Staycation Day 3

Staycation Day 3: October 16th 2010

Stop 1: Hogle Zoo

You can't go to the zoo without stopping by the lion head watering fountain. I have a picture with the fountain from when I was a kid so it's fun to get ones with my kids as well.

We were lucky enough to get there right before they did an Elephant show. They showed how they taught the baby elephant how to show the trainers the backs of her ears and her feet.

Snack time on the Rhino statue.

The monkey house. The boys loved watching the monkeys swinging from the trees. I think they wanted to join in, but couldn't because the glass was in the way.

Aaron's new favorite spot, on Daddy's shoulders. The boys loved the reptile building.

As a kid I remember always having to have the map and direct us where to go. I remember trips where my parents had to get four maps so my brothers and myself could all have our own maps. Joseph is just starting to get into maps. It is fun to see him start loving what I loved.

Riding the Tigers.

This is one of the few shots of the boys where you can also really tell what they are looking at. So here are the boys with the Camels.
Sitting on the Gorilla'a lap.
We always have to make a stop at the playgroud at the Zoo. Here is Aaron on an Aligator.
Joseph sliding down a snake.
We got tickets for the train. The boys love train rides.
On the train looking at the Bison.
Stop 2: This is the Place

We happened to go on the weekend that they were celebrating Halloween. It was lots of fun for the kids. They were given trick or treat bags and were able to go trick or treating to some of the houses there.

We also got to ride the train around the park. The boys were in heaven two train rides in one day.
They also had some games set up. I love the different way the boys play.
Here is Joseph playing. Throwing the hoop on the hat.
Here is Aaron. Putting the loop on the hat.
Joseph trowing the bean bags.
Aaron dropping the bean bags.
Joseph really loved this toy. You pull the strings to get the bear to the top. It's the same motions you would use to milk a cow. They used this toy back in pioneer time to teach kids how to milk cows.
With a ticket into the park you get to go on three "rides". The rides here are not roller coasters. The boys wanted to go ride a horse. They let them ride the horse together. They loved it.
We also went on a hay ride. We were also going to go to the petting zoo but ran out of time.
Our family in front of This is the Place Monument.
While opening the door to leave the park Joseph had his finger stung by a wasp. He was not a very happy camper. We had to go to the store and get him some benadryl. Once the swelling went down he was fine.This is the end of our Staycation. We probably could have hit one more place like Red Butte Gardens but Joseph got invited to a birthday party and really wanted to go. Plus we were all exhaused from three days of playing hard. It was fun to stay home an explore what things there are to do here.

Staycation Day 2

Staycation Day 2: October 15th 2010
Stop 1: Tracey Aviary
We got to the Aviary just in time to see a bird show. The way Stephen holds the camera is almost the same way the bird trainers hold their hands to get the birds to come, so one of the birds from the show decided to try to perch on Stephen 's camera.

The birds also liked to land on heads too.

The boys loved seeing the peacocks walking around freely. Aaron wanted to give chase. We talked him out of that idea.

The boys looking at the Scarlet Ibis.
This bird chased the boys back and forth around the cage. They had so much fun!
More running with that bird.
Aaron was yelling "Hello Birds!" He loved watching all the birds walking around.


Looking at a Bald Eagle.Flamingos

The best part of all. Feeding the ducks!

Stop 2: Aquarium

The boys had fun finding Nemo!

Riding the Frog.
Aaron loved looking at all the different fish. He is our animal lover.
Joseph loved the Coral playground.
I think we were finding the frogs in the case.
Lets see how the meausre to the penguins.
The boys both got a specail treat from the aquarium. Aaron loves his Nemo and Joseph choose a sea horse.
Stop 3: Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum.

The boys loved all the hands on exhibits. We were learning about where the dinosaurs lived.

Joseph really got into pointing thngs out. He was showing us the T Rex.
Joseph riding a dinosaur.
Aaron riding it too.
We also loved playing in the water table. Joseph loved making the damns. Aaron had fun destroying them.
Aaron started showing off the dinosaurs just like his brother.
One of the best parts of the museum the dinosaur dig!

Stay tuned for Day 3!

Staycation Day 1

Now that Stephen has a "real job" with vacation time instead of owning our own business we decided that we would take advantage of that vacation time and take a vacation. So we started pricing out what a Disney vacation or other places we wanted to go would cost. They were expensive, very expensive. So I started looking for more inexpensive options. We came up with the idea to do a staycation; partly because where I worked at the time sold the Salt Lake Connect Pass. The connect pass is a pass that gives you entry into 13 spots around Salt Lake. You can get a pass that would last 1 day, 2 days, 3 days or 365 days. There is more information about the connect pass here. S0 we spent around 20% of what we would have spent going somewhere else, while still having a lot of fun and sleeping in our own beds.

So we went on a staycation. Here is a tale of our adventure.
Day 1. October 14th 2010

Joseph putting coins in the parking meter for our first stop: The Utah Museum of Natural History. (We later found out that they had parking spots for the museum that we wouldn't have needed to pay for. Oh well, Joseph had fun.)

Joseph loved seeing the Dinosaur head sticking out of the wall and went right to it. Aaron wasn't so sure and wouldn't go near it.

First we went through a exibit about the indians who lived in this area. They had a lot of pottery, baskets and arrowheads. But the boys loved the Teepee most of all.

They have a really neat area for kids to learn more about dinosaurs. They had a mold of a foot print and bone for the kids to climb on. They had a section of rock that still had bones in it so the kids could see what the bones looked like before they were dug out. The also had lots of puzzles and books about dinosaurs.
Here are the boys in a dinosaur foot print.

Playing puzzles with Daddy. The boys were too enthralled to stop what they were doing for a picture.Here is a magnetic puzzle that the boys did. Joseph was very proud of this.

Then we went to see the dinosaurs! I love how Aaron looks like he wants to run in this picture. The boys really enjoyed seeing all the different dinosaurs.

Here are the boys with more fossels.


Here the boys are with a paleontologist. She was telling them all about jaw bones from animals and dinosaurs. She also told them that the paleontologist, Dr Scott, on one of their favorite shows, Dionsaur Train, also works at that Museum.
The Museum also has rooms on bugs and local animals (Inclucding dead stuffed animals). The boys loved these rooms, Mommy didn't love those rooms that much.
Here is a picture of the family in front of the Museum.
Stop 2: Lion House for Lunch
Part of the Connect pass is a free lunch at the Lion House.
Here are the boys and I in front of the Lion House.


The food was yummy!Since we were already at Temple we had to get a picture with the Salt Lake Temple.

And we had to get a picture with the fountain.

Stop 3: Discovery Gateway (The Children's Museum)

The first room you go into is a room with a lot of balls. So we knew right off it would be a hit with the boys. You put balls down tube and they make noises or they get vaccumed up into a bin. Lots of fun.


Aaron's favorite was the water. He loved having the balls be washed down the tubes with the water. He also found some boats and were having a lot of fun with them too.


They also had a construction room. Joseph loved building things with the large soft blocks and the crane.
Aaron loved pounding on the blocks and pretending to build things.
Stay off the sidewalks, Aaron is driving.
We also built with blocks
And got to sit in a helicopter.
Last stop of the day was the Planetarium
The boys loved looking at all the exhibits about the different planets.
Here is Joseph on the Moon.

Here is Aaron on MarsHere is a side note: The boys like to pretend that their bunk bed is a rocketship. The other day they were arguing about where they wanted to go. Joseph wanted to go to the Moon and Aaron wanted to go to Mars.

Here are both the boys with a model of the globe.