Air Show

We went to an air show at Maxwell yesterday, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers establishing the Wright Flying school in Montgomery.Sadly, not pictured is Case hugging an airplane. He shouted about it, ran over and hugged the nose of a static display, and then refused to do it again. Serves me right for ever letting my camera out of my hand. Creepy routine called "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Japanese planes simulated the attack at Pearl Harbor. It was impressive to watch, especially with the explosions, but the P.A. recited facts about the attack during the show which added a grim touch. I think that was supposed to make it educational, but 2400 deaths isn't entertainment.

This is an army plane, the C-7 Caribou, a cargo plane used during the Vietnam War. It doesn't sound like a warplane's name, but to be fair it is an awkward looking thing. I kept growling at Marc and telling him to fear the Mighty Caribou.

The Thunderbirds are the Air Force's demonstration team and the real draw for the air show. Check out the cool art on the bottoms of the planes.

Top and bottom of the planes. Not photoshopped, also not followed by a fiery explosion. The pilots are good at their jobs.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder.

Aquarium

Alright, time for some less grim pictures!

Over spring break we took a couple of days off and went out to Atlanta. Friday we went to the Aquarium. Our drive there was filled with staccato questions about when we would see the jellyfish. Soon, we promised, with fingers crossed; neither of us certain that they had jellyfish.

After purchasing season passes, the guide asked if she could help us in any other way. Just point us at the jellyfish.

Case's patience was well rewarded, with a jellyfish tank easily 7'x15'. We then watched for an hour.

The Georgia Aquarium has a 6.3 million gallon tank, filled with giant groupers, dozens of the more bizarre shark species, two manta rays, and 4 whale sharks. I could have sat in this room all day long, but it was sadly lacking any jellyfish so we had to move along.

We did take time to pet the little rays. Case's head exploded every time he touched one. They were pretty amazing, but didn't quite compare to the jellyfish, where we ended our day.

We spent a lovely 5 hours at the aquarium, approximately half of which was spent watching jellyfish. If only there was a bench near the tank.

Staples

Warning! Graphic pictures, yo. We returned today from a short little trip to Atlanta, and I would like to be showing you pictures from the Aquarium, or perhaps photos of Case and Marc playing tennis this afternoon. No such luck! We don't know how it happened, and Case isn't talking (autism humor!) but somehow he acquired an extra inch-long hole in his scalp. We went to the ER to fix that.

It took three people to hold him down, besides myself and the NP. He was way pissed at Marc afterwards, but they made up.

Weekend

We had a great weekend! The weather was finally nice (60!) and we spent hours outside.
Case loves kicking the ball around, which is such a change from last year's Pee Wee Soccer catastrophe.
It is so much fun to have games to play with him!

While indoors we had a great time batting around a big heavy punching bag balloon. I wish I had been able to catch his face of total happiness when he whacks the balloon. Every time he hits it he squeaks with excitement. The game is punctuated with bossy instructions ("frow to da mommy!) and big belly laughs. We played with this balloon for hours, making the package of 4 the best $2 I have ever spent.Not a lot of chores got done this weekend, but I don't mind for a second.

Owl

This is the zoo's Barred Owl, Shakespeare. S/he is so beautiful and soft looking, with awesome feathers that poof around his legs like pants. The big eyes make him look inquisitive and sweet.
Then you watch him eviscerate a mouse and the desire to snuggle your face against those soft feathers DISAPPEARS.