Invisibility Cloak

Papa and I had fun at the aquarium with Corinne and Ben today!

The otters were playful.

Ben loved watching them.

So did Corinne.

Yoga on a whale seemed like the right thing to do.

I like these whirly bins that allow a coin to spiral down into the well.  Ben and I play with these at every museum and aquarium we visit.  I pulled all the small coins from my wallet and lined them up on the machine.  Ben quickly scooped up the coins.  You can see them in his right hand.

We were suddenly surrounded by some little boys who had never seen this contraption.  Ben immediately divvied up his coins among them and showed them where to drop the money.  When one boy unknowingly placed his hand on the edge, knocking the coin out of sync, Ben politely said, "Hands up, guys!"  They all took turns, nice as could be, until the coins were gone.  Several adults watched, more mesmerized by the boys than the coins.

Ben and I got lost for a little while.  Papa and Corinne found us at the penguins.

These penguins are healthy, fun and fast.

The aquarium has a lot more coral now than it did on our last visit.  I love coral and all the little critters that go with it.

Ben was fully invested in touching the manta rays.

All in all, this was a very fun day.

After a late lunch, Mom and Ben painted some rocks we had gathered from the riverbank last week.

Corinne painted a special rock just for me.

Mom left us alone for awhile.  Ben wanted to make her a special lizard.  He picked out the beads and counted the exact number without any coaching from me at all.  These lizards have been a fun project that I have especially enjoyed all summer.

Then Ben and I moved to my sewing machine so we could finish the capes for the stuffed tigers.  Ben was very interested in my pin cushion.  I showed him how to sharpen the pins by poking them through the little strawberry 5 times.  He carefully counted each poke, never poking himself, and kept himself busy while I picked out a mistake.

Now Heartsy and Dusty both have invisibility cloaks.

You've All Had Good Behavior. Everybody Gets a Cookie.

Anika joined us for breakfast again this morning.

I honestly can't tell you why Ben chose to hide under the bench, but it was pretty cute.

He came out when Will arrived.  Together they harvested basil leaves for the scrambled eggs.

While Corinne made breakfast, Ben gave Anika his prized lizard.  Unfortunately, late this evening Ben remembered that he had done that and wondered if Anika would give it back.

I was actually heading out the door, but everyone else enjoyed a lovely breakfast.

When I returned from church, Ben greeted me with a tower!

Corinne has been fascinated with our birds.  Also, baby quails are popping up here and there, but so far the camera hasn't been able to capture them.

Ben, as in Papa, asked me to take a picture of one of his snails, so I did.  I don't know who is feeding the fish since Lewis left, btw.  This tank has been moved to our bedroom.  It's two feet from our new mattress, which is about 4 inches higher than the old one. (Actually, the box springs are taller.)  When I sit up in the morning, my feet don't touch the floor.  Ben and I are both hoping we can figure out how to safely get in and out of bed before one of us breaks a leg.

We were all invited to my cousin Georgia's home for dinner this evening.  I took an eggplant salad with pickled raisins.  I know what you are thinking, but not one bite was left.  Georgia has a trampoline, which Ben loved.

Georgia also has raspberry bushes.  Ben helped himself.

I  had also taken chocolate chip cookies.  Ben passed out the last few to the people sitting around us and announced that since they'd all had good behavior, they could have a cookie.  Of course, he got a cookie, too.  Cousin Doug and Cousin Rosanne were very kind to Ben.  In the end, we plugged him in.