JAWS!

Last Thursday, my older 2 children and I were able to go to Gatlinburg with my brother, his wife, and their son while our parents watched the 2 babies (my brother's daughter is 7 weeks older than Miriam!).

We went to the Aquarium of the Smokies.

We'd actually been there before with Dan back in 2001!  Anna was half a year old and Andrew was a little over 2 years old...so they don't really remember it at all.

My favorite part is the see-through tunnel you travel through on a moving sidewalk.  It goes on for a long time - but there are SO MANY various sea creatures to see.

Above is my brother's least favorite, the sting ray.  He was stung by one just a few months after a sting ray killed Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter!

Usually sting rays don't attack, but my brother thinks he stepped on one, which made it sting him.  He was holding his son's hand at the time, and they are still so very thankful that Ethan was spared the sting.

It's just such a cool feeling to have fish beside and ABOVE you as you go through (that's my son's head & my brother looking back at me here).

My cutie nephew Ethan liked petting all the creatures like the horseshoe crab here.  He did tell me to NOT pet the sharks that had snuck into the sting ray pool ...

Smart boy!

If my scanner were working, I have a picture of Dan in this very same diver suit from 2001 ... however, my scanner is NOT working. 

The saw-nose shark critters (above) were pretty interesting up close. 

God's creatures are just SO amazing!!