Our Staycation

I heard the term "staycation" on the Today show late last week to describe the millions of people that will stay home this Memorial Day instead of paying the steep prices at the pump. Well we didn't stay home because of the gas prices, but instead enjoyed our staycation because Spencer had to work Saturday and Monday night. Ella Ann and I kicked off the holiday weekend early last week by going to our pool. I decided it was high time to take Ella Ann because I was practically having to hide her eyes from it every time we passed the entrance on our way to the mailbox! She kept asking, "Mommy, when's that man gonna fill up da poooo-ul?" I have no idea where she came up with "that man," so needless to say she was anxious to go! We went twice this week already and I think I'll be taking her much more for the rest of the summer because she completely entertained herself for hours! It was great! She also made a friend there, a three-year-old little boy, whom she had a lot of fun with.

On Friday, Craig and Kasey spent the night with us because they were headed to Hilton Head for vacation this week. They got to our house before Ella Ann went to bed so she was thrilled to see them! On Saturday we all got up bright and early and drove down to the aquarium to avoid the Saturday crowd. Craig and Kasey hadn't been before so we were excited for them to see it. After that we took them to Trader Joe's because we introduced them to their foods a while back so it was time for them to experience it themselves! ha! We ate pizza for lunch before they left and Ella Ann asked for them the rest of the afternoon! She was not happy to see them go!

On Sunday the three of us went to church and then to our church's annual family picnic at a nearby park. We hadn't been before because it was always during Ella Ann's nap, but this year we decided to live life on the edge and let Ella Ann go down for her nap late! Wahoo! The park was beautiful and had two playgrounds for all the kids, but unfortunately Ella Ann started feeling sick during the service and wasn't up to playing or eating the good food while we were there. Spencer and I scarfed down our lunch and came home. She kept saying her belly hurt but thankfully nothing happened. We were all so excited about the picnic, especially Ella Ann, so we hated that we had to eat and run.

Monday we went to the park in the morning to avoid the crowds and the heat later in the afternoon. We packed our lunch and had another picnic. We bought a frisbee last week so we would have some other entertainment at the park and Ella Ann kept getting frustrated that we wouldn't throw it to her! :) She would just stand there with her arms out and yell, "I want to catch it!" The poor girl has yet to catch a ball or anything of the sort....ever! The lack of athleticism is definitely one of my traits! She would chase after the frisbee with her 4 necklaces on and bracelet! The grass was wet this morning and Ella Ann hated having anything stuck to her feet so she would go over to our blanket, take of her flipflops, and wipe her feet clean! I think it's safe to say I can send her to preschool this fall in her Sunday best! hahahaa! Anyway back to today's events. We decided we wanted to come back in the afternoon because it was such a nice day and it beats sitting at home so after Ella Ann's nap we headed back down to the park. At that point in the day it was much more crowded with families and big groups of people grilling out. We got jealous of all the good grilled food we were smelling and families/friends having a good time together so we packed it up and headed home for dinner.

Well, that's about the extent of our Memorial Day. Here are some pictures from our weekend.

Testing the water.


She loved it and kept wanting to go all the way in the pool but I refused because the water was Arctic!

Enjoying her snack at the pool.

Ella Ann showing Uncle Craig and Aunt Kasey around the aquarium!

The jellyfish exhibit.

One gigantic grouper resting on the window! It was quite a sight!!

This would've been a great picture in front of the whale shark tank, but it turned out too dark.

At the picnic before it started. She did manage to swing a little while.

She's slowly fading.

The big picnic!

Spencer didn't get to eat much because Ella Ann made him hold her the entire time. What a pitiful little face!