Bean Museum.

We went to the Bean Museum's Halloween Party for family night and had a great time. Kort got to make a little craft, see a live animal show, and go on a spooky scavenger hunt (almost twice). Here are a few of my observations:
1. Dead animals sorta (like really rea-lly a lot) stink. As in, the smell is....wooo! The animals, however, are beautiful and much was learned.

2. My son REALLY blends in well with wild animals. Seriously, the similarities are uncanny.
3. Natasha and I will do pretty much anything to score free candy corn. (this includes missing the first part of the live animal show in order to craft paper bats which were subsequently stuffed with a bountiful bag of the waxy, yet undeniably delicious little buggers.) *Bat craft pictured below. Yes, we're *uber*talented, we know.


4. Over the years, fish have taken a lot of crap (i.e. juvenille teasing that borderlines on emotional abuse) from the mean-spirited scientists that discovered them.
Examples? Why sure, don't mind if I do:

The White Crappie? Seriously? Ouch.
Really, scientists, REALLY? Now why on earth would this fish be called a BLACK Crappie? Am I nuts, or does this Crappie look EXACTLY like the White Crappie?
And how exactly do you a call a fish with a "bony tail" a "chub" in the same breath? Makes no sense. Who's with me?!
That was my nickname in high school. I would think that nerds (I mean, um, scientists) of all people, should know how deeply this sort of name-calling cuts, and they should stand a little taller and be a little gentler with the fishes.
Nice, scientists. reeeeeeeaaaaal classy. My brothers called me this most of my life. (Well, minus the "minnow" part, of course.) I hope you're proud of yourselves, scientists.
I think that this particular fish name was produced by a scientist who got one too many calls about "an amazing, ground-level, network marketing opportunity through which all of his wildest dreams would come true and he could be his own boss, scam all of his friends & family, and make money while he sleeps! ...but he has to act now. Like, right now. Like, SUPERFAST! The company has only been around for 15+ years, this means that it is TOTALLY ground level! Ground level I tell ya! What are you waiting for? Write a check! Jump on board! Hurry! Do you guys even know the definition insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting a different result! Simple as that! So stop doing it! Change your life today!" and this was his way of venting. (That's not to say that YOUR MLM OF CHOICE is not "a totally ground level millionaire-making machine"...of COURSE I'm not saying that. Seriously, what do I know?
But don't feel too bad, fish.
An entire species of promiscuous bats got their booties handed to them as well.
Yeowzahs!
Shame on you, science (and scientists) ...shame, shame shame.