Fall Break 2019

Fall break ended up being a wonderful bonding weekend for our family.  Fall break was Oct 17-19th.  We weren't brave enough to go to far with 8 kids, but we did attempt a mini vacation around Salt Lake and it didn't turn out too bad.  We started off fall break with some relaxing play time at home.  It worked out perfectly that the leaves were just starting to fall so we were able to get out in the backyard and make some leaf houses and leaf piles.  

McKay took the day off on Friday and we headed out.  Our first stop was SeaQuest in the Layton mall.  They have an awesome deal that foster families get in free.  Yay!  The kids all loved it and thoroughly smelled like fish food at the end.  Feeding the sting rays and birds were their favorite parts.  I was excited for the fish that eat the dead skin off your hand, but it was a little crowded and the fish weren't as hungry when we were there.  I also loved seeing the kids faces light up when the birds landed on them for some food.  It was pure delight in their eyes.  

After SeaQuest we headed to our hotel.  We stayed at the grins and fins hotel in Salt Lake.  They have a mini water park for the kids in the hotel.  Our kids are half fish (they LOVE swimming) so we knew they would enjoy it.  We grabbed some pizza on our way and did what any smart parents do and fed them pizza right before they went swimming (it was fine).  The kids had a great time in the pool and McKay and I were grateful that we all survived (it made us so nervous with 8 of them and only 2 of us).  After swimming we went back to our rooms and watched cartoons and ate treats.  We were able to get two rooms close to each other.  The boys slept in one room with dad and the girls with mom.  Thankfully they all slept well. 

In the morning we made a few trips to the free breakfast in the hotel and the kids had a great time exploring our hotel rooms.  After breakfast we headed to Ensign Peak.  This is the only very short hike that we took with all 8 kids in 2019.  Our foster loves aren't used to hiking, but they were figuring it out in the end.  I love listening to the kids conversations on the hike (among all the whinning) and hearing all of their theories on life.  "Did you know this used to be a volcano?!" lol things like that.

After the hike we headed home so some of the kids could go to a birthday party.  We recovered from our trip just fine and we might consider doing it again in the future (but no camping for this mama for several more years).