Staycation: (n) – 10 days of exhausting activity where the world revolves soley around the three tiny humans that I have brought into this world and where the adults (this includes me, Stephen, Grandma and Papa Dogan, Aunt Heather and Uncle Alex, Grammy and Aunt Elaine) only jobs are to cook food, clean up food, drive places and ensure that every moment of every day is spectacular and entertaining for said small people!
To use this word in a sentence: Staycation 2015 is over and mommy needs a vacation!
So this is a tradition that was started last year – Grandma Dogan (my mom) was always saying that there are so many fun things to do in Clearwater and surrounding areas that we never have time to do when we just come down for a weekend so instead we came down for a week and enjoyed lots of adventures. Well, it was so fun and such a hit last year we decided to do it again this year!!
Mommy took the week off (daddy couldn’t take the whole week but joined us on Wednesday night). After loading the van to the brim of everything that a momma would need for 3 children over 10 days me and the kids headed down to Clearwater Thursday after I got off work.
Here is a run down of the weeks activities – along with a few stories and memories to go with them J
Friday – no sense in wasting any time right??!! Mom and I planned to start things off with a bang – first day of staycation we were going on a dolphin sighting boat ride (thank you groupon)….except this…..
It rained most of the afternoon but when there was a short break, mom and I threw the kids in the car and headed to play putt putt golf. Papa didn’t think this was the best plan saying something like “you’re going to get rained out on the third hole”
We won’t talk about how we played the third hold for about 20 minutes – since it just happened to be in a cave and it just happened to be pouring outside!
We got through 12 holes before the thunder and lighting sent us back home with a raincheck….Hey – we decided we would just look at it as 2 games of golf for the price of one!!
Saturday – More rain meant an indoor activity was in order so off to the bowling alley we went (thanks again groupon). Quite a few people shared our idea – the place was packed!! But, we got our two games in and the boys got to enjoy their traditional slushy (bowling is a place we frequent during trips to Clearwater). Saturday afternoon it was craft hour – the boys painted some sun catchers to hang in the window and Easton painted himself and Grammy :) Gotta love finger painting with a two year old!
Sunday – Attempt number two for the dolphin sighting boat ride was a success!! Yipee!! We even got to spend some time on the playground before hand! On the boat the boys all got to enjoy lemonade in cups shaped like dolphins – as if lemonade wasn’t a big enough treat!! The boat ride was awesome! The weather was perfect – just overcast enough that it wasn’t miserably hot!! The dolphins were showing off too!! Not only did we see some swimming, they gave us a show fit for Sea World – jumping completely out of the water for almost 10 minutes!! The boat captian said that kind of show “never happens” so we felt pretty special that we got to have front row seats!!
We finished out the day with Easton taking a little snooze with Papa (so sweet), some spin art and a little more light catcher painting :)
Monday – A TRAIN RIDE!! The boys LOVE trains so we went on a day trip to Lakeland (by we I mean me, Grandma Dogan, Grammy, 2 five year olds, a 2 year old, 3 bags, a cooler, a stroller, a walker, a cane and the kitchen sink)
After the sitting down in our seats and taking a deep breath to calm down for the stress getting on the train had caused…..we had so much fun!! It is just a short ride (45 minutes each way) – which on the way there was long enough to eat some lunch and look though the activity book that the boys had been given. We had some time to kill in Lakeland before the train arrived to take us home. The station was very nice and in a super cute area of town – but with down town Lakeland just a few blocks away…..and the plan for icecream being on the menu we set Grammy up to rest and Grandma, the kids and I headed out for an adventure within an adventure. It was sprinkling when we left the station (rain was sort of the ongoing theme all week) but the boys were having so much fun with the umbrellas we pushed through….except that with every step we took away from the station, it rained a little harder and a little harder and a little harder until finally we decided to turn around.
Have no fear though – whats the next best thing to ice cream? The vending machine of course!! The boys thought they were HOT stuff getting to pick whatever they wanted out of this machine of goodness!! Naturally it stopped raining after our vending machine snacks so we walked across the street from the station to the lake and fed the ducks (fyi – ducks enjoy cheezits) The Amtrack station worker told us about a park on the other side of the lake so we headed there….more rain….but we pushed though – and then that same man showed up again and told us to hurry back – the train was running ahead of schedule and he didn’t want us to miss it!! Now that it service!! (for the record – I have never moved so quick or laughed so hard in my life – trying to get all three kids, grandma and me back to the station, in the rain was quite a sight!)
Grandma and I did much better getting back on the train his time around (we were practiced professionals at this point) and on the ride back to Tampa we had almost the whole train car to ourselves (translation – the boys thought they owned the place and changed seats about every 3 ½ seconds). What a fun adventure!!
