Staycation Day 5 (Last Day!)

We didn't do much for Day 5.  In the morning, I took Karis with me to run a few errands.  Derek stayed home with Makena.  It was an uneventful day, especially for being New Years Eve!  But, that's the way we wanted it.  Vacations, even staycations, can be a lot of work, so we didn't want to squeeze in another activity.  It's always a little tricky going out with two little ones who take naps.  There's only a short window when both are happy and awake.  I'm a big protector of their naps and they only miss it if I deem it "worth it."  My kids are easy going kids but if they miss their naps, they are quite crazy and cranky and we pay for it later in the day!

I loved having lots of family time this week.  It's been fun just lounging around the house and playing with the kids.  I think Karis really enjoyed having both parents around.  She definitely took advantage of it -- when Derek reprimanded her, she would come to me and say, "Mama, hold." Or, if the answer from Derek was a "no" she would come and ask me, and vice versa.

Aside from the family time, I really enjoyed having a little extra help around the house.  I napped more and made dinner less this week and it was great!

I am thankful for my family.  I just can't spend enough time with them!

I don't have any photos for this day, but I'll post a quick little video of Makena.  I love it because it shows you all kinds of things she's been doing lately:  1) sticking her tongue out 2) standing and bouncing up and down 3) "talking" and 4) turning from being happy to upset in two seconds.

Staycation Day 3 & 4

Day 3 was rainy so we just took the kids to Chik-fil-a for lunch. It was the usual chicken and waffle fries for lunch, a balloon and some play time in the indoor play area. We spent the rest of the day playing at home.

On Day 4, we went to Mt. Baldy to show the kids snow and to go sledding. We left around 11:30 am and got up the mountain in less than an hour and a half. It's one of the great things about living in southern california -- both the ocean and mountains are a hop, skip and a jump away.

It was bumper to bumper up the mountain and cars were parked everywhere. It was packed! Thankfully we found a small spot that had a place to park, so we pulled over and spent about an hour there.

We sled down a very tiny hill but it was perfect for the girls. They both loved it. When the sled came to a stop, Karis immediately said, "More" every time. Makena and I went down a few times and she was smiling and enjoying it too.

Yes, I am one of those mothers that bundles up their kids so much they can barely move.

Staycation Day 2

On Day 2, we took the girls to Zoomar's petting zoo. Karis had a great time feeding all sorts of different animals. She rode a horse and the little kiddie train -- she cried for brief moments while on both. It was quite uncharacteristic of her. She was probably just tired since she had gone to bed late the night before and it was her nap time. Or else, she thought we were sending her away.

I thought Makena would love the bunnies and guinea pigs, but she was winding down and pretty tired by the time we went to see them. She was interested in them but didn't get that excited. When I gave her a carrot to feed them, she tried to eat it. I guess she's still a little too young. Here are some pictures of our visit.

Staycation Day 1

Since Derek has the week between Christmas and New Years off, I took the week off as well. We thought about doing a road trip, but decided to stay home and do a few day trips/activities throughout the week.

On the agenda for Day 1 was some fun around the neighborhood for the girls and rest for us -- we needed to recover from Christmas!

Highlights:

For me, taking the girls out one-on-one. Karis loves to be outside, but we can't go outside a lot because of Makena's naps. While Makena took her morning nap, Derek stayed home and I took Karis out in her new pink car, we went to the playground and just ran up and down little hills across the street. Later, I took just Makena on a long walk in the stroller.

For Derek, he loved taking Karis out on her new bike seat. She even fell asleep at the end!

We also saw Makena take a couple steps on her own!