Spring Break Stay-Cation

For Spring Break this year we stayed put and decided to try and do some fun activities close to home. On Monday it was cold and rainy so we had a fun day at the library picking out some new books to read and then went to see "How to Train Your Dragon".

What a fun movie that turned out to be. The kids said it was nothing like the book but we all thought it was a great adventure story and loved the characters and action.

Tuesday we woke up to snow on the ground so we decided to stay home in our PJs and play games all day. We had a fun and relaxing day having Mario Kart competitions, playing board games, video games and making up our own games. After finally getting out of our PJs we all took showers and then met Mike at Jason's Deli for dinner.

Wednesday we had a fun day hanging out with our neighbors. We ate Costa Vida for lunch and then the kids played and watched movies. Natalie and I were able to have some nice girl time to chat and catch up.

Thursday Mike took the day off so he could spend a little time with the kiddos. After a hearty breakfast of banana pancakes and smoothies he took Michela, Hunter and Chase for a hike up Dry Creek Canyon. When they got back they told me they had seen some raccoon bones and other gross stuff. They spent the afternoon at the Nickel Arcade while Aria and I played board game after board game. When they got home they helped Mike plant a new tree in our front yard. To finish off the night they roasted s'mores in the fireplace outside while I went to unwind at yoga class.

Friday was our last day of Spring Break so we went to the fabric store and got some white T-shirts to tie dye. We grabbed some pizza for lunch on the way home and decided to go to the park before we broke out the tie dye. My friend Amy found this park in Cedar Hills. It is tucked up on the hillside in a new neighborhood. There were hardly any other people there so the kids were able to play without too much hassle. Michela spent most of the time riding her ripstik along the trails.

Hunter and Michela took turns helping Aria up and down the ladders and taking her for rides down the slides.

Chase loved climbing, sliding and running around.

The play structure is super tall so all of the kids loved it.

There is also a basketball court, some swings and the views of the valley are amazing. It was a bit windy up there so we'll definitely have to go back when it gets a little warmer.

Once we got home and put Aria to bed we got out our t-shirts and dye. We did it out in the backyard to minimize the possibility for mess. The kids had so much fun putting different colors on their shirts.

Michela had a bit of a melt down when she realized that one of her gloves had gotten a hole in it and the majority of her fingers were now blue. By the end she also ended up with one colorful knee and the rest of us had one or two colorful fingers.

I washed the shirts today and this is what they turned out like.

They all have their different styles and the kids all are excited to wear their new shirts.

It ended up being a pretty fun week for all of us. There was minimal fighting and whining, lots of activities to keep us busy and plenty of down time to rest and relax. The kids aren't going to want to get up Monday morning and go back to school. I keep telling them they only have a month and a half left of school. They won't believe how fast the time will go by before it's time for Summer!