The Quest For Fun, Part Two (photo diary)

Welcome to the second installment of "The Quest For Fun." 
If you missed my explanation in the first post, click here to read it. 

In summary, spending summer vacation with your children is not a relaxing, care-free thing to do.  With only two weeks down in June, I already feel a bit like Clark W. Griswold in "National Lampoon's Vacation."  My favorite line from that film is when Chevy Chase goes insane and says the following:

"This is no longer a vacation. It's a quest. It's a quest for fun. I'm gonna have fun and you're gonna have fun. We're all gonna have so much f*cking fun we'll need plastic surgeory to remove our godamn smiles. You'll be whistling 'Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah' out of you're *ssholes!"


So many parents (including my own) feel like taking a trip is a battle instead of a pleasant adventure.  Still despite the annoyances that I wrote about before, I'm determined to stay active and expose Vivian and myself to as much culture as we can stand!  We'll keep going on and going like the energizer bunny until we are singing through our *ssholes, just as Clark W. Griswold describes above. 

We are very lucky that there is so much to do right here in our hometown at affordable (or even FREE) prices.  Here is a photo summary of our 2010 Quest For Fun from the past two weeks:  (thanks to my friend Simone of Chocolate Covered Daydreams who suggested I create a photo diary of my summer activities.  I'm kicking it off with this post!)

1. Blueberry Picking
Please don't call the child labor law professionals on me.  But yes, I make Vivian work for her food.  In fact, we've gone blueberry picking TWICE in the last week. 


(Our first trip to the blueberry farm.  Check out my little blueberry picking pal.  Together we picked about 24 cups of blueberries within our two visits).


(I love this shot of the Diva.  She has a Scarlett O'Hara expression on her face.... "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!"  Hahaha) 



(Our second trip to a blueberry farm, this time with the grandparents.  We all did manual labor!)



(I wonder what she's thinking here..... Perhaps she is saying - "I'm too cute to work this hard!")



2. Grandparents Visit (Mia and Buddy come to town!)

Vivian was fortunate to have her grandparents, also known as Mia and Buddy stop in for a weekend visit.  She was given lots of attention for three days in a row and loved every minute of it.  Here is one photo I captured while we ate out at Beef O' Brady's restaurant.



(Vivian with her Buddy and Mia, June 2010)


3. Toy Store Shopping

As if the Diva isn't spoiled enough, we took a trip to the local Toys-R-Us store.  I'm not sure who had more fun during the visit-- Vivian OR Kirk?  I'll let you be the judge!  :-)



(I like big balls! :-)


(Are these all for me?)



(Kirk was mauled by a dog in the middle of the toy store!)


(Then suddenly that dog attacked Buddy). 


4. Life's A Beach

We visited the local Pensacola beach.  Our family wanted to see how the oil spill affected the local community.  Plus we thought a few sunshine rays and sand might help rejuvenate our skin.  Although we didn't see any oil or tar where we hung out, our bunch definitely gained a new appreciation for our shores.  Vivian had a wonderful time throwing sand and just being in the water.


(Don't I look great?  I've already turned down the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit edition cover twice!)


(Why make a sand castle when you can just throw this stuff around?!)



(Vivian wouldn't let anyone else but me hold her in the water.  It's a tough job but somebody has to do it! :-)


5. Pet Store Tour

We arranged to take a tour of an area pet store.  One of the associates showed us around and let Vivian and other children touch a bird, dog and rabbit.  In addition, we witnessed a snake eating fish and saw a variety of reptiles, birds and mammals play.  The kids loved it!


(Look Mom, it's a feret!  Can we please take it home?)



(Is this rabbit related to Bugs Bunny?)


6. Art Museum Visit

The Pensacola Museum of Art just opened up a special children's exhibit about monkeys, exploration and China's dynasty.  Of course we had to check it out for ourselves, especially since it was a free event.  The displays had a few interactive things that kids could touch or play with.  Viv liked that part best of all. 


(Viv strolling through the children's exhibit in the local art museum)




(I love touching things!  I wonder what this does?)



(Why do I feel like I'm on a game show?  Press your luck, anyone?  No Whammy!  No Whammy!) 


Monkeying Around At the Children's Art Museum Exhibit....



(Perhaps mankind did really evolve from monkeys?)



(I should've starred in Planet of the Apes!)


7.  Bowling

We have taken Vivian bowling at least four times before last week.  However this was the first visit that she wanted anything to do with the sport.  Viv decided she loves it now though.  In fact, she didn't want to share her lane or take turns with anyone else at the alley.  Future Queenpin Kingpin professional, perhaps?



(What the hell?  That should've been a strike!!!  I was robbed..... I was robbed from my victory!!)



(I love how my mommy helped color-coordinate my top with the carpet in this bowling alley.  I'm feeling very stylish today!) 


8.  Random Fun

Sometimes Viva the Diva just performs a random, silly act out of the blue.  Like one night last week she began placing the alphabet letter "O" on her nose.  Just for the hell of it.  I like to think that it's a symbol of her having "O" such a fun time on our summer vacation together!  Well, that's what I will keep telling myself anyway....



(O' What Night!  O, it really was such a night!) 



(O' I'm so creative and funny!)


Stay tuned for more of our summer vacation adventures as I continue with "The Quest for Fun." In addition, I'll have upcoming posts soon regarding music, friendship tokens and more!  I hope you're enjoying your weeks in June!