DAYS 2 and 3
Tuesday and Wednesday were rainy, rainy, rainy. So we took advantage of the many kid-friendly things to do in town. My kids favorite place to go on a rainy day is the Children's Museum. Andy, Jennie and I were treated to a full service doctor's visit complete with check-in and dental care.
Tegan spent a lot of time painting, which is one of his new favorite activities. He painted the most colorful school bus you will ever see. Davian and Mattie spent most of their time on the new kid-sized train. It was really cool! Davian could pretend to drive the train while Mattie had a tea party in the passenger car. They even had fancy hats and shawls for her to use to dress up! What a great new exhibit!
Finally, we spent some time in the farm house, cooking lunch and gathering eggs from the pretend hens.
The next day, Mom and I took the kids to the Natural Science Center. The three little kids and I explored the reptiles (Mom and Gracie sat out). We talked about camouflage and warning colors on the snakes and tree frogs. We worked on logic puzzles with Gracie and navigated a maze. Then we went out to the animal exhibit. Unfortunately for Tegan, the meerkats were inside. But we did discover a tortoise named Gracie :) The lion was out and active, too! He paced right in front of the glass viewing area. We really had a wonderful time in spite of the rain.
Day 4
Finally, the sun came back out! Uncle Andy was able to make good on his promise for a fishing trip with the kids. We loaded up the 4 kids, fishing poles, worms, and snacks and headed to the local lake for a fishing trip. I have to admit that I was quite ignorant about the fishing resources here, but my fisherman of a brother researched them and discovered one about 7 minutes from our house!
My boys were so excited to get on a boat and go fishing. Davian hasn't been fishing since our last vacation with my brother and his family. Tegan has never been fishing. Tegan even put the life jacket on without so much as a whine!
Rule #1 when fishing with 4 kids and only 2 adults...the adults do the casting! I believe that we were able avoid catching any humans because we made the kids follow this rule.
Andy searched out several potential hot spots for fish: near a point, under a bridge, but it was on the opposite side of the lake that finally produced the first bites and actual catches.
Tegan was more interested in the snacks, as usual, but happy to be on the boat nonetheless.
That afternoon, after naps, we took the boat to another treasure that is unexpectedly close to the house. Andy and Jennie brought their Banana Rocket for the kids to use. Surprisingly, both Davian and Tegan wanted to get on it and go for a ride.
We even spent some time swimming in the water.
The day ended with a spaghetti dinner at the Mom and Pop restaurant at the lake access.Day 5
On their last day here, the AC in house went out, of course. So I had to wait for the AC guy to come and fix it. Tegan was sleeping, so the rest of the family headed for the lake for the evening.
After the AC fix, Tegan and I headed to the lake to meet up with the rest of the family.
Again, the boys surprised me with their bravery. Davian rode the Rocket with his cousins like a pro, even asking for Uncle Andy to speed up! He loved it!
We are so glad that we Stay-cationed this year! We have lived here for almost 7 years now and discovered new treasures.
In fact, we went fishing yesterday in the ponds in our neighborhood.
Thanks, Uncle Andy, Aunt Jennie, Gracie and Mattie for making the long trek to our house. We love you and had a great time!
