The Via "Staycation" of 2012

Guys, you're gonna thank me for this, I promise.

The students for the fall semester at the Focus Leadership Institute arrive today, so my wife and I decided that I would take some time off to spend with the family before the term kicks off. Trying to save some money, we decided that a "staycation" was a much better idea than trying to make last-minute hotel reservations, toting the kids and all their accoutrements somewhere, and paying for food for practically every meal.

As a teacher, my wife instantly went into "planning mode" as soon as the overall plan was settled upon. What she came up with was a six-day schedule with activities, crafts, books, movies, and even snacks that all revolved around a daily theme. And I have decided to share all of it with you, for one reason and one reason only...

Husband points.

We all know we need them, and we all know how hard it is to get them. And if you're like me, when your wife turns to you and says, "what should we do?" your mind instantly goes blank, and any good idea you might have had enters a black hole, never to be seen again. And that's just for date nights. Trying to plan an activity for your family where everyone has fun and you don't have to touch the college fund to pay for it is like living in a swing state and trying to avoid political commercials. So when you are asked such a question, now you will have an answer, and the husband points will rain down on you like manna from heaven.

So here you go - a blow-by-blow schedule of our staycation. And if you don't live in Colorado Springs, don't worry. Most of these are doable (with a tweak or two, perhaps) where you live.

Day 1 - Fitness Day
AM Activity - rock climbing wall. City Rock was where we went, and had a wall totally appropriate for our two and a half year old.
PM Activity - Park with frisbee, football, soccer ball
Snack - Cliff Bars
Craft - Fitness brag book: we took pictures of Caylah doing different activities - swimming, jumping, climbing, etc - and glued them onto construction paper (one per activity), which was then all tied together to make a book.

Day 2 - Nature Day
AM Activity - Nature Center with morning grasshopper experience
PM Activity - Nature walk at the library
Snack - gummy worms, ants on a log
Craft - Butterfly baggie
Books - On My Leaf, The Very Lonely Firefly
Movie - "Creatures - Kids in the Garden"

Day 3 - Animal Day
AM Activity - Zoo
PM Activity - Feed ducks at local lake
Snack - Animal crackers
Craft - Giraffe Tube
Movie - "The Lion King"

Day 4 - Water, Water Everywhere
AM Activity - Pool: our YMCA in El Paso County had a number of pools in the area. Check out yours.
PM Activity - Denver Aquarium
Snack - Goldfish
Craft - Homemade Aquarium
Book - Ten Little Fish, Poke A Dot: Who's in the Ocean?

Day 5 - Things That Go
AM Activity - Pikes Peak Cog Railway
PM Activity - Colorado Springs Balloon Classic
Snack - Cookie Cars
Craft - Block Towers
Books - Go-Go Baby, Chugga-Chugga Choo-Choo
Movie - Thomas and Friends, "Hooray for Thomas"

Day 6 - Fun and Games
AM Activity - Arcade in Manitou Springs
PM Activity - It'z
Book - Players in Pigtails
Movie - AthleticBaby All-Star

And now, I'm exhausted. If you have any questions about any of this, let me know!


What kind of activities have you done with your family that are really fun, as well as inexpensive?