Fish

So we ended up going to the Newport Aquarium on Saturday which is just this (KY) side of the Ohio river which separates Cincinnati from Kentucky. It was a long-ish drive but the babies were well mannered and slept most of the way there and back. It is a tight fit but we can all fit in the Highlander with me driving Jason in shotgun, Babies in second row and Aya and Junko riding in the fold out third row. Third row is the tight one and we had to take one of the baby car seat out evertime they needed to get in and out. Rachel's car seat is compact though so that wasn't so bad.

It was a pretty hot day and it was a good thing we spent most of it inside the aquarium. We had lunch at a fish restaurant on the levee. Jason and I got crab cakes which to my displeasure ended up really only being one small crab cake. Another deceptive menu!

Ren was in something of an irritable/hyper mood but that changed pretty quickly after we got in the Aquarium. Rachel slept most of the time in the car and then slept most of the time we were walking around the aquarium. I felt sorry for Jason and Junko because there are no stroller aloud in the aquarium till after 4:30 so they had to carry Rachel through the aquarium the whole time she was sleeping. I should have researched the aquarium better ahead of time. Ren spent his time in the carrier as usual. Since he rarely lasts long in the stroller we don't even expect to much use out of it so it was no big blow to not be able to use it. Despite the relatively dark, crowded, narrow hallways and waits to get situated in direct view of the tanks, Ren really enjoyed looking at all the fish. It was a lot more stimulating for him than was the Cincinnati zoo that we went to about a month ago. i liked the otter display the most. I think Aya liked the penguins and the large shark tank. Ren seemed to fully appreciate the passageways through the tanks that have the fish swimming 180 degrees all around you as you walk through them.

We ate at the Japanese restaurant called Tomo near the downtown Lexington which was as usual pretty good but pretty expensive.

On Sunday, my first father's day, Aya got up early in hopes of watching the Japanese team play Croatia in the World cup. However she was very unhappy to find that the US open was scheduled to broadcast instead. She called home to make sure it was the right time and (with my reminding her) to with her dad a happy Father's day. I made Ricotta cheese pancakes and everybody liked them.

We went back to Lexington to do some baby shopping and get things at the Japanese grocery. If things worked out we were thinking of going from there to Frankfort to the Salato wildlife center. After baby shopping we went to the Indian restaurant on Maple leaf drive called Tandor for lunch. The place was clean and the food was really good. We will definitely being going back soon. After the Japanese grocery Ren had had enough of being in the car seat and cried most of the way home. That and the storm clouds made everyone more in the mood to go home than go to Frankfort. We got back and put Ren to bed for his nap and I was just about to fall asleep myself when the land lord knocked on the door with the new replacement oven. The floor was a wreck after he left so I mopped the floor and vacuumed the carpet while everyone was upstairs out of the way and resting. For dinner Jason made fried veggies and Aya baked a Chocolate Cake with the new oven. It works.