Mini Vacation

I may have mentioned (or maybe I didn't) that instead of doing one big vacation this summer, we decided to have several small trips, mostly just during the day. Over this last weekend, we went up to Logan, about an hour north of our house. We did spend the night there, just because we had to work around naptime and there were lots of places we wanted to visit. Also, the kids think it's fun to sleep in a hotel and go swimming. We had a great time! I recommend it to all!

First we went to the American West Heritage Center. We learned what it was like to be an Indian (Shoshone) and live in a teepee. There were actual natives on site, but they weren't very lively. Andy is pretty good at throwing a tomahawk, but I'm lousy.

Next we visited the mountain man. We learned about trapping and the fur trade. Here is Spencer modeling a real bear skin.

Then the boys got a pony ride. Carson's helmet was bit large, so I don't know if he could see anything, but at least he could feel the pony and he seemed to enjoy the experience anyway. (We'll have another pony ride at the county fair in a few weeks.)

Spencer is a seasoned horseman. He leans back and relaxes in the saddle.

Here I am with "Patch" at the woodwright shop. He is demonstrating his giant fingernail file on me. He had some lovely wood sculptures he had made. He's a funny old geezer, just the kind you like to hang out with. He is a happy man who loves his hobby.

Andy practiced his lasso-ing skills, too, but he wasn't so great at that. I guess he won't be a frontiersman any time soon. Spencer had fun riding on the wooden horse anyway. We also "panned for gold" and found a beautiful gem, strangely similar to a shiny marble. The sign said we could take one home if we found something. We visited the pioneer women in their dugouts. They were hot in their long sleeves and brooches and made special mention of how they had just finished "sweeping" the floor. We didn't hang around them too long.

After a scrumptious meal at The Beehive Grill (also highly recommended), we tried out the pool in our Super 8. We were the only ones interested that night, so we had it all to ourselves. That's good, because after I saw the pictures of myself in the pool I was glad no one else saw me!

This one was the least of the uglies, probably because I have my back turned. Yikes! Time for a more regular exercise routine. It's fun holding Carson in the pool because he is so lightweight! I can carry him for hours like this. It feels cute when he hangs on to me like this too! You may notice that his hair is much shorter. We had the hair stylist use the clippers this time and he looks so different! He has a little boy haircut now. I kind of miss his little baby curls, but I know his head is a lot cooler this way!

Trying out the motel crib. As expected, there wasn't a lot of sleeping that night, but at least it was only ONE night! The boys had their own room, and there was a lot of giggling at first. I can only imagine what might happen when they share a room at home someday!

The next morning, we went to Willow Park. It's a great place for kids. They have a mini-zoo there. I read something that said they have 100 species of birds and 12 different mammals there. Carson loved the monkeys, of course.

They also loved the ducks! It's hard to see here, but there was a cute, little, young duck that came right up to the fence and "visited" the boys for a long time.

Carson could have squatted like this and watched the tortoise for many hours. Mommies can't squat that long, though, so we had to tell him goodbye.

It was a perfect time to go to the park. It was early enough in the morning that the temperature was pleasant, the animals were active, and there were hardly any kids there!

Carson loved the swing. I wish we had bigger swings like this at home.