A Great Staycation

Allan found out a little bit ago that he had an extra day of vacation that would be lost at the end of the year so we decided to take advantage of it. We went through a few vacation ideas- mountains, San Diego, and San Antonio- but in the end we decided to go with the more budget friendly "staycation". He took Friday off and we headed out for day one of fun.

Our first stop was the Dallas World Aquarium

We were in awe at the size of these fresh water fish!We named our manatee friend Barbara, they were so neat to watch swim around so gracefully.

Claire would say "look at that big guy" every time the really big sharks swam by.The shark tank was so cool because it was a big tunnel that you walked through and the different sharks swam all around you. Claire liked "petting" this saw nose shark.Claire's baby doll "Baby Grace" made the trip with us and Claire thought that she needed a picture with Daddy and the fish.

We had the most delicious lunch accidentally. We drove to Deep Ellum and happened upon a restaurant called Cowboy Chow. They do cowboy cooking and serve your food in mason jars and skillets. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was so fun. I hope that we can go back sometime soon.

Next we headed to the mall to do a little shopping, see Santa, and ride the carousel. We saw Santa walking around on break and Claire didn't mind waving but was not interested in talking to him or touching him so needless to say we chose not to wait in the crazy long line just to get a crying picture.

Friday night (after taking a two hour nap) we headed to the outdoor shopping center near our house. It was so festive feeling with Christmas music, kids playing chase around the huge Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate, and going on a horse and carriage ride around the shopping center.

It was such a great opening day to our staycation!

Saturday we had a pretty low key day. We woke up and headed to the local Christmas parade. It was Claire's first parade and she loved it, especially the grabbing candy and being able to run into the street.

Checking out her candy stash in her sparkle Christmas bag.She was still all smiles even after a parade that lasted well over an hour.Waving to Santa Clause and saying "Merry Christmas!!!"

We just rested and watched movies throughout the rest of the day and then Saturday night Allan and I headed out to a swanky winery for his department Christmas party. We had a good time, but I was excited to get to bed a little earlier than we did last year after his party.

Sunday we went to church and since the weather was FANTASTIC today we hung out in the back yard swinging, sliding, having lunch, and just enjoying the beautiful day. After Claire's nap we went out to hang out with all of our neighbors for a while and then decided to finish the staycation off with a trip to the ice cream shop.

It was a simple weekend, but one of the best family times we have had in a while. I loved spending time with my husband and daughter. I loved making memories. I loved being festive and relaxing. I just loved our staycation and hope to make this a yearly tradition.