Monday night mommy got to have a little grown up time and enjoyed dinner with a great friend while Grandma and Papa Dogan were on bedtime duty!!
Tired yet?? Hang in there – we are only on Tuesday!!
Tuesday – Chuck E Cheese of course!! The Chuck E Cheese in Clearwater is HUGE and CLEAN and so much nicer than the one in Orange Park!! Easton proved he is fearless – walking around like he owned the place and there was no doubt he knew exactly what he was doing. More than once I heard him say “Grama – I need money” – that-a boy!! Starting early!! With a belly full of pizza, treasures that we traded our tickets for and 300 hundred of those sketch pictures (you know what I’m talking about if you’ve been to Chuck E Cheese recently) we headed home. The rain stopped long enough to get a little swimming in. Then we made some cookies – that we took over to Grammy and her friends at Bingo. The boys were fascinated at all the “fancy” equipment used to play Bingo and God Bless the two gentlemen who were so patient with them explaining how everything worked! The boys dolled out high fives and then headed home for bedtime – mommy stayed and played some serious games of Bingo – I even won $2.35!! I’m going to try not to spend it all in one place :)
Wednesday – According to the weather channel the weather was going to be clear for the morning so Grandma and I decided to pack everyone up and head to the zoo. It was like an oven…..a cloudy, humid, I think I might die oven…..that is until the hurricane started!! We got to see a few animals – the manatees for sure as that is the boys favorite, a bird show, the penguins…we ate lunch….we played in the splash park….we put on dry clothes and the heavens opened up!! Thankfully, we scurried fast enough that we got a able under cover and sat while the storm passed (loudest thunder I think I have every heard). It was an adventure!! After the storm the temperature was perfect but the radar….not so much so we headed home – we figured one gigantic storm was enough for one day….and we stopped for ice cream on the way home so that makes everything better!!
Heather and Alex joined the crazy Wednesday afternoon and Daddy flew in Wednesday night – yippee!! Unfortunately Papa left Thursday for a mens retreat so we celebrated my and Alex’s birthday, all stayed up too late and enjoyed some laughs (and fireball shots) while the whole crew was together!
Thursday – the weather looked questionable all day so we enjoyed a day that was a little more low key – we swam, played games, played with Grandma’s toys and enjoyed some cable TV :) Thursday night the grown ups (sans Grandma) had a date night – which meant hot foot for everyone and I didn’t have to cut up anyone’s chicken :) Stephen and I along with Heather and Alex enjoyed some yummy Carrabbas and a few games of bowling. It was perfect! Meanwhile, the boys enjoyed movie night complete with popcorn and sprinkles at home with grandma.
Friday – Breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then a trip to the Jump Zone – which is essentially a giant carpeted warehouse with 7 giant bounce houses in it. We jumped for 2 hours and then the grown ups needed a nap. The boys had a blast!! Even Easton got in on the action – nothing is going to stop that boy!! By the time we left he was climbing up the ladders and going down the slides all by himself!! Dinner with Grammy and ice cream cones for dessert!
Saturday – Another day spent in the pool (the weather was touch and go again….plus the van decided to poop out on us – apparently it had had enough this week and needed a break) While the van hung out at the shop getting a new starter we were stuck with no car seats – which worked out fine!! A few hours in the pool, some more coloring and various crafts and then quite a bit of time spent on the floor enjoying all sorts of games with mommy, grammy and Aunt Elaine sounds like a perfect Friday!! We ended out the day with yet another craft – those beads that you melt together…remember those!?!
Sunday – We started the day out with doughnuts and in an attempt to give mommy and daddy a fighting chance at getting everything packed up grandma took the kiddos to the beautiful park. They got about 10 minutes in before running back to the car because of…..you guessed it…RAIN!! Instead Grandma helped put their photo albums together and enjoyed her last few minutes of crazy.
We are headed home now, in yucky traffic – but with a car full of treasures, tons of awesome memories, 3 exhausted kids and 2 pretty tired grown ups!!
I’m pretty sure I need a vacation from my vacation but what an awesome week! We had so much fun and made so many memories!! Thank you Grandma and Papa Dogan for making it possible and taking so much of your time to love on my babies!! They will certainly never forget this week!! Now, everyone say a prayer for Mackenzie tomorrow as real life begins again and the kids try to remember that the world actually does not revolve around them……Maybe say a little one for Stephen and I too….I think it is going to take me a month to unpack and just the thought of going back to work tomorrow makes me tired!!
Hope all of you are making tons of summer memories!!
I put some pictures up of our adventures on the picture page :) Enjoy
Love and Hugs!
The Diehls