Our Staycation

Doug had two personal days left to use up before the end of the year so he took off Friday & Monday of last week. We had thrown around the idea of going somewhere for the long weekend, but the closer it got we just couldn't decide where. We didn't really want to spend a lot of money either. I had heard & seen on Pinterest & other blogs of people having 'Staycations'. So I decided that was just what we were going to do. Doug & I planned out the whole weekend filled with lots of fun ideas & told ourselves that we were going to treat this like a real vacation. No work, no cleaning, no normal activities. Just fun, play & family. I made up a little itinerary with spots to check off each activity completed. This made it fun for Gavin. He's really into knowing 'what's next?' lately. 

Our Staycation 

{Day 1: Friday June 14, 2013}

We started out with breakfast at IHOP. We all love going out for pancakes!

 Liam is such a ham. I was trying to get him to lean in towards Doug, but he was trying to copy cat Doug. Haha! Side note, I much prefer Denny's over IHOP. The pancakes are much better & they have better prices. But today's visit was all about location. After eating we had to head over to Gavin's friend Jenna's birthday pool party. We swam, sang happy birthday, ate cookies & lunch. Everyone had fun & then it was home for naps. That's one of the great things about a staycation. You can keep your kids on their nap/sleep schedule & because you're not supposed to be doing anything but vacation, you get to nap too! Win, win!

After naps we hit up Monkey Joes. We had never been before, but Gavin loves bounce houses so this was perfect. Liam isn't quite there yet. He just doesn't have his balance down enough to go jumping through everything. Thankfully they had a little toddler toy section to keep him happy.

 Beating up on Monkey Joe.

 I don't know why this picture kills me every time I see it. It's totally blurry, but you can still get the essence of his disliking of the slide. 

 Bouncing with Dad is so much better.

 Liam had a great time pushing his big brother around on Thomas. I love seeing these two play nice together. It makes me smile.

When we got back home the boys were bathed & once in their jammies we were able to have ourselves a little PJ Pizza Party.

 Dad brought out the mattress to make the movie watching even more fun!

 Peter Pan was the movie of choice.

 

 We had such a great first day on our staycation that was filled with tons of fun!

{Day 2: June 15, 2013}
Saturday we headed to Dania Beach for some fun in the sun. The water was really calm & there were hardly any waves. It was perfect for the boys to play in the water without the fear factor. We were actually able to get Gavin to put his face in & swim under water. Wahoo! I'm so happy that he isn't as scared about the ocean anymore.

 Momma's view. I seriously am in love with where we live. A friend joked saying, "Where would you go on vacation...Florida?!" Haha. I couldn't help but laugh because it is so true. We live in a vacation spot. What we do daily is what others do on vaca. :)

 Me & my Gavin

 Liam loved riding around on the boogy board. Such a perfect day at the beach!

After naps we went to Tree Tops Park with our friends the Graff's. We wanted to ride the paddle boats, but there was no one there to rent them out. :( So we just fished on the dock instead.

 Me & Lisa
The boys did catch one fish & Gavin caught a turtle. Yep, a turtle. Poor little guy. Doug said he had a hard time getting him off the hook, but did & sent him on his way.

We played on the playground while the grill was getting hot. It was soooo hot that afternoon. I'm pretty sure it hit 90. Doesn't sound too bad, but when you have 80% + humidity, it's awful! We were cookin out on the turf playground.

 Liam, Lisa & Tyn

Thankfully there was some shade & that was much cooler. We kicked the soccer ball, threw a football & played some baseball.

  

Lisa & Devin Graff

 It's funny, but I didn't realize it at the time that we all had stripes & tank tops.

 Love my sweaty, rosey cheeked boys.

 My man manning the grill. He says he always gets stuck doing it. And I reminded him that it's because he's the best at it! :)

 We made tin foil dinners & then blueberry cobbler & ice cream for dessert. Yum!

  

 Some photographer brought over some balloons she had been using in a shoot for the kids. The kids were so happy to have balloons to play with, but they weren't very good about holding onto them.

This little boy was freaking out when the balloons went up, up & away into the trees. They were however reachable if we stacked ourselves. Oh the things parents do for their kids.

I was terrified. I'm not one to be afraid of heights per say, but this kind of thing freaks me out. I always wanted to be a cheerleader back in the day, but I never could have been a flyer that's for sure. So scary!
The boys were completely exhausted from spending all day out in the sun so they went straight to bed when we got home.

{Day 3: June 16, 2013}
This day of staycation was spent celebrating Father's Day with Doug. That night we did decide to bring out the mattress again for another movie night. Complete with popcorn & candy.

 Love these pictures. Their faces are priceless. Liam now, this kid LOVES popcorn! I think he ate half the bucket all by himself.

 We watched Despicable Me as to prepares ourselves for the sequel that's coming out this summer.

I sure love my family! 

{Day 4: June 17, 2013}
Monday we decided to go to the beach again since we had sooo much fun on Saturday. We pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves. It was glorious!

 The waves were not as calm this time, but that didn't stop the boys from playing in the water.

 Lovin my boys in their snorkel masks. Don't you love Liam's make shift one? Haha!

 Gavin has turned into quite the fish. He just loves to be in the water.

 This one loves to feel the water on his toes. He's fine going out in it as long as he is being held.

Rinsing his hands off like a big boy.

Liam likes to wander off. It becomes a problem because the sand is sooo hot that he gets stuck somewhere & will just start screaming because of the hot sand. Thankfully Dad was quick to the rescue!

I got to do a lot of this which is always nice. :) 

That afternoon we were invited to go swimming & have a BBQ with Doug's classmate Glenn & his family. It was fun swimming in their private pool & enjoying their company. It was the perfect way to end our family staycation. I absolutely LOVED every minute of this long weekend. I wish we could repeat it right now. We will most definitely be doing a staycation again in the future.