Spring Break--Week 1

Yes, that is right.  This year we get two weeks of Spring break.  My family is doing a family reunion next week so we are pulling the kids out of school and heading down South.  This week we have done lots of crafts, played as much outside as the weather would allow, played lots of video games and watched movies and just had fun together.  It hasn't been as crazy as I imagined.  Tonight and tomorrow I get to go away with one of my gal pals for a women's retreat.  I have never done something like this, but I look forward to relaxing and getting a good nights sleep, and then learning about how to be a better wife, mother and woman.  Here are some highlights from this week:

 Have I ever mentioned how much Callie loves babies?  She LOVES them and it is so cute to see her tote them around since they are half her size.

 I watched some extra kids one day and we made pasta pictures.  The kids all seemed to enjoy it. 

 We also did sand layering in cool bottles.  Annabelle had a butterfly, Ryan a Triceratops and Nathan a potion bottle.  Next up was the stained glass/plastic craft.  I kept telling the kids to put more paint on (something I never say) and now after they are dry they understand that they could have even put more paint on.

 

 We headed to the dinosaur museum with some cousins. Even Callie had fun in the sand, until she ate it.  You can see a couple of pictures where Nathan and Josh are together.  They were "too cool" to play in the sand.  Not sure what that was about, but they did look cute being cool together.  Afterwards we went and got ice creams at JCWs and the kids were all covered in it when we went to the grocery store afterwards.  Somethings I have let go--it is totally okay that my kids were messy and sticky, it just meant that we were having fun and eating something yummy.

 

 

 

 

 

 For the reunion next week my brother-in-law kindly asked if I would pick up some Brick Oven root beer for him.  Being the fabulous sister-in-law that I am, I hauled 4 children down to BYU for a little quick trip.  I figured we should see the ducks since we were there.  We had to park in an "A lot" and when Nathan understood that it was against the rules he didn't want to get out of the car.  Luckily it was cold and so we didn't last long with the ducks anyway.  Callie would have jumped in the water if I had let go of her.  She LOVES animals and since it has gotten warmer she has seen more of them (cats and the chickens behind our house) and she is even more in love with them.  That scrunchy face isn't an angry face, just a thinking face.  She does it all the time and we love it around here.

 

All those pictures make me realize just how much I do for my kids.  I hope that someday they really appreciate it all and remember all of the good times we have had.  It WAS a fun week.  I am looking forward to next week's big adventure.  But right now, I am counting down the hours until Greg gets home and I get to head out to Park City for some much deserved and much earned me time.  I have the best husband in the world who was more than willing to hang with the kids for a day or so without me.  I love knowing that they will have a blast together and no matter what the state of my house is when I get home, I know that the kids will have had fun with their Dad. Three and a half hours to go...