Sharks and penguins

We checked *Go to the aquarium* off of our summer to do list.

We were super excited about seeing the penguins.

Little did we know that we would be a little disappointed.

The aquarium loves to wow you with some things.

Walking in was this awesome sand sculpture.

Way to make my sand castles look like a piece of crap.

Impressive though.

The girls took complete advance of EVERYTHING they could climb on.

Even if they weren't suppose to climb on it.

The pegiun exhibit was the size of a large window.

Three of the four penguins were sleeping.

The one that was awake just stood there facing the fake rock wall.

We saw his back.

That's it.

As we were leaving the exhibit feeling very disappointed, this little guy popped up.

He looked right at me.

It was love at first sight.

I have loved penguins ever since I read And Tango Makes Three in college.

That is when I found out that penguins are one of the few animals that mate for life.

How awesome.

I love that.

Anyway, we walked outside and snapped pictures of the girls that everyone has snapped of their children.

Emma was the size of a King Penguin.

King penguins have colorful feathers around their necks and heads.  They are the brightest of all the species of penguin.  (credit)

That is a perfect match for Emma.

She would definitely be the most stylish of penguins.

Caroline was the same size as an emperor penguin.

Emperor penguins can stay underwater for around 20 minutes at a time. (credit)

This is a feat that Caroline swears she is going to accomplish one day.

We even had to google the world record from holding your breath.

The answer:  22 minutes, 22 seconds

While outside, we went to the snake hut.  We took no pictures of that because my Nana would have a heart attack.

The girls did touch a snake.

They were asked NOT to tell Nana.

She is deathly afraid of snakes.

What was the first thing the girls did when they saw Nana?

Told her.

She was upset and swore they could not be related to her.

We also did a little bird watching outside.

It was 8 million degrees so really the "bird watching" consisted of the girls hanging on the binoculars like monkeys for a total of 2 whole minutes and then we headed back inside.

While we were "bird watching" I spotted this compass.

I love a compass.

They are so pretty to me.

This is the exact compass (or one just like it at the aquarium) that taught me years ago that our coast faced South.

When you are at the beach, you just assume you are looking west to places like Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.

Nope.

Our coast actually faces South... to Florida.

It was also shark week at the aquarium.

Who doesn't love a good shark?

This awesome picture of a shark in the big shark tank should totally be entered into a photograph contest.

Best picture of a shark's tail everrrrrr!

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And now a little

interview with Big & Bug

What was your favorite part of the aquarium?

Big:  The otters

Bug:  The penguins

What was your favorite animal?

Big:  The octopus

Bug:  The otters

Do you want to go back to the aquarium?

Big:  Yes

Bug:  Yes

What did that snake that you touched feel like?

Big:  Wet shingles

Bug:  Rubber

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Ok, so Big must have been in LaLa land while we were at the aquarium.

Her favorite animal... the octopus?

Yeah, we didn't see an octopus.

He was hiding.

I guess she dreamed it.

Her answer about the snake feeling like "wet shingles".

What does that even mean?

When has she ever felt wet shingles?

Weird.

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All in all, it was a successful aquarium trip.

Fun was had by all!

Finally...

...proof that she is back to {normal}.

I will not post the before pictures again. They are too terrible.

{I stole this picture from Anna' facebook. It's not the best picture.}

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Don't forget to go vote for Emma! She's #5!

Anna conversations.

{Anna sitting in the stroller... texting.}

This conversation happened 20 minutes into our trip....

“Anna, stop texting! We are on family vacay. There can be no texting.”

“I'm over family vacay. I want a funnel cake," she demanded in her deep, monotone voice.


Right before this picture was taken, Anna announced we had to leave. When asked why, we discovered that her Blackberry had died and she was ready to go. She had lost all communication to the outside world and was in distress.

We also waited at The Cheese Shop for 32 minutes for Anna to get a sandwich. What kind of sandwich, you ask? A peanut butter sandwich. I kid you not. 32 minutes. That's how long my Dad stood in line. However, we all benefited because we all shared a bag of bread ends and house dressing. YUM-O!!! If you ever go to Williamsburg, you MUST eat here. We also stopped by the Wythe Candy Store while we waited for Dad in The Cheese Shop. We got a gingerbread man and chocolate covered strawberries that were to die for! I had to fight Emma and Caroline to get one. So, I guess the 32 minute wait was worth it.

Anna Conversation of the day.

Anna: "What are yall going to do today?"

Me: "I don't know yet."

Anna: "Well, Caroline said you were going to the pool."

Me: "We might. I don't know yet."

Anna: Gets a little angry and pushy. "That's what she said! She said she was going to the pool!"

Me: "She also says she is five. Does that mean she is five?"

Anna: "Maybe."

Caroline AND Anna conversations.

