Day tripping: 'Yes' day can be a great day

What are two small beings who love being outdoors and delight in having two breakfasts?

If you guessed Hobbits, the lovely little Shire folk from "The Lord of the Rings," you'd be wrong, but not far off the mark.

Today we are talking about our twin daughters, Quinn and Avery. Each year as summer events wind down, we give them a "Yes Day" when they get to pick out the day's itinerary and menu. The fun of Yes Day is that each year is different, and we give the girls a rare childhood opportunity to have their own agency in what the day has in store.

For the last three years, the girls have been leading us on wonderful adventures and it all begins with saying "yes."

We start preparing for Yes Day a few weeks out by asking them to make a list of things they might want to do and to talk to each other until they can agree on what the day is going to look like. Our only stipulation is that it's not going to be a day where we go to a store and buy a bunch of stuff and, fortunately, this has never been an issue.

If they are having trouble narrowing it down, we suggest they pick a place to go, a thing to do and something to eat. Once we've got a rough idea locked in - and after we hint that having breakfast for all three meals might be a tad too much even for them - we find a day where we can get everything done.

This year we started our day with a big breakfast at Perkins, consisting of chocolate chip pancakes, hash browns and enough bacon to fuel us for the adventure ahead. The girls then wanted to get their wiggles out a bit at the indoor playground located in the Journey Church and spent the next half an hour or so climbing, swinging and sliding themselves silly. We then headed out to what the girls call the "fish museum," more commonly known as the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, to take some time to learn about the critters, pet a sturgeon and play in the water tank.

After bidding a fond farewell to our fishy friends, we moseyed on over to get lunch and slushies at the Dairy Queen in Canal Park before heading toward the Lakewalk. We enjoyed the day's beauty while wading in the water and looking for sea glass, making sure to show each other whatever goodies we found and seeing just how far out we could get before getting our shorts wet.

Tired and ready for a little less action, we headed home, and I started preparing our second breakfast of the day as they picked a movie for us to watch together. While snuggled up on the couch, digesting more syrup, bacon and hash browns than is legally advised, we reminisced about the day and all the fun things we did.

We wrapped up our night with a sleepover in our room as we dreamt of a day well spent while slipping into a pancake-induced coma.

I strongly suggest that if you have any littles in your life that you give Yes Day a try. It doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg. With a little digging, you can find lots of places offering coupons or reduced prices depending on income. There are loads of things to do that cost nothing at all as well - playgrounds, lakes, coloring, playing games and loads of other options that are often just as exciting and fun for kids as going to a movie or store. The main thing to remember is that the day is about spending time together, making memories and saying "yes" to them. That is a gift they can cherish forever.

Cloquet's Darrell and Emily Davey and their two 9-year-old daughters agreed to share their summer getaways with Pine Knot News readers. Contact the Davey family c/o [email protected].