This 4th of July we took a family stay-cation!! What did we do on this staycation??? It was marvelous! We took 5 days to be the Linley 4.
The weekend before our stay-cation began, we kicked off the 4th of July holiday with a BBQ with my Mom and Dad. There was a red, white and blue patriotic cake, sprinklers and kiddie pools on the patio, delicious food and great company. Unfortunately all the pictures and videos I had were lost in the great data loss of 2012. BUT those memories will not be far from my mind. It was a day most worth of remembering always!
Stay-cation Day 1
We took one day and headed off the zoo. Just recently when we were going through pictures Jeremy said look babe. It’s the day we visited Hades. I had to crack up laughing because at a steamy 106 degrees (without the head index) it was a pretty insanely hot zoo trip. BUT our kiddos were excited to be there, red faces and all. We rode the train, drank lots of water, saw the new Sea Lion exhibit and took in a few animal requests from our 3 year old. (Can I just sideline and say how much fun it is to have your child tell you about an animal they want to see at the zoo?? Yep. Amazing.) We left before it got any hotter and I can’t remember another time in my life when I’ve sweated so much in just a few short hours...but we had a great day despite the heat and I’d do it again in a heartbeat!! What kind of mother of boys would I be if I weren’t up for a little adventure right??
Hightlights of this adventure:
The giant misting fans…totally worth waiting in line to stand in these and Cooper and Owen both LOVED them!
The hippo that came right up to the glass and how amazed Owen was at the sight of him.
Carrying around giant green souvenir cups full of ice and water. I’ve never drank so much water in my life and still been so thirsty!
Stacy-cation Day 2
Day two brought us yet another insanely hot day. As a note for my memory bank, I do believe this was one of St. Louis’s hottest summers on record. Wow is about all I have for it. We decided to trek up to a water park in our area called Raging Rivers. There is a wave pool, flume slides, kiddie play areas and lots of fun to be had. Owen seemed like the perfect age to give this business a shot. So we loaded up on sunscreen, water and snacks and took off.
Highlights of this adventure?
Riding double with Owen down the flume slides. He LOVED every minute of it…and so did me and Jer.
Forgetting to change Owen’s diaper to a swim diaper and having the stuffing come falling apart out the top just as we were about to get onto a slide. Embarassed much?? Well…hey…every parent forgets things like that now and then right?? Please tell me I’m not the only one!!
Taking Owen for his first ever water park adventure. I can’t wait to take both the boys together next summer!
Running into Missy, Chad and Miriam and having fun spending some time visiting with them while we were there!!
Owen sharing gold fish with Miriam and watching Owen demolish a push-pop while I snacked on delicious Dip n Dots.
That exhausted sun-drenched feeling at the end of a fun day of play
That evening we got to meet our nephew Ryder! Happy birthday Mister!
Stay-cation Day 3 & 4
These two days were spent lounging indoors where it was cool. We played in our loft, watched movies on the living room floor, got ice cream at our favorite summer ice cream stop and simply enjoyed being together!
Stacy-cation Day 5
The last day of our time off together, we got up and spent the better part of a morning having a picnic breakfast at a park by the River Road. My hubby has some of the greatest ideas! This was one. And I hope there are more picnic breakfasts in our future.
Highlights of this adventure?
Sitting on a blanket and soaking up a view of the Mighty mississippi
Cooper and I sharing my sunrise crossiant from Hardees
Playing on the playground while it was still shady
Sweating even though it was barely 9am
Watching the boats go by on the river with Owen
Napping kiddos on the way home!
I highly recommend a stay-cation! There is so much exploring to be done right in our own neck of the woods. We definitely enjoyed ours!!
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