spring break

Fiona loves to pose for pictures now.

me looking very round

Since last Monday the boys and Fiona have been out of school for Spring Break.

Monday we were able to have my neices Chaicee and Paityn come up to play with us.  Katie, my sister, also came over with her children, Noa and Malachi.  We went to the park and had a picnic.  It was a lot of fun and a beautiful day.  The kids played at the park for almost 2 hours and then still didn’t want to leave.  Wes, Ian, Fiona and Lydia were so happy to have a day to play with their cousins.  Their favorite game was pretending that they had a ‘bacon’ shop where they could order bacon sandwiches and any kind of ice cream they could imagine.  Katie and I got quite a laugh out of their imagination.  I’m still not sure what ice cream had to do with a bacon shop, but I wouldn’t complain.

Tuesday was our zoo day.  First I took the kids to IKEA for lunch.  They have such yummy Swedish meatballs.  I love them with the lignon berry sauce.  Then we headed up to the zoo.  It was quite full of people, all taking advantage of the beautiful weather and having time off of school.  We spent a good 3 hours enjoying the animals, riding the carousel and playing at the park. 

Wednesday we spent at home mostly and got some yard work done.  The puppies are keeping us busy; they sure love to make a mess.  The kids helped Austin pick up rocks off the lawn and the garbage that the puppies have created and been dragging all over the yard.

Thursday brought a storm and cooler weather so we decided to take the kids to Jumpin’ Jack’s.  It’s an indoor playground of blowup slides, obstacle courses and jumping areas.  It’s a great place to take the children and wear them out.  After Jumpin’ Jack’s, Austin and I got a sitter and caught a matinee movie together.  We were able to get tickets for “The Hunger Games”.  We have both read and enjoyed the books.  The movie was very well done and followed the books closely.  We really enjoyed it and had a good time getting out just the two of us for a little bit (thanks Alli!).

Friday we all went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  I’ve wanted to see it for several years and always miss it.   It only lasts about 2 weeks each spring.  It was lovely in the gardens and very enjoyable to walk around with the children and Austin.  They had a koi pond where we could feed the fish.  Big groups would gather underneath us and follow us along the boardwalk with their mouths open wide.  There was also a special children’s area where they could float plastic boats down a little stream and into a small pond, a stage to dance on and metal bells to play music.  So fun, I would love to get some things like that in our own backyard.  After walking around for a little over an hour and enjoying the gardens we got rained out.  But we had such a good time together as a family.  For dinner we decided to get Chinese takeout, we don’t do that very often and it was a fun treat.

Saturday was a ‘stay at home and get chores done’ day.  I was able to finally finish the skirt I’ve been making for myself to wear at Alli's wedding this Friday.  It was really frustrating me, but it is finally done and I think it turned out pretty nice.  Austin has been working on his 20 page paper that is due Monday.  He is almost done and it has truly been a fun, busy week.  I have to admit that I’m glad the kids have school tomorrow so I can get back on schedule and get a little bit of the housework done.  I kind of let it go this week, but we had such a good vacation together.  I hope the kiddos remember it as fondly as I do.

I had to include this photo of the meerkats.  It makes me laugh every time I look at it.  That one sitting up with his little legs sticking out just reminds me of how I feel right now, 30 weeks pregnant.