That said, we are really going hard on our Fall Break staycation this year! It has been lots of fun. I've learned that Jared burns out on an outing right before the children burn out, so instead of being annoyed that he wants to leave the zoo/corn maze/other activity two hours in, I'm going to start taking it as a cue that we should pack it back to the car before Alice starts losing her marbles. Jared's outing burnout is a good barometer.
We started our break with a fun-filled casual day spent with cousins and friends. First, the park. Then, an afternoon at home with a cousin and neighbor friend. Then, an evening walking around Ashton Gardens looking at scarecrows with Jack's friend Daniel.
The next day we had our very first trip to a zoo as a family of 4. It was magic to see Alice's excitement. Our favorites were the gorillas, mountain goats, and sea lions. Jack loved the cougars. Alice's favorite animal is a zebra. We got to go with my brother Tim's family, and the kids had fun playing on the playgrounds together.
The next day we went to Cornbelly's for the first time and were blown away by all the offerings. When I was growing up it was just a corn maze, and a few other little attractions like the bouncy blob and corn pit. Now it is dripping with activities, including an impressive half-hour circus show and a trick-or-treat. We stayed for nearly 4 hours and didn't even do it all--didnt even make it to the hay ride! We debated if it would be worth the price of entry, but it proved itself, and we'll be back again next fall.
We also got some family pictures taken for the first time since Alice was a baby. I found a girl on instagram offering half-hour fall mini sessions for under $100. I scrambled to get some outfits together and we took them at Tibble Fork. It is wild what attitudes family pictures bring out in kids😅 They did really well when we were there (I totally bribed them), but on the drive up Jack started melting down in sobs because he was tired and didn't want to go (we did let him stay up late watching the byu game, which maybe wasn't the best call with early fam pics the next morning). Then Alice started crying in response to Jack crying. I was able to bribe them into better attitudes, but Jack definitely had salt streaks down his face from the tears during the pictures, and I didn't catch them to wipe them off until pictures were over. It's ok, it will be great for the memories😅
On our last day of fall break we visites Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin. We get free entry once a year with our Get Out Pass, and while it doesn't have as many attractions as Cornbellys, overall fall vibes are better due to the remoteness, the tractor ride through the apple orchard to gain entry, and the incredible caramel apple cider ice cream slushie we get at the end. Now for some pictures:
