.  Still, here she is, back at the aquarium.  It was a fun field trip for her - she said she got to see giant sting rays, penguins, whale sharks, a white alligator, and her favorite moment of the day:  beluga whales.  She said one swooped in from the side and surprised everyone, gliding by really close to the audience watching.

Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy were wrapping up a storm today.  Not quite done, but getting close.  Santa of course does the rest.  But we spent A LOT of time today setting things up for Christmas.  And there was another Christmas production meeting, this time with the media department, who needs to know where to point the cameras.

Tonight was 'Tech Night' at Chestatee Elementary.  We piled into the car, and brought our own technology with us to learn a thing or two about some helpful sites and aps.  Because we were there, we were actually using our iPad for a bit - Madison snapped this 'selfie' of us in the cafeteria.

There were a few helpful tips tonight, and just as important to Madison, there was pizza!  At the end, there was a choir of first grade children singing Christmas songs, which made the whole evening worth the visit for sure.

We went home right away afterwards, and Madison went to bed just on time.  We were tempted to let her stay up late tonight, but school is tomorrow.  It turns out that was a wise decision - besides, she had a very full day!

The reason for our temptation was a live production of "Peter Pan" that was on television tonight.  Mommy and Daddy watched it, and to our surprise, it was actually not that bad.  Helping was Christopher Walken as Captain Hook:  "Blast.  That.  Peter.  Pa-an."  The girl who played Pan was really good too.  It was fun, although a little long - I must admit getting a bit tired towards the end.  But that's because it was a full day.  Next week, this production will be for sale at Wal-Mart, with editors busy scrapping together a decent enough copy of it to put out on sale.  We'll no doubt see it again, as this is one of those themes for KidPak next year...

So it was a full day.  But a great one, where we got a lot accomplished.  But we're all quite tired tonight, and need some rest to take on these next several days.  It's going to be very busy, but also quite thrilling!