Staycation

This past 24th of July we decided to stay around town and enjoy some of the activities a little closer to home. Paul took Thursday the 23rd off from work so we decided to start our "Staycation" that day. We also had Paul's son Austin come stay with us for the weekend - so we had 2 - 12 years old along too! Thursday was Bountiful City's Handcart Days - so we weren't sure what we were in for, but decided to give it a try. They had a cute carnival at the park with some fun rides for the kids and some yummy food. It was REALLY hot so we were melting a little bit, but that's ok. Carson really like the train that they had, as well as the Shark slide. The kids used up all the tickets and got a few small prizes.


After the carnival Bountiful hosted their Handcart Days Parade. This was a full blown parade with clowns, floats, marching bands, bag pipes (my favorite) and the city services (Fire, Police) along with a bunch of other things. We found a semi-shady place to put our chairs on the bank's front lawn - which had the sprinklers turn on during the parade! It was funny to see everyone scramble to get off the grass when they turned on. We also had a small mishap at the parade. Paul took Jaedyn around walking, and being the curious girl that she is found a small hole inside the brick-work of a building. She stuck her finger inside and out came a bunch of wasps. They were chasing her and Paul and Jaedyn ended up getting stung on her cheek and on her thumb. She wasn't too happy about this and was crying and shaking her hand trying to get the pain to stop. I felt really bad for her, but was glad that she didn't have any allergic reactions to the stings. After the parade we decided to take a little drive into downtown Salt Lake to see all the crazy people sleeping out for the BIG parade. It was crazy just how many people were sleeping outside. It was fun to honk and wave at them - even though we drove the wrong way into Liberty Park (luckily we didn't get yelled at).

Patriotic Girl!

On Friday the 24th of July we took a drive up to Fort Buenaventura in Ogden for their Pioneers skills and crafts days. They had people showing all different kinds of pioneers skills like lace making, wool spinning, goat milking, fire starting. They also had some fun things for the kids to do like a scavenger hunt, a candy cannon and a canoe that you could paddle around a small pond. We got some bottles with yummy homemade root beer and cream soda and Carson got to ride the train. Carson, Jaedyn and I made a new friend in the park while waiting for the others to ride the canoe- a cute lady that was waiting for her family to get done on the canoes also. Carson got candy from this lady and she was kind enough to toss the ball to Carson for a few minutes. After the Fort we went down to Jordan Landing for their "Taste of Jordan Landing". It was a carnival of sorts that you paid a few bucks to get into and you could sample food from some of the restaurants in the Jordan Landing. Paul REALLY enjoyed the Sushi and the Crab Legs (from Joes Crab Shack). Austin really liked the Rumbi Grill and Sonic. He got 6 drinks from Sonic with his remaining tickets. This was a really fun event and I was glad to go because they were collecting cans for the Utah Food Bank. We really enjoyed ourselves on Friday, but wore ourselves out. We came home and watched Paul Blart Mall Cop and made ice cream sundaes rather than going to Heber like we had planned. We saw a few of the neighbors lighting fireworks, but didn't actually make it out to see fireworks! We aren't used to playing THIS hard.

Paul enjoying the Sushi!!

Austin enjoying Sonic!!!

It wouldn't be the Pioneer holiday without going up to This is the Place Heritage Park. I've said this before and I'll say it again - we always have so much fun up there! They had their usual displays and the whole place was decorated with flags. They had some crafts for the kids to do and we always like to ride the train. Carson rode a pony all by himself. They have a new Indian exhibit up there that was really neat to see. It is so nice to be able to look back at how our country and state were founded by the pioneers. I am grateful to our ancestors and their sacrifices to allow us to enjoy life today.

Kelsi trying to beat the heat with ice cream.

After we went to Heritage Park we went to Paul's co-workers wedding reception. They had a fun Luau theme with a big blow up slide for the kids.

We had a really busy weekend, and really wore ourselves out, but I was glad to be able to enjoy some of the city events and not to have to pack, do laundry, travel or be away from home.
Sometimes it is nice to stay home. I love my family and am glad that we got to spend time together this past weekend. Hooray for Holidays!!!