Happy Birthday, and a Visit to the Aquarium...

Whew. That was a thoroughly exhausting weekend back home. But, alas, it was also a great weekend back home, because, of course, it was Theo's birthday! Hooray! On this week's edition of the blog, birthday party pictures galore!

Okay, "galore" is probably too strong a term to use for the number of party pictures I'm going to post. How many, exactly, do you have to post in order to necessitate the "galore" tag? Three? Ten? A hundred? Someone should make rules for this stuff, is all I'm saying.

Anyway. Birthday parties are singularly remarkable things in that when you're there, it's a whole lot of fun, but looking at the pictures afterwards, well, it really isn't as much fun. And that's the thing with photos--they can't capture fun. For example, how much fun would you say is being had in this picture?

You probably guessed, "Not much," and you'd be wrong. There was tonnes (metric tonnes, which are, of course, bigger than their Imperial counterparts--tons--to make up for the inadequacy we feel in using the metric system) of fun being had, but you just can't get it on film (digital media).

Anyway (again). There were presents galore (and I'm sure I can use that term for the number of presents present), and, at first, Theo was very interested in them...

...and he even wanted to help us open them...

...he don't want to work...

...but, in the end, the stuff in the wrapping paper couldn't distract from the stuff that was already unwrapped, leaving mom and dad to unwrap the gifts as representatives. Here we see that exact thing happening (complete with mom and dad trying to be as enthusiastic as Theo probably would be), with Theo already off playing with the other toys on the left...

...good times. And yes, there was a cake. Theo was impressed. As was everyone else, as you can see by this picture, which makes the party look dull again...

...oh well. Take my word for it: it was good. If you were invited and missed it, too bad. If you weren't invited, it's probably because we just don't like you enough, or because you live out of town. Okay, okay, I know you all know I'm kidding about the not liking you enough business, but the nature of the medium of communication makes me think that I need to put a qualifying statement like this in to make sure that the cold, harsh typed words don't make you think I actually mean them. Capisce?

That was Saturday. Remember, Theo's actual birthday was on Monday. Steph and I took him to the Vancouver Aquarium that day so that we could have a fun outing (and special thanks to Rene for getting us on the guest list). I tell you, that place sure has changed a lot since I was a kid. For one thing, you can't see a Killer Whale show (yes, we called them that very un-PC name when I was young--they're Orcas, I know) anymore. Then again, they didn't have half the cool stuff they have now, so I guess we're even. For example, there are jellyfish in some pretty cool lighting...

...and they have a new place for kids called "Clownfish Cove" where they can look at bubbles...

...be transfixed by, well, something...

...and, of course, enjoy the 70's-style lighted floor...

What the camera didn't catch is that he's actually right in the middle of a breakdancing move in that one. Too bad.

In this picture of the family, there seems to be a little bit of commotion in the pool behind us, doesn't there?

What's happening? They're giving a dolphin an ultrasound, of course. Gosh, what did you think? Seriously, the dolphin is laying on her side while a vet runs the probe and four other people keep her calm and give her treats. The Aquarium is amazing; they've posted two videos of the ultrasound here. Check it out.

Of course, there are other cute things at the aquarium, too. Belugas, for example...

...and seals...

...and Steph's favourite, sea otters (warning: these pictures would look great on your desktop)...

Thanks to our connections, we got to go in behind-the-scenes to see the research pool where there are a bunch of sea lions, including this one sunning himself that Theo took a liking to...

After all that animal photography, you might be wondering if I remember that this is actually Theo's blog and he needs to be in some of the photos. Well, here's the remedy for that. This week's editor's choice photos include this great close-up...

...and, the coup de grace, a great photo for the Aquarium's next brochure...

Fantastic.

That about does it for this week. Next week, highlights from January and February, along with various other goodies. Thanks for coming by, and be sure to check out my other blog, Three Hills (Mis)Adventures, linked off to the right of this page (yes, I updated tonight). See you again soon.