An Outing for the Entire Family

So, this is from way back in April, but I wanted to post about it anyway.  Having a child with special needs, sometimes means not being able to do things that other families get to do.  We can't just take Evan anywhere for several reasons:

A.) He might have a meltdown caused by his anxiety from being in a public unfamiliar environment.
B.) If my husband is not with me, then there are precious few places I am willing to venture out alone with a two year old, and a child with special needs.
C.) Unfortunately, the stares and the comments made by a few ignorant people can at times really get to me and despite telling myself that it doesn't matter what a few ignorant people think, actually believing that can sometimes be a little more challenging.

On the flip side,...

Every once in a while, because we have a child with special needs, we get to do things that other people don't.  In April, because it was National Autism Awareness month, we got to go to The Living Planet Aquarium during after business hours for FREE, but that wasn't the best part; we ended up being the only family that showed up, so we had the entire place to ourselves!!!!  It was awesome!  Yes, sometimes we do get hooked up,... and the kids (including Evan) had an absolute blast!

Evan got to do his thing...

He especially loved the jellyfish...

 

And the rest of us had tons of fun too...

The stingrays were a favorite for everyone!

It really was an awesome night; no stress, no meltdowns, no having to leave early, nobody staring... And really the best part about it for me was the we got to go together (like the entire family).  Usually if we were to do anything like this, it would be Marty or I staying home with Evan while the other parent took out Vanessa and Ben, so yeah,... it was a pretty special night for all of us.