Down Under (the Sea)!!!

Yesterday, we fell in love in an aquarium.

A God-made, vastly gigantic, virtually indescribable wonderland full of mystery and creativity.
We snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef.
Oh. my. gosh. I still can't believe it!

All four of our kids (even our newest addition to the family) have birthdays within three weeks of each other and it's this time of year. We told the two kids traveling with us that their birthday gifts this year would be adventures of their choosing that we would all participate in on the trip.

Justin chose snorkeling. We are so glad he did. Kyrsten was pretty sure she would be too terrified of sharks to have any fun, but she was a true Kirksey sport and suited up and jumped right off the back of the boat. We all had very attractive stinger suits on to avoid death by jellies (the fish, not the berry variety-haha), and by the time you wrapped your lips around the snorkel and suctioned the goggles to your face, you were feeling runway ready, let me tell ya! But, we left our pride on the boat and convinced ourselves we looked like super heroes to explore the reef around The Lower Isles.

First, you scan the vicinity for dorsal fins and then you throw caution to the wind and figure these folks must have already decided that bloody stumps aren't great for business and have taken the proper precautions. So you flop your flippered feet to the edge and jump on in.
The water is warmer than any water I'm accustomed to, other than my bathtub, and tastes like what I gargle for a sore throat, but one of the neatest parts is how buoyant you are! Treading water for an hour and a half in our saltless sea back home would tire anyone out, but here everyone bobs around or dives down.
Whichever floats your boat!

The view. Oh my. A million colors. A million shapes. Schools of fish. Big ol' curious fish whose eyeballs and fins follow you around! Giant clams that open and shut according to your shadow. Stingrays lurking along the bottom. The sound of silence in your own little world. All I could do was marvel. And then giggle. And then worship.

My God is so big.

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