Something smells a little fishy...

...what is that smell? X...Thaus...Cam?
Whew! This time it isn't one of the boys living in my house. It's the stingrays!

Xavier loves, and I mean LOVES animals. Thaus and I have been dying to take him to the Hogle Zoo in SLC but the wintry weather has not afforded us much opportunity. So, in lieu of catching a chill outdoors, we thought X might enjoy an adventure learning about his aquatic friends at the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, UT. After dropping Cam off for a much-desired visit with his siblings and grandparents, Thaus and I made the trek north to the oasis in the desert.




As a side note, I have to give props to old Mother Nature. Although it wasn't quite warm enough for a journey through the zoo, she gave us winter-weary Utahns a taste of spring with a beautiful, sunshiny, fifty degree day.


(View from our front yard.)

Now, back to the aquarium.
As we had hoped, Xavier thought his deep-sea friends were pretty cool.




X exploring the coral reef.


I had to post this next picture even though the quality is horrible. My camera is still in the shop, so I am at the mercy of my blackberry. Xavier would not let me touch him at all, and when I grabbed him for a quick shot, he screamed and outstretched his arms for Daddy to rescue him. Little stinker.


No visit to the aquarium is complete without a stop at the gift shop. X wanted his own shark to remember the moment. I opted for a photo instead. Notice his wet, stained shirt. We were in a live exotic animals exhibit and to keep X quiet, we attempted to bribe him with Hershey kisses. He decided we were going to have to do better than that, so he spit them all over himself and his daddy. To avoid any further embarrassment, we hightailed it to the nearest exit.


Looking a little worse for wear, X gave the frog a hug and we were out the door.


We had a little time to kill before picking up Cam, so we took X to Petsmart in hopes there would be some animals running around. The humane society had dogs and cats available for adoption, and X ran right to the cages to pet hineys. (Thank goodness for wet wipes and hand sanitizer.)


X trying to give the kitty a kiss.


What a fun day with my two favorite men. I can't wait to see what tomorrow may bring...