WE WENT ON A STAYCATION!!

OK - so when Bob and Jonathan were gone for two whole weeks on Philmont, I pondered at that very time how it is that each and every month Bob gets to go on a "vacation" because he goes camping every single month with the Scouts. And for him, camping with the Scouts IS a vacation!  Then I thought: "when was the last time I went on vacation?"  The answer: 2005.  FIVE YEARS AGO! :'(  That made me sad.  I LOVE to travel. I am a travel agent by profession, and I always had the dream that half of my children's education would be through travel.

Well, the Lord evidently had a different plan. It's ok.  But I still need a break every so often.  This past week, after I broke down in front of the kids (after one of them had the courage to tell us that life isn't fair and that we should be nicer) and had a crying/raising my voice session of "don't you tell me what's fair or not fair, and don't you tell me about needing a break!" - it became very obvious that the time for that "break" for me had come!
So, Bob and I decided to take a "Staycation" - a vacation right here at home, where we take all day and at as if we're in a hotel, visiting another place and we eat out and tour around all day.  So that is what we did this past Saturday.
We slept in, then got up and ready and went to IHOP for BRUNCH.

After that we headed to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science - an awesome place to go with your kids!  The main exhibit was "WATER" and we also watched the IMAX movie "ALASKA".  I think that's the first time I've ever seen an IMAX movie that was cute, interesting, AND FUNNY!

We saw dinosaur bones, Bears, Fish, Birds, and plants. We learned all about water and how it affects life on Earth.

 
 Emily loved doing a floor puzzle of Earth, and the kids especially looked forward to one of their favorite activities there:  BUBBLES, BUBBLES, AND MORE BUBBLES!!!

 Emily looked forward to playing with the ducks in their "pool"!

Daddy was looking to see if the "milk bags" were full.  Nope.  No more "milking" 'ol Bessy. And why Jonathan and Jessica put on these silly NASA hats beats me!

 Emily loved the penny swirling down into the center of the dish, and Jessica had fun playing optical illusions with the mirror. "Look Ma! No legs!"

It was bearable in the shade that day.  A mere 100F instead of the 105F in the sun! 

Bob and Emily had a wonderful, relaxing time on the Swan Paddle Boats, and we all just had a wonderful time.  Here are some more pictures of our day.








 After the Museum, we headed to Joe's Crab Shack (another favorite) for dinner (and dessert!)...

... and more FUN TIMES!!!

Then we ended our wonderful day with a movie, "Despicable Me".  The movie was cute, funny, and entertaining.

We came home, showered, and crashed into bed!  We were tuckered out!  But we had a wonderful "Staycation" together - more fun family times, and more memories built.  That is what makes it all worth it!  And today, we still had those great memories floating around in our head!  It was a wonderful, needed "day off" - especially for ME!