Gaggle Of Gees: Vacation: Day Two

Day one of vacation was really busy and consequently, Josh missed his nap. We decided that for the safety and enjoyment of all, we'd make a nap the top priority for day two. We hung around Grandma and Grandpa's house all morning. Around 10:00am, we put Josh down for a nap. He was so tired that he actually went to sleep pretty quickly. Success! The girls had fun playing dress-up and watching cable TV.

After eating lunch at Grandma's, we hopped in the van and headed North. This was our Ogden day. We started out by going to the trout farm in North Ogden. It was such a beautiful day! Sunny, breezy, warm but not hot. The heavy rain of the past few weeks made everything so green. Then, to be right up against the mountains with beautifully kept grounds and ponds. It was like heaven! The trout farm has five ponds. Each one has different sized fish in them. Once you catch a fish, you pay for it by the inch. We let the kids fish in a middle-sized pond. There are so many fish that its ridiculously easy to catch one. You don't even need bait. In fact, the hardest thing is trying to stop the ones you don't want from biting your hook.

Our fishing adventure went about as I expected. Nicki was done before we even started. She just stuck her pole in the water and pulled a fish out. David had to help the other two little fishers. With Josh, the main concern was keeping him out of the water himself. Ali was sad that an animal had to die. She caught the fish, but she wouldn't go anywhere near the place where they kill and gut them for you. The whole thing took about 15 minutes and cost around $15. That's a dollar a minute, but we were glad we did it. It was so beautiful. And we certainly made some great memories! We brought the fish home to Grandma's house in our cooler. Then we froze it to bring back to Idaho (Grandma is NOT a trout fan!). We grilled it on the Saturday we returned home. It was delicious!

Wait! Have we started yet? I guess so.

Who wants to touch a fish?

This is where Ali waited while the fish were being cleaned.

Watching the fish jump down a small waterfall between ponds.

We went from the trout farm to Dinosaur Park. Again, the weather couldn't have been more beautiful. Josh is a big fan of dinosaurs and had been asking for weeks about when we'd go. It was his first time. At first he was a little bit frightened by the big statues and the jungle sounds and roars playing through hidden speakers all around. I had to hold him for the first half hour or so. After a while, he felt more secure. Soon after that, he felt a bit too secure and we had to keep chasing him around. Besides the statues, there was a huge sand box where the kids unburied dino bones and a really great playground. We fed the fish in their pond (I was glad I wasn't paying for them by the inch - they were whales!) and wandered around the indoor museum as well. Upstairs, they have a few animatronic dinosaurs. Josh liked those a lot. We were at the park for at least a few hours. It was really nice and un-rushed feeling.

That reminds me. May I just say that David Gee is the best travel partner in the world! He is so fun to go on vacation with. He is very laid back and easy going about what ever everyone else wants to do. He doesn't stress about time or money or calories or anything! He's a very pleasant person on vacation! Not that he's unpleasant at home, but he's totally Mr. Cool when he's "off the clock."

Hey! What are you doing here, Grandpa Smith?

Our little photographer took pictures of virtually every dinosaur in the park.

Bronson was super happy most of the time, kicking his little legs and laughing in his stroller.

Then David laid the seat back, and Bronson took a nap. What a good baby!

Scary! I'm gonna have nightmares tonight!

Cute picture from the playground.

We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant that I used to waitress at. I'd been craving their food for months so I was glad we were able to slip it into our trip. The restaurant is called La Ferrovia. The food was so great to me! It brought back lots of memories.

After dinner, we went to Weber State University where we met my sister Katie's family for a bowling birthday party. It was cousin Megan's 10th birthday. We were so happy to be in Utah to celebrate with her. Luckily, I planned ahead and brought a change of clothes for each of the children (trout, sand, and spaghetti - not a good mix!). I'm not a great bowler. I lost. By a lot. Even Josh and Adam smoked me. Enough said. After the game, we ate Dippin' Dots and doughnuts while Megan opened her presents. She's such a sweet, fun, cute girl! We all love her - especially Bronson.