My kids love aquariums, the ocean, anything and everything to do with whales, dolphins, fish, etc.  So, one lazy morning, I rented “Free Willy” for the three of us to watch. I have never seen “Free Willy”- even though it came out when I was a kid. I bawled my eyes out- and I don’t usually cry in movies! So, since my kids were in love with “Willy”, I thought we should all go to Marine World one Sunday. I know, I know, it’s quite an oxymoron to watch a movie about a whale in captivity, ripped away from his family and friends, and then forced to live in a cement fishtank and do tricks for humans, and then take my kids to Marine World. But, what am I supposed to do- take my kids on a $5,000 Alaskan cruise so that they can maybe get a glimpse of a  Sperm Whale (love whoever thought of that name- cracks me up everytime I say it!) outside of captivity? I digress.

So, here we are at the beginning of the day, taking the picture facing the sun, so both kids are squinting, and I am forcing my eyelids open, so that I look younger and doe-eyed, because that’s our job as parents- take pictures of our kids facing the sun so that they are going blind, or covering their eyes in every one of them!

This was taken at Shouka Stadium, the Killer Whale show, where the trainer spent an extensive amount of time talking about “caring for Shouka”, and telling the audience that she’s so happy to see them that she is “dancing”, a.k.a. copying the trainer’s body movements in order to be rewarded with a slimy piece of Mackerel. Poor Shouka. Then at the dolphin show, the trainer went on and on about how dolphins are “always smiling”. No, they are NOT! Their mouth is shaped that way! They are like the Joker in Batman- they just look like they’re smiling, but really they’re pondering how they’re going to drown their trainer if she makes them spin the hoola hoop around their nose, or force them to ride her around like they’re a pair of waterskiis. Oh, how I missed when ignorance was bliss, and I watched the whale and dolphin shows in perfect belief that they were “saved and happy”.

Yes, these are my kids riding an elephant! No, we do not know the Dude or his kid riding with them. I thought it would be a rad photo-op to have my kids on an elephant, then the gal in charge of placing people onto “Tava”, stuck my kids with this other guy and his kid- oh, well. At least he was this big guy that could heroically rescue my children, should the elephant decide that he had had enough of riding bratty kids around and round on a dirt path in 90 degree weather, and decided to try to buck them off, or eat his trainer. So, it all worked out.

This was the Husband’s idea: there was this bridge that this water ride goes underneath, and as it does, it douces everyone standing on the bridge with massive amounts of water. So, he told our unsuspecting kids to go stand on the bridge to watch the boat and as it went by, it just blasted them with water! It was hilarious- fun at our kid’s expense- always a pleasure!

Thankfully, my Son has a good sense of humor, and is generally mild-mannered and easy-going (like his Mother). He takes his drenched shirt off, flashes devil horns, and smiles and says “Like a rockstar, Mom”! Uh….yeah! Like a rockstar! Whatever keeps you from crying and throwing a fit that your Dad tricked you into getting completely soaked and walking around the rest of the day in wet shoes! “You are a rockstar, Son”! I say, with lots of positive affirmation!

Alas, our day had come to an end. We had seen enough dolphins “smiling”, whales “dancing” and tigers that “loved the water” to last a while. Not to mention we had run out of cash, not figuring in the four sodas for $5.60 each, and the $46 lunch that consisted of microwaved chicken tenders, and frozen fish-sticks. But as the good ol’ Visa commercial says, a day with my family, in beautiful weather with lots of smiles: PRICELESS!