Not back to school day 2021

Today was our annual not back to school day field trip. This year I decided we would go to the Shedd Aquarium. I knew it had been a while since we had visited the aquarium, but hadn't realized quite how long. During the day, Y. was 100% sure that she had never visited, so I figured that it had been six years or so. Nope, I just looked back at blog entries, and the last time we visited was in 2012, the year H. came home. It has been nine years since we have gone! I'm not sure how that happened.

Since I had many years there where I had a one-woman boycott against the Shedd due to their membership policies, it felt as though it was time to make this year's museum membership to be the Shedd because it had been a while since they had fixed their membership issue, and I should show my support by buying one. 

We drove into the city this morning to meet our friends, the P Family. I drove not in the giant van, but J. and switched cars so I could take the newer, smaller one. This is the first time I have taken all my children who I'm homeschooling on a museum trip not in the giant van. (That seems like a huge benchmark, huh?) K. was thrilled because both of his best friends came.

We spent the morning in the aquarium part, looking at cool and odd fish. L. likes the large, bulgy, inert fish. I much preferred these.

It is impossible to get a good picture of fish in a tank. But this guy is called four-eyed something or other. They are long and skinny and swim close to the surface with their eyes half in and half out of the water. They can see both underwater and above water at the same time. They look like cartoon fish if you are watching them. Trust me, they were very amusing.

We then went outside and had our picnic lunch in the gorgeous weather.

Then it was back inside and time to head down to the oceanarium part. We watched sea otters playing, watched a bit of the dolphin show,

penguins (which R. decided were her favorite), and a sea lion. We also saw some more fish, like this amazing cuttlefish.

Once again, it is far cooler in person than in a photo. These are small, purple cuttlefish that were so amazing. They sort of hovered except when they were walking on whatever those front leg things are called. And those black and white stripes seemed to be constantly moving across their body. We stood for a very long time watching them. They looked completely made-up and not real. 

There were also some of my perpetual favorite sea creatures... leafy sea dragons.

We managed to get a group picture as we were leaving just minutes ahead of the rain storm that moved in.

The girls waiting while the boys dithered at the vending machines.

And with the boys, too.

It was a great way to kick-off the school year.