Sunday, July 29, 2012

This is What Letting Your Seven Year Old Choose Her "Vacation" Looks Like

ADDISON AND HER CHOSEN VACATION DESTINATION
My husband Dave and I have a seven year old daughter Addison. I have an older daughter Alyssa from my first marriage. This summer Alyssa has gone on two vacations with her dad. Dave and I have yet to have been able to get away with the girls this summer. Recently, Addison pointed out the following: Alyssa has had a vacation, Dave and I have had a vacation (previous blog post) and she has NOT had a vacation yet. So, upon pondering her realization, we came to the conclusion she was exactly right. SO that said, we spoke with the girls and indicated to them that when Alyssa went to her dad's house over one weekend, Dave and I would take a "mini" vacation with Addison. Alyssa being very understanding, and Addison being very excited, the only thing left to decide was WHERE to go. We decided to leave that up to Addison (with us having the final say of course): Tell us your best "mini" vacation ever.  Well, she gave it brief thought and said "Let's go to Aunt Erin and Uncle Billy's house!" That was not exactly the "mini" vacation we had in mind. As much as I would have loved to go see them, they live in FLORIDA (Alyssa might be a tad bit upset if she missed that trip!) So she decided to go with what I refer to as plan B: A zoo and a hotel with a swimming pool. We could put that trip together easy enough for her! DESTINATION: ST. LOUIS                               
                                                                
My smallest love:)
Addison's photo skills
             
The journey began with a trip to the St. Louis Zoo. The day was spent watching a good deal of shows and events that were going on at the zoo. We watched a bird show, the newly created Sea Lion Show, and we touched the Sting Rays and Sharks. All of that mixed in with some random looking at various animals made for a full day at the zoo.


SMILING LIKE THE GOAT:) Ha!
ADDISON LOVED THIS SHOW!
CHECKING OUT THE STINGRAYS WITH DAD 
 The evening was topped off with a dip in the hotel pool. Addison is slowly becoming more comfortable in the water. She was all about having her picture taken to document her newly acquired I-am-getting-more-comfortable-in-the-water-skills:) 
THIS IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR ADDISON!!!!!
After a bit of time in the pool, we cleaned up and went out to one of my and Dave's favorite places--Macaroni Grill (which she ultimately loved as a result of getting to color on the paper table cloth).


The second day we let Addison choose what she wanted to do to end the trip. To no surprise she chose a swim in the pool.

MEET "I-AM-GETTING-MORE-COMFORTABLE-
IN-THE-WATER-NOW" ADDISON:)

 This was followed a visit to IHOP for a create a face pancake (her favorite). AND to finish off the "Best Trip Ever" she chose a return visit to the Zoo. She wanted only to get her face painted (had been eyeing it since yesterday) like a Dalmatian (in honor of her beloved Dalmatian Joy, may she rest in peace) and get a look at the Giraffes, and end the day with a trip to view the snakes (I could have skipped that part and been just fine). All in all, I would say it was a successful mini vacation for Adi! How could I forget to mention a trip to the gift shop, in which Adi stated "I need to get something for Alyssa since she is not here." She always and I mean ALWAYS gets something for her sister wherever we go. Such a kind heart......
ADDISON THE DALMATIAN................
SHE WILL NEVER FORGET HER BELOVED
DALMATIAN JOY:)
ADDISON AND DADDY
ADDISON'S FAVORITE





"I am just going to take a rest...."




I don't know about you, but I would say it was a good weekend:) We had a great time, she had a blast, and many wonderful memories were created just a short one and a half hours from home. Remember, it is not about WHERE you go, but rather WHAT you do that counts. May you all be blessed with wonderful memories such as I was on your vacations this summer!


















Please click on the following link to enter another local Springfield photographer's blog:
  /http://kindrabostonphotography.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-our-vacation-looks-like.html