Family Stay-cation 2012: Part III

So we wake up the next morning, have breakfast and get ready for church. It was Father's Day AND we were still on vacation :) Bonus for Kyle...

Church was great as usual and off to lunch we went...Taco's Garcia. It has been FOREVER since we've been there!! Love love love!!! Picture craziness...and GO!!!

Kyle and the kiddos

My dad and the grandkids

After we were finished eating and picture taking, we headed back to our house and immediately put our pajamas on. We gave Kyle one last gift before I insisted on a nap time...

Best dad and husband ever :)

The kids found him an herb garden. So cool! ...and ignore the fact that Kenzie looks like she is wearing panties, they are her bunched up shorts :)

Nap time was nonnegotiable at this point on our vacation and EVERYONE fell asleep the second our heads hit our pillows. But our vacation does not end here my friends...no no no!! We have finally come to the main attraction of our trip and the best part is....they don't have a clue!!

We wake up from naps, put on the clothes I have already laid out for them and load up in the car. All they know at this point is they had to wear tennis shoes, which never happens in the summer. On the way out to our surprise, the older girls figured out where we were going. So naturally, I threatened their LIVES if they spoiled the surprise for the little ones :)

We parked in the parking lot and the kids' jaws hit the floor. They couldn't get out of that van fast enough. All they could say was "WONDERLAND!!!!" That's right, Wonderland. We have been able to take the girls once before, but never the little ones. This was their first time and they were beyond exited, and so was I. The best part was A. It was $10 Sunday  B. Father's Day, which means C. No waiting in line!!!

Now the amount of pictures is RI*DI*CULOUS!!!! And I'm ok with it :) It WAS their first time!!!

The Frog Hopper, which they rode five thousand million times :)

The Merry-Go-Round

She was in heaven

Looking back, this was definitely the best part of the entire trip! Kiddie Bumper Cars!! Whoever came up with this idea had to been smoking some major crack, but it was the funniest thing to watch. Think about it, Madison was big enough to drive ALONE!! And she is only four! Could you imagine a bunch of four year olds behind the wheel? Ha ha ha!! NO!! Their laughs were contagious and to see the smiles on their faces was priceless, even if they have mild concussions when we go home. LOL!!

The famous boat ride....the exact. same. boats from when I was a kid

and the cars...

Bailee and Kyle rode The Rainbow....psychos!!

The TRAIN!!! Right up Bubba's alley...

 

The log ride...Bubba was terrified :)

We went too

 

 

 

Me and Bailee were the only two brave enough to go on the Mouse trap

Kenzie and Bailee went down the water slide

Us girls went on a small roller coaster at the back of the park

and us on the Tilt A Whirl

There are a ton more pictures, but these were the best. We had a blast and there was zero fighting the whole time...new record!!

It was late when we got home that night and went straight to bed. The next morning, Monday, we got up, dressed and went to our last surprise...the Discovery Center. We renewed our membership and now get to go whenever we want!! Annnnnd, I forgot my camera. Lucky you :)

Another successful vacation with minimal cost. So the next question is...

"Where do we go next year?"

Family Stay-cation 2012: Part II

Now that it is time for Christmas, I guess I'll talk about the more of our vacation. Lol!!

Anyways, this too will be a lengthy post....not as bad as the next will be, but just thought I'd give you a heads up.

After we dropped all of our camping gear off, we ran home to get our other luggage. It felt like we packed for two separate trips...oh, yea. That's right, WE DID!!! Our camping trip and our non-camping trip. It was ridiculous to say the least. Once loaded up, AGAIN, we drove to our hotel...which ended up being only a mile from the house. He he he! We drove up and parked under the awning. The kids just looked at each like "Whaaaat!!!" Pretty priceless faces :)

 

Praise the Lord for comfy beds and super plush pillows. Something you only appreciate after a camping trip. The second we set our bags down, the kids starting begging to swim.....and we were too tired to argue. So to the pool we went...

I obviously am not wearing make-up, don't judge! 

We swam three different times on our trip, but I will spare you anymore swimming pictures. Swimming is swimming :)

After the kids cleaned up a bit, we went to Mr. Gatti's. Hayyyy for Mr. Gatti's and yayyyy for FREE kids coupons!!  They even were able to play games for a bit. This is definitely something we do not get to do very often, like years ago often. After we ate way too much, we went back to the hotel for more swimming and, hopefully, an evening of relaxation. After all, that is what vacation is all about.....riiiiight....

The next morning, we got up later than usual :) and headed downstairs for breakfast. Not A+, but not the worst I have ever been to. This hotel had only been open for four-ish weeks, so they are still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. I guess I can spare you every single play by play.

We ate lunch at Burger King, which was a double bonus. We ate out AND they were able to play. Score! Obviously, I did not take any pictures, since it was just Burger King...you dodged the bullet this time. After a semi-late lunch, we went to the mall for a movie. Going to the dollar movie (actually $2), is so much more practical.

I am going to get on my soapbox for a minute...I apologize.

If we had gone to the "real" movies, as Madison puts it, we literally would have spent almost $50 AND we would have had to smuggle in our own snacks! Shut up!! You know you do it too...RE..TAR..DED!!! Instead, we spent $28, which was for our admission AND popcorn with TWO large drinks. Now, I know you are probably thinking, "How is she so awesome?" Lol!  I think it is possible that I saved more on this vacation than we spent.

