Our Staycation

While I am away on a magical cruise with my amazing husband, I am going to be a high tech blogger and schedule a future post. (I know most of you have been doing this for years, but I just figured out how, ok!)

I previously mentioned going on a staycation. This was one of the most memorable experiences for both of us. I thought I'd share with you what we did so you may be inspired to do something similar.

The best part about our celebration was that Brett had no idea. I secretly planned the whole thing. He knew we were going to dinner to celebrate our 4th anniversary, but that was the extent. This anniversary was important to me because it was our first anniversary ever that I was not either nursing a baby or pregnant. Or both.

I decided on a staycation for a few reasons:
1. We don't have much of a budget for vacations, so staying home meant we did not have to pay for hotels.
2. I cannot explain how much I do not like hotels. They gross me out. Ones in our budget really gross me out.
3. We both sleep better in our own bed, so we would actually end the time refreshed rather than saying "I am so ready to be home".
4. We could do stuff in our own city that we never made time to do.

I had an absolute blast planning our staycation! My wonderful friend, Kristina, knows the ins and outs of Kansas City more than anyone I know, so she was hugely helpful in my planning. She told me about KC treasures.

Brett went to a meeting about an hour away on Thursday (our anniversary). The night before, I hid a present in his car. It had a bunch of candy plus a card alluding to the fact there were more surprises in store. I had a co-worker of his at the meeting pretend he had to move Brett's car and get the present out to give to him.

While he was at the meeting, I drove our kids to meet my mom (halfway). He arrived home to clues that led him around the house on a scavenger hunt. The last one told him the surprise!

The first night (our actual anniversary), we went to a museum then ate dinner at a yummy restaurant on the Plaza. Before we left the house, I put flameless candles and rose petals in our bedroom. Our bedroom was upstairs, so I ran up to set it up quickly while Brett was heading out to the car. We were only gone a few hours, so the flameless candles stayed on.
When we got home, I asked him to go get me some comfy clothes. Also I left a gift for him up there.
Though he is a guy and not super romantic, he did enjoy the special touches.

The next day, I created a theme day. We did things based on shows we like on TV. I (previously) made a DVD explaining the day.
Our first stop was the Harley Davidson Factory. At the time, we would often watch the show "How Things Are Made" (or whatever the name is). The tour was so cool, and we left with a new appreciation for Harleys. We are not motorcycle people, but it was still so much fun.
The plan for the next stop was at a Mexican restaurant that had a huge burrito eating contest. If you ate it, your meal was free. This was in honor of "Man vs. Food". You can Google to find restaurants that have eating contests. You'd be surprised how many places have contests! We were still too full from the night before to eat a huge meal, so we ended up not doing that.
After lunch (at just a random place), we went home to rest and relax. That night, we went to an Improv Comedy Club (Comedy Central).

All of these dates were so much fun! Knowing the kids were away for the weekend and we weren't rushing home to a babysitter, we were able to linger at meals, rest at home, and reconnect with one another.

On Saturday, it actually snowed a lot. We went to breakfast, then to IHOP (the prayer place, not the pancakes) to spend time in their prayer room.
We did not do much the rest of the day. The snow was pretty bad, and we just wanted to relax.
I cannot remember what we did on Saturday night. Maybe just hang out at home?! I had planned something, but if I remember correctly, we ended up not doing it.

On Sunday, we went to pick up our kids.

The weekend was relaxing, inexpensive (a lot of the activities we did were free), and so much fun. I cleaned the house on Wednesday night before it started. Since we ate all of our meals out, it stayed clean.

For some, I know you cannot relax in your own home. So this may not be for you. But fortunately, since I spent the week leading up to the vacation getting my to-do list done....by the time the weekend rolled around, I could totally relax and enjoy it. With kids gone, it is amazing how nice your home stays!

Surprising Brett was probably the most fun, for me!! It is hard to pull off a good surprise, so I was so proud of myself. Of course, I could not sleep for days leading up to it, so that is why I was tired by the time it rolled around!

Have you ever tried a staycation??


Comments

  1. Oh, girl! This sounds AMAZING! You are such a treasure!!!! The Happy Hubby does not like surprises - go figure, since I LIVE for them! - but this sounds like something he would so enjoy as long as he knew about it in advance! Hotels kind of gross me out too. Remind me to tell you a story about one hotel we stayed at during our first year of marriage... talk about a night to remember. :-)

    thanks for always inspiring us with your dedication to building your Happy Home! Have a wonderful and magical cruise with your hubby!

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  2. LOVVVVVVVVVEEEEE! this! my husband would totally love this type of thing!! i think you just described our Anniversary in May- thank you!!

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