Words, Words, Words: Staycation Destinations that Never Get Old (for My Kids)

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Staycation Destinations that Never Get Old (for My Kids)

A couple of months ago, Eric told that well-known knock-knock joke that ends in "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

Alaina laughed heartily and said, earnestly, "That one never gets old, right, Mom?"

I laughed, too, but it was because I KNOW I've won the lottery when it comes to having kids who are easily entertained (well . . . at least three of them).

This is fortunate, because--with Jason being a self-employed landscaper--we spend most of our summer vacation here at home. Every year.

Since we're kind of limited to day trips, we end up making some of the same ones every year--or even more often.

The wonderful thing is, my kids still LOVE these places!

Take this week for example. On Monday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's to pick blueberries. Alaina made herself a pair of "leaf earrings" and Eric explored the backyard. When it was time to go home, nobody wanted to leave.

I know--no-one ever wants to leave their grandma's house.

But then there was Tuesday. Ben worked with Jason, and it was scorching hot outside, but I took Janae, Alaina, and Eric to Fort Langley. A place with no water, no shade, and nothing we haven't seen before. (No grandparents, either.)

Even though they have pounded this mallet,

fed these animals,

arranged this fake food,

walked across this wall,

and found gold in this bin

COUNTLESS times,

they ALL had a great time.

Even I didn't mind the heat so much, watching them have so much fun.

So, then Wednesday. Another hot day . . . what did we do?

We are nearing the end of our annual zoo membership, so I suggested we go take another look. Janae normally HATES the zoo, but even she was willing to give it a try.

And--once again--a great time was had by all.

We fed hay to some cute sheep,

saw the lions up close,

had one of our best-ever hippo-viewing experiences,

and--Eric's favorite--rode the train.

Happy children=happy mom.

Now today--Thursday. You might be thinking we just stayed home. If that's the case, you have not been to our house during the summer. As Janae might quote, "Our house is so hot two hobbits just threw a ring into our living room."

In other words, we're better off almost anywhere else.

So . . . Othello Tunnels? Why not!

Although our children have been here many, many times, it has been a while . . . and they were bursting with excitement as we approached.

With flashlights in hand (or--in Ben's case--on head), they explored the tunnels (jumping out to scare each other at least twenty times in about twenty minutes).

And since this is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited, I never tired of lining up the kids for pictures :)

After we'd been through all the tunnels, Eric asked, "What exciting place are we going to next?" So, I told him about a place where we could climb down the cliff and put our feet in the icy cold water. He could not have been more enthusiastic about getting there . . . or about the mountains of rocks he found to throw.

Alaina even found one shaped like a heart.

And Ben had a great attitude about carrying his little brother whenever he got tired.

Tomorrow, we will visit our local library for a science show . . . . and more books--which the kids are also looking forward to, even though we've been doing the summer reading club since Ben was about Eric's age.

Eric reacting to a tarantula at last week's animal show.

It's true that none of these are boring places, and that a person could visit them many times without the experiences "getting old," but even at home in the yard, these guys think it's exciting to watch our zucchinis grow,

or think up funny ways to go down the slip and slide.

We really don't have to go far for summer to feel like a holiday (In fact--as I'm writing this--Jason just texted me from a hardware store to say the kids are having a great time there, too!).