Moving on, at the movies, we saw The Pirates: Band of Misfits. It was ok, not my favorite movie, but the kids enjoyed it and that's all that mattered. Then we went to dinner, a little early to beat the dinner rush, at Texas Roadhouse. Thank you VBS for the free kids meals tokens!! Thrifty victory once again!!! And this was picture worthy :)

We all were there, but I guess they didn't think it was picture worthy like I did. Their loss :)

After dinner, we were tired and full. So, back to the hotel pool we went. We were there the rest of the night....untilllll.....our food magically digested and Orange Leaf was literally across the parking lot. Only on vacation is it ok to eat ice cream, or frozen yogurt, at 10 o'clock at night. I am pretty sure Madison fell asleep in her bed before she even finished her's.

And off to bed we all went.

This was our last night in our hotel with two more days of vacation still left. Yipee!!!

.....to be continued

Family Stay-cation 2012 : Part I

Now that it is time to start planning our family vacation for next year, I guess I will tell about the one we had this year. Lol!!!

First of all, I am going to gripe a little bit. I apologize....

The price of everything these days is RIDICULOUS!!! When you have a family as large as ours and don't make a million dollars a year, it makes it difficult to do anything fun with the kids. We don't ever eat out and when we do, it's McDonald's. I refuse to pay $50 to go see a movie...I could buy it when it came out on DVD or even Redbox it. The only time I go out to a movie, it's a date with my hubby and even then, it's because we got a gift card. Not that the Amarillo Zoo is even worth considering, but they actually charge people to get in now!!! I'm sorry, but I refuse to pay money to go see a goat!!

Ok, I think I am done....moving on.

With the price of a hotel room we would need for six people and gas for a mini van, we decided to stay closer to home...like across the highway. Let me explain. Last year, we went to Oklahoma City for the weekend and all the kids talked about the rest of the year was the hotel we stayed in.

Really?!

They thought that was the coolest thing we had ever done. Just a pool and a pull out sofabed absolutely made the trip worth it for them. They actually fought over the sofabed.

Since the room for our stay-cation would still cost a good chunk of money, we wanted to figure out a cheap way to extend our vacation just a little bit longer. Our solution was camping....like, tent camping....like, something I haven't done since I was in middle school, something Kyle has NEVER done and with kids who are scared of bugs....sign me up! If nothing else, it will be entertaining. My only concern was cooking and the weather. My cooking skills have significantly improved....in my kitchen. What in the world do I cook in the middle of no where with a grill? Hamburgers and hotdogs, I know. But what for breakfast? So, I call some weird Texas Wildlife Park hotline thingy to make a reservation. One of their questions was, "would you like an electric and water site?" YES!! I'm not sure why you would need electricity, but if they offered it, I'll take it! Turns out, those sites are for pop-up trailers and campers...oh, well. To make the most of it, we took our ELECTRIC skillet :) and made breakfast burritos the next morning.

Just for the record, it did rain. But it wasn't severe and it cooled it off a LOT! Blessing in disguise. The overall camping experience wasn't that bad. I would like to go longer next time, and maybe even with friends, but this was a good start for us.

I warn you now, I am a picture taker....and I took a LOT of pictures...

....you have been warned....

I am proud to announce that Kyle and I put the tent up all by ourselves! Yes, I know....we are awesome!! (and yes, I helped)

About the time we were finished, my family showed up. Perfect timing if I do say so myself.

Time to cook!!!

My brother refuses to take a good pic!!

And then, of course, as soon as the burgers were done, it started to rain. So in the tent we ALL went to eat. Sorry for sweaty, shiny faces, but it was hot in there...

Sexy, I know :)

My dad

Me and my brother

Connie and Jenn were here too, I swear!! Somehow they managed to outsmart the photographer and strategically slip away when a picture was to be taken...

As soon as we were finished with our burgers, the rain stopped. We couldn't get out of that tent fast enough, it was soooo hot!

And then it was time for dessert.....S'MORES!!!!

And apparently our non-camping skills shined 100%...check out our little balls of marshmallow fire. We were all looking at it thinking, "this doesn't seem right".

Uncle Paul helping Braxton cook his marshmallow

But, of course, we ate them anyway.

We played a few little games here and there...

They love their Uncle Paul, but their sure missed their Aunt Hali :(

Found a eenie teenie weenie frog...how? I'm not sure. It was so small!

And before my family left us, they took a family pic for me :)

Our first family camping pic....take a good look because we did NOT look so nice the next morning.

My family left, so we went on a little walking trail that was close by. The sun was going down, so we didn't want to get too far away from the campsite.

With Kenzie leading us, I was a little nervous

WE SAW A DEER!!!! Like, for real for real!!! And I didn't zoom this pic at all. It really was standing this close to us! Soooo cute!

We went back to camp soon after, but on the way, we found that underground house. Do you remember that house? It was pretty cool to look inside with it staged like it was still being lived in. It totally creeped the kids out. Lol!! We also saw tons of fireflies. I haven't seen those in forever! It was so neat and the kids instantly thought of The Princess and the Frog. 

"Don't make me light my butt!!!!" Lol!!

Then we settled down and eventually went to bed. The next morning, we got up, went to the bathroom and made breakfast. It was yummy. Good job Kyle :) After we ate, we packed up the tent and drove to a place where we could go hiking. We found these rocks that I remembered climbing as a kid.

And then from there, we found a place to climb. The kids loved it!!

I did not crop myself out to prove that I did participate :)

After that, we headed back to the van and drove up to the trading post for some ice cream. Super yummy!
Our camping adventure was finally complete!

On to the hotel!!!