Staycation.

In need of escaping the monotony of everyday life?
Ready to bend the rules a little, celebrate a little, and let your actions become a bit more spontaneous?

Got a long weekend at your fingertips and considering a getaway? But...not interested in the financial hassle of travel? Tend to shirk away from the mental anguish of preparing to embark on extended excursions with a family in tow?

The answer?
Easy.
Stay home. :)

Here's how we do it.

With visions of amusement parks dancing in our heads, we turn instead to local places to play, just waiting to be utilized. One such place never before discovered....Golfland/Sunsplash. I would have thought it would be a few years before our family graced this locale with our presence (and even then begrudgingly...I tend to find the place, well, GROSS) but upon investigation, JC discovered there was a brilliant play area for little ones on location in addition to water slides and no-grow putting greens.
Perfect for a celebration spot after preschool graduation. The kids LOVED it and affectionately call it 'The Castle Park.'

Venturing in...

Braving a slide down...

Scaling a tricky web of rope...

Staying hydrated...

Rescuing little brother when he becomes entangled (mostly psychologically) in the web...

Cooling off in a booth indoors, waiting for lunch...

Enjoying some tickle-torture by Daddy...

Legoland, Six Flags, Sesame Place...eat your heart out.

Hundreds of miles away from The Happiest Place On Earth...somewhere the kids often speculate about given their current obsession with any and all Disney characters...I wanted to give the kids a taste of the excitement that comes from a visit to said happiness. Who needs The Magic Kingdom when we've got...

The Disney Store at San Tan Village.

It was like Christmas. Chaotic, joyful, and rewarding.

The very front of the store is currently crawling with Toy Story gear. LOTS of it.
The boys went crazy.
A little bit of gazing and a LOT of grabbing.

The concept of narrowing things down to a single choice was not an easy one to grasp.
Geez, standing in line for Space Mountain might actually be an easier feat.

We came away with an Iron Man action figure, A Cinderella doll, and a Jessie doll instead of sunburns, Mickey ears, and tired feet.
Good enough deal if you ask me.
(But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop daydreaming about a future trip to Anaheim...)

Rather than braving a crowded water park or exploring a wild array of sea animals at Sea World (yet), we enjoyed a bit of fun in the sun (sort of...it is actually shaded) at the splash pad that acts as a rambunctious neighbor to The Disney Store.

As with any outing during the summer, water intake plays an important role here.

Excited boys trade the excitement of splashing for the anticipation of newly acquired toys. Anything Disney just does always overshadow anything else, doesn't it?

But little Bethany takes the opportunity.

After a very long and busy Friday, this is where we ended up.

Crashing.
And in our own beds too.
That's the best part about staying home, isn't it?

As Saturday dawned sunny and promising, we lazied around a bit, as one should on vacation mornings...

JC spent some time appreciating James' choice in toy.
(Come on, though, who wouldn't? Iron Man is awesome.)

Is there anyone out there to who the beach doesn't call? (who or whom? grammar check calling for all sisters...)
I literally get goosebumps thinking about visiting the beach with our kids someday. The sun, the surfers, the shells, the sand, the salt in the breeze...ah. Love love love.
Finding a substitute for the beach here in the desert?
Not as hard as you think...

Beach = sand plus water.
Check and check.

Ah, refreshing.

Cute girl having a great time!

They all had a blast playing beach. Water into the sandbox, sand into the pool, a lot of both in everyone's hair and swimsuits, and a fun new activity established that saves us many times a week since!

One of the great memories of my childhood...road trips to visit out-of-state family! One of the great joys of my life right now? Having family close by!! No road trip required...and now that we no longer have any baby babies, traveling the ten to fifteen minutes to grandma's house doesn't even require packing as if for a road trip anymore! Just a change of clothes, a couple diapers, shoes (sometimes), and a few toys wrapped tightly in excited fists, and we are all set!
We headed over for a swim and some fun family time this particular Saturday evening...

After swimming, a game with Aunt Katie makes everyone happy.

Aw, and some bonding time during a comfy showing of a movie makes for a good time.

The next couple of days were full of playtime and creative ways of spending time together.

Bethany took some time to draw some pictures for Scout.
She wanted to be sure he knew they were for him.

She ended up hanging them above his usual resting spot instead of attempting to attach them to his nose. He seemed to appreciate it.

Ben enjoyed browsing a new coloring book bought just for that weekend.

Daddy made up a new game involving diving for treasure in the ball pit.
The kids waited anxiously for the go signal.

And...go!

Searching...

Searching...

And...success!

Woohoo!

Yesss.

Found!

A glorious dessert for a Sunday evening...
Almond milk, coconut milk-based ice cream and dark chocolate cocoa powder come together to create a novel experience for the Ballard kids.
Milk shakes. They were a BIG hit.
(Except for with James who was throwing a fit in the other room about something or other...)

Cheers!

I found Daddy and Iron Man offering James a peace offering.
(see the milkshake wedged into Iron Man's outstretched arms)

A Sunday evening also calls for a handmade tent.
The kids call this a kitty house.
Just like the fort thing connected to the swingset out back is the kitty ship.
They like to pretend to be kitties.

Pouncing kitties sometimes.

Blurry fun.

More weekend crafty time.
New markers! Our old supply had dwindled down to three markers and I figured they could use a new assortment.

A heart.

A flower.

An abstract piece.

An eager artist turning his heart into a 'heart man' complete with polka dots.

Arts and crafts is good and all, but sometimes you just need to run around.

And sometimes you just need to try on your sister's clothes to change things up a bit.

And be overly dramatic about being chased down by your younger brother.

But considering our easy-going, fun-having, stay-homing weekend right here in Gilbert, AZ...drama, dilemmas, and chaos played a very very small part.
Thank heavens for that!

Sign me up for another.