Running Away

I love it when the kids don't have school!  I wanted to go somewhere as far away as possible on Friday and take all the kids with me.  All week, I brainstormed ideas within a four-hour radius of good old Kaysville.  We would leave at 4, get "there" at 8, drive home at 5, get home at 9.  In the end, nobody wanted to wake up at 4 am, and we had to be back by 3 for piano, ballet, guitar and Nutcracker.  Wah!  I compromised, telling all the kids I got them from 10 to 3.  We went to Springville, to the lovely treasure of a museum.  One of the exhibits featured the idea of a family vacation in the 1950's.  The basement was decked out with a camper, a roadside diner, and national park signs.  Fun!  Some of the kids spent the whole time in the basement coloring and playing in the roadside diner with the plastic food.  That gave the older kids and me time to roam the upstairs exhibits and fill up our souls with art.

Next stop, Jakers Pumpkin Patch, right down the road.  It was a fortuitous coincidence that this fun place was right there.  It's free during the school day, too.  We went on a hayride, petted animals and played in a giant sandbox-like area filled with corn!  The weather was sky blue, warm, blustery, with pretty clouds over the soaring mountaintops.  Seriously inspiring.

They even had a kangaroo!  He had long- sharp claws, but when someone petted him on the head, he acted like a kitten, nuzzling up against them and practically purring.  He was everyone's favorite.

Beautiful Ruby

Darling Xanthe

Attempt at a group photo.  Why do I try?  We all know what the kids look like!

It was the best day, and we made it home exactly in time for piano.  Next time, kids, we're going further!