Caroline calls my best friend, Jordan, "Boobie". We don't know why. She just does.
"Boobie" is preggo and she and Caroline were having a talk the other night.

Jordan: "Caroline, are you ready to meet Boobie's baby?"
Caroline: "Yes."
Jordan: "What's her name going to be?"
Caroline: Thinks. "Boobie, why you have a vagina?"
Laughter.
Jordan: "Because, girls have vaginas and boys have... penises.
Caroline: "PENIS!"
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My sister is starting college in a few weeks. We were talking about the whole college experience the other day.

Anna: "You know, I am suppose to read this book as summer reading. Do you think I should read it? I don't think that I am. Do you know what? They expect me to BUY the book! Can you believe that?"
Hailey: "Anna, this isn't elementary school. Your teacher doesn't pass out your books on the first day. You have to buy all of them."
Anna: "Oh."

"I spy, with my little eye, something that starts with C."

"CORN!"

Trivia: What movie is that from?

This is the view from my parents backyard.

About 4 years ago, Anna and I watched Children of the Corn for the first time. We freaked out when the corn got so tall that you couldn't see over it. We slept together for about 3 months until they cut the corn.

Anna would call me on my cell phone and make me talk to her while she walked across the hall to get to my room. She would even stay on the phone until she got in the bed (like I couldn't see her or hear her). Ha!

Not much has changed in those 4 years... we are still scared of the corn.

She's a dinosaur.

Amy over at Makes Mom Happy brought a little piece of information to my attention:

Megan Fox and Anna have the same thumbs.

Don't believe me? Take a look:


After a little research, I have learned that this is called clubbed thumb or Brachydactyly type D.

Brachydactyly. Huh? I told her she was just part dinosaur and not to worry about it. "Are you serious, Hailey? I'm really part dinosaur?" "Be serious Anna!" "I AM serious. I'm part dinosaur?" "NO ANNA! NO!!!" Haha!

SHOUT OUT TO KRYSTYN: We are totally calling it a thoe. How cute is that?

That's all I have on Anna's thoe. Look out though! Another Anna post is coming tomorrow!

The thumb.

Meet "the thumb".

This is Anna's thumb. Anna is my sister. (She confronted me last night about never being on my blog. Therefore, I promised to write a post about her thumb.)

Her thumb resembles a... umm... toe. Go ahead. Click the picture. Make it bigger. I have never seen such a thumb.

Have you? Does it have a name?

Let's name it!


Go ahead. Look at the pictures one more time and then post a comment with a witty caption or name for that thumb. Anna will get a kick out of this!

Anacodas.

Telephone rings.

Me: "Hello?"

Anna: "You will not freaking believe what just happened to me!"

Me: "Dear God. What?"

Anna: "I left your house and came home. I was waiting for the garage door to open and I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I look. It was a freaking anaconda. He lifted his head and looked at me. He looked at me. IN THE EYES! I didn't know what to do so... I called Dad." Keep in mind, people, that my dad is a UPS driver in a town about 45 minutes away.

Me: "What the heck did you call him for?"

Anna: "Well, I told him there was a freaking anaconda in our driveway."

Me: "Anna. Be serious. What is he going to do about it?"

Anna: "Well, I told him he had to come home. RIGHT NOW!"

There was silence.

Anna: "He laughed. Then, he told me to kill it."

Me: "WHAT? Don't don't even touch dogs much less kill snakes."

Anna: "Anyway. Daddy George came and killed it. Threw it in the woods.

Me: "Tell me, how big was this "anaconda"?"

Anna: "Ummm... pretty big. I'd say about three feet."

ALMOST Wordless Wednesday.

You have met Anna before.

My sister.

Her senior prom was a few weeks ago.

Take a look at some of the pretty pictures.





Then I saw this picture of best friends.


Imagine my surprise to find this one.


Edited for obvious reasons.

Now, when Caroline says/does something not acceptable... I will blame Anna.

Potty mouth... We will say Anna taught her.

Hitting... we will say Anna taught her.

Giving the bird... Anna taught her.

PS- Caroline really doesn't know how to flip someone off... yet. Given the circumstances... I give her about... 3 more seconds.

Latest hip accessory.

My fabulous sister let me borrow her Coach scarf.

This is not it. Anna's is a pretty camel. This is the only picture of the Coach Diagonal Lozenge Muffler Scarf that I could find. This one is navy.


Anyway.

Like I said, Anna was nice enough to let me borrow her cute scarf.

She is on a snowboarding trip this weekend. I remembered I had the scarf and called her. She came over before she left and picked it up.

I received this text message the day she arrived in Snowshoe, WV.


I sat and imagined her snowboarding. Looking super cute. Cute hat. Cute coat. Cute scarf. Cute bibs. Great boots. Little did she know that she would have the latest hip accessory on as well. Spit up.