STAY-cation Days 2 - 4

On day 2 of our stay-cation we decided to take a trip to the zoo. We hadn't been there in about three years, so we were due for another visit.

Upon walking into the giraffe house, I took one whiff and sarcastically said "Mmmmm, smells good in here!". Right away Alyssa answered (and she was being totally serious) "I know! I love this smell!". Classic Alyssa. Greg and I just had to laugh.

This cute little thing looks like a house cat, but is really some South American wildcat. Dylan didn't seem to notice that there was anything interesting to look at at the zoo - and we'd already seen elephants, monkeys, rhinos and a few other things - until we got to this little guy. The cat was actually curled up in a corner until we set Dylan down in front of his cage, and then he got up and walked right over to Dylan and where they both just sat and stared at each other for the next 5 minutes.

Posing on the giant elephant's trunk.

Greg being a good sport and doing the gorilla pose with the big kids.

Tyler was only attacked by animals twice while we were there. A peacock (or a "pee hawk", and Ryan thinks they are called) came over during lunch looking for some crumbs. I didn't notice that Tyler tried to pet it until it was flying up in his face and screeching. We thought it was funny - Tyler did not. Later we were looking at a baby crocodile that was behind glass. Tyler had his face pressed right up against the glass trying to get a better view, because the crocodile looked like it was just sleeping in the bottom of its pool. All of a sudden it leaped out of the water and threw itself against the glass right in front of Tyler's face, snapping its jaws. It was totally unexpected, so it was quite funny - except for poor Tyler, who saw his life flash before his eyes. He was a little wary of getting too close to any animals after that.

After the zoo we headed on up to Park City to spend the night, which leads us to....

Day 3

Park City is pretty dead this time of year as far as the mountain resort goes, so we mostly just hung out and relaxed. We spent LOTS of time at the pool, which is all the kids really care about anyway. (Okay, there was a little shopping involved as well. Can't miss a chance to hit up the outlets you know!)

Alyssa is our little fish. She would spend the entire day in the water if she could.

Ryan is the opposite - he always prefers to spend his aquatic time on the top step of the hot tub....

...Or wrapped in a towel snuggling on the lounge chairs.

Dylan seems to be a fan.

(I love the matching expressions on their faces!)

We spent our second night in PC with a DVD from Redbox and some delicious take out from Red Rock Brewing Co. I LOVE that place! Especially the Sweet Potato Cannelloni. Holy delicious...cannelloni shells stuffed with a blend of ricotta, sweet potatoes, spinach, sage, and smothered in a cream sauce with melted provolone and parmesan....so good, and I normally don't even like sweet potatoes! Okay, have I gone on about how much I love this dish enough? :) I am ready to go back for more right now!

Day 4

We left Park City and headed for Discovery Gateway in Salt Lake. None of us had ever been there before, so we thought we'd give it a whirl. The kids had a great time and there was plenty to keep everyone busy for the entire afternoon....

Like delivering vegetables from the farm to the market.....

Or flying a Life Flight helicopter......

Doing a tipping table maze.....

Or practicing some horseback riding skills. Good times.

After the museum, we took the kids to splash around in the fountains at the Gateway.

Then it was back to our home sweet home to roast hot dogs and make s'mores in the back yard. Gotta enjoy this beautiful weather while we've still got it!

YUM!!!