A Little Family Fun

Trav was actually able to get a few days off in a row this fall (vacation time at his job is RIDICULOUSLY hard to get-unless one has worked for Conway for approximately 76 years). I  tried to get Trav to agree to a family vacation, but he wanted to have a "staycation" and do some of the fun things around here that we never get a chance to do together. 

One afternoon we went down to Cabela's to browse around for a while, then we headed across the street to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. Anna liked the dinosaur museum alright, but I think she will enjoy it much more when she is older. For now, she was more excited to see the little dinosaur toys in the gift shop, and to eat lunch with Mommy and Daddy in the little cafe.

 This is the only way I can capture (on camera) a little smile on Trav's face...when he is least expecting it. I think he was showing me a funny text. 

Another outing during our staycation: we took a day to head downtown to Discovery Gateway, the children's museum. Anna wasn't too fond of the upstairs area (again, I think she will enjoy it more when she is older), but she adored the main floor. I think she would have stayed for hours and hours. There was a whole section with plastic balls to play with and various tubes that they go through. 

 Once Trav showed her how they worked, she was fascinated with the vacuum stations (similar to the tube delivery systems you see at the bank).

 Forcing a smile when she had to share her play space...

After a while, we finally convinced her to leave the plastic ball area. She was upset and wanted to play with the balls, but once she caught a glimpse of what was in the Kid's Eye View area, she was hooked. Everything in there is on a small scale for children. A construction area, a house with a living room and a kitchen, a shopping center, a few cars, a farm, and even a water play area. Adorable! 

The construction zone, filled with foam building blocks

 The grocery store, where kids can shop to their heart's content....

  There is even a deli with all kinds of pretend food so that kids can make their own "lunch".

 If Anna wasn't sold on Discovery Gateway after all that, she certainly was when she saw this! A barn complete with a life-size horse! 

 Can I say seventh heaven??

We had so much fun! We will definitely be going back to Discovery Gateway...might even look into getting a membership. 

The other thing we got to do as a family this fall was go four-wheeling. Trav has had 2 four-wheelers sitting in the shed for years, but one of the bikes wasn't in working order, so we never took them out. In September, Trav stumbled upon an ad on ksl.com for a really nice 4-wheeler, a 2004 Yamaha Warrior for a great price. 

So...he bought it. 

We  had everyone in the neighborhood (as well as my in-laws) drooling over the new wheeler. Well, a few weeks later, Trav again stumbled upon ANOTHER 2004 Yamaha Warrior, this one in even more pristine condition for a fantastic price. 

So...he bought it. 

No, we did not intend to keep all 4 four bikes. We sold the first one we bought to my in-laws, kept the second one he bought for me, and then he sold his old bike to his uncle. But first, Trav and his dad gathered all of the bikes (the 4 we had at the time plus the 2 that my in-laws own) in our garage so that they could trade parts out and get things just so. 

It really was quite comical.

Six Yamaha Warriors in our yard.

The neighbors started to stare. 

It looked like a freakin' Yamaha dealership.

Anna thought it was great. She grabbed her ski helmet and goggles and she was ready to go.

So off we went. On a gorgeous fall day, we loaded up Charlie and Joyce's truck and made the few hour trek to the sand dunes. I had never been four-wheeling in sand. I was used to my dad's big rugged automatic four-wheelers that were meant for the mountains. It took some getting used to, but I managed to learn how to shift my new bike. I think Trav was even a bit impressed with my new skill. 

One of the new 2004 bikes...this one is Joyce's, but mine is identical.

Grandma Joyce chasing Anna. She loved the sand!

We enjoyed a beautiful partly cloudy day with temps in the 70's. Warm enough for t-shirts! I don't know if I could tolerate the sand dunes if it were in the 90's, though....too hot for me!

I think Joyce was a fan of her new bike!

Anna got to ride with grandma since her mommy was new to this four-wheeling stuff. I was a little nervous about taking Anna with us (note: I am a pediatric ICU nurse), but Joyce was really gentle with her bike, and I made Anna wear her ski helmet. (She will be getting a helmet specific to ATV riding as soon as her head will fit in one!)

I rarely saw my husband that day. Once we hit the sand, he was off on his bike, up to some crazy shenanigans. He had the paddle tires on for most of the afternoon. Apparently they make you go even faster in the sand. No thanks!

Trav had me get on the back of his bike so he could take me for a ride. After a 10 minute ride, I was done. He is crazy fast on that bike and has no fear. He also refuses to wear a helmet. Not really okay with me, but what do you do? I told him I will put his ass in a nursing home if he ends up with a head injury. I think he thought I was kidding. I will have to keep working on him and the helmet thing.

Surprisingly enough, these two pictures were HIS IDEA. I'm pretty sure I about fell over when he actually suggested a photo. Apparently I need to have our next family picture taken on a Yamaha Warrior. ;-)

These pictures might not be all that exciting to anyone else, but Trav, Anna and I get so little time to enjoy as a family. Between Trav working 12 hours days Monday through Saturday and me working full time at the hospital, we rarely even see each other, let alone enjoy any family fun time. I'm hoping that someday we will be able to slow down a little and enjoy more days like these!