Stay-cation Days (-1) and 1

Our family vacation this year wasn't a vacation at all. It was a STAY-cation.  With a little baby and a limited budget, we didn't think it would be wise to go somewhere far away this year.  Instead, David took a whole week off of work, but we stayed home.  We played as hard as we could for that whole week (I think David was glad to get back to work so that he could rest a little), but we slept in our own beds each night.  For our young family, it was the best of both worlds.

David's last day of work was Friday, July 18th, so technically our stay-cation began on the 19th.  However, we didn't do anything out of the ordinary on that day.  We went swimming, ate pizza for dinner, etc. but that was the day we got our house and yard in order for the week.

Sunday was a pretty typical day as well.  We went to church, we ate dinner, we took naps, etc.  Pretty typical Sunday stuff.  One fun thing we did that evening was to walk around the ponds in Farmington.  We'll call Sunday "Day (-1)" of our stay-cation.

Nicole made Bronson a pair of binoculars out of toilet paper rolls.  He loved using them!

Alison and Nicole brought real pairs of binoculars.  We took turns using them.

We stopped to feed the ducks a couple of times.  

Quinton supervised.

We looked for fish - we could see the ripples they'd make, but the water was too murky to see anything.

It was a great Sunday night activity.

So, Day One of our vacation was Monday, July 21.  We began by visiting Dinosaur Park in Ogden.  I have to say, I personally think it's BORING, but the kids loved it.  It was smoldering!  I think we were in the high 90's or low 100's most of the week.  That's why we went right as they opened.  We were all dino-ed out by about noon.

After Dinosaur Park, we drove to Applbee's for lunch.  Mondays at Applebee's are the best!  They offer $1.99 kid meals and $5.99 hamburgers on Mondays.  Our whole family ate for under $25!  Plus, it's a loud, bustling place so our kids don't stand out too bad...

In the afternoon, we drove to North Ogden and went fishing at a trout farm.  It's so pretty there!  Our kids were a little frustrated by how long it took them to catch a fish.  HA!  It took about 10 minutes for us to catch all six of them.  I shutter to think how they'd react if we were really fishing!

At the trout farm, they have a little building where you go to pay for the fish you catch.  They charge by the inch.  The workers there gut your fish for you, and for an extra $.35, they filet them as well.  This was one of the highlights of the whole trip for me.  The guy behind the counter was probably 18 or 19 years old.  He loves fishing.  He said that when he's not working, he's out fishing in the rivers.  Josh (and Nicole and Bronson to a lesser extent) was totally fascinated by this guy and by the entire fish-gutting process.  The guy was excited to have a captive audience and I think, pretty excited to share his love of/knowledge about fish.  So he and Josh just talked back and forth - Josh asking a million questions and the boy answering them - while he filleted our fish.  He let Josh touch the skin, bones, eyes, brain, etc. and demonstrated some pretty interesting/disgusting things about fish.  It was so fun to watch.  Equally as fun for me was watching Alison stay as far away as she could and try NOT to look over at the building.  She doesn't like fish, she doesn't like killing animals, she doesn't like blood.  None of this was fun for her, until I said that she could feed a peace of her fish to Cookie when we got home.  That perked her up.

Isn't it pretty?  Josh is so excited!

As you can see, it's not too hard to catch a fish.

I love this picture!

Bronson was the first one to catch a fish.  I think his was the biggest, too!

Nicole was next!  

Josh didn't want any help getting his fish off the hook.

My proud fisherman!

Alison didn't even want to touch her fish for this picture.  

Quinton supervised. 

Cashing in... or out, I guess.

Watching the fish get filleted. 

Alison avoiding the brutality.

After our fishing adventure, we drove home.  I cooked the fish for dinner.  It was pretty tasty - if not the most cost-effective meal.  Then, we got our kids ready for our ward's annual Pioneer Day Primary Parade and Family Home Evening.  This year, the parade started in our front yard.  How convenient!!!

Whew!  That, ladies and gentlemen, is an overview of our stay-cation day one!