Spring Break 2012

The kids and I drove out to California to visit my grandma this year for spring break. Jack and Isabella hadn't been out since the summer of 2007.  Sophie and I flew out in March of 2010.  It was clearly time for a visit.

My cousin and her two kids got to stop by and visit, which was so fun, we hadn't met her kids before and they are so cute.

After they left we hid Easter eggs all over the front yard.  Now, my grandma has a lovely big garden-filled back yard which would be great for hunting Easter eggs, except for one thing-we discovered a snake in the back yard the night before.  We managed to see it three times, and while it was certainly frightened of us, no one really wanted to reach their hands into various bushes.

We hid the eggs again and again until everyone had a chance to hide them and find them.  We managed to find all of the hidden eggs-no small feat.  The weather was beautiful and I could have spent all day outside.

The next day the kids and I drove through Berkeley to go into San Francisco.  We went over the Bay Bridge where we encountered an really bad accident.  A small pickup had a run in with a van and the pickup lost and left it's innards over three lanes of traffic.  There were all sorts of people trying to pry open the drivers side door which was mashed shut and the passenger was clearly injured and on the ground on the other side of the pickup.  The accident must have just happened as no emergency assistance was there yet.  I tried to distract the kids from looking, but we moved by so slow.  After we passed the scene, we headed across the bay bridge, this bridge is the big one.

  It goes across to Treasure Island (man made) and then into the city.  We drove through San Francisco and to the Golden Gate Bridge.

  There is a vista point at the far side where we got out and walked over part of the bridge. 

 I had Tessa in the wrap, and I don't know if Sophie could have made it the whole way.  Then we headed over the Richmond bridge.  Sophie really wanted to choose where we ate and I thought maybe she would see somewhere we hadn't been before and pick that-but no, she chose Applebee's.

Tuesday we planned to go to Tilden Park to ride the carousel and see the little farm and such, but it was raining and when we got there everything was closed.  In a bit of desperation we called Nate and had him google and few things so we could decide on an activity.  We decided to go to the Exploratorium in San Francisco and headed back into the city.

  It is a museum of science and experience and the senses and all sorts of fun things.  The kids loved it.  I think all day wouldn't have been long enough to see and try out everything.  We stayed until it closed and then walked around back to the Palace of Fine Arts.

  Jack took about 400 pictures in our two days in the city-I will let him have the camera more often, I certainly don't take that many.

Everyone was getting hungry, so I drove down to Fisherman's Wharf and we got out to find somewhere to eat.  The kids were all for Subway or In-and-Out, but I vetoed on the basis of going somewhere we can't go here at home.  We ate at Boudin, a sourdough bakery.  It was really yummy, Jack and I are big fans of sourdough and could have eaten twice as much I am sure.  The girls shared a cheese pizza on sourdough crust and it was so yummy.  

We then walked down to Pier 39 and went out to see the sea lions laying on the docks. 

 It was a bit rainy, so no real crowds.  Their was a giant cruise ship in port and the kids were totally fascinated by how big it was.  We got some salt water taffy and cookies on the pier and bought a few t-shirts and headed back to the car.  We then headed over to Lombard Street.  We drove down it and then through the city before heading back to my grandma's house.

The next day we stayed around my grandma's.  I hemmed some pants for her and we talked and talked.  I love hearing all her stories and histories and anecdotes.  I think we stayed up past eleven every night talking.

  She has all sorts of stories about my dad and his childhood that are new each time I visit.  She has a lot of family history gathered and knows a lot about her ancestors.  I love visiting her and love taking the kids there.

  California at this time or year is so lush and green and I always wonder why I don't live there.  The kids played with toys I played with when I was small.  They were reluctant to wander around the backyard too much with the garter snake back there. 

 They played dominoes and found an old ping pong set and made up games.  Sophie loves Grandma Penny and snuggled her and played with all the dolls and stuffed animals she could find.  

We had to head home on Thursday and drove through snow in the Sierra Nevada's.  The whole drive home is one long day in the car.  We were all happy to see Nate and be in our own beds, but all want to go back soon.

Spring Break 2011

The kids and I had a fairly low key spring break this year.  In the past I have really planned and had activities everyday.  This year we just did two major things then hung out and did stuff around the house for the rest of the days.  Jack was very happy to have a break from school and Bella was really anxious to get back.  Sophie was happy to have them home, but annoyed her routine changed at the same time.  I remember the first few weeks of summer are always hard because we have to get used to a new routine and all being together again. 

Anyway, we went to the Discovery Childrens Museum at the Gateway on Tuesday.  It wasn't too busy because it was only spring break in Utah County. 

It also happened to be free scoop day at Ben and Jerry's.  So after lunch we walked over and each got a free scoop.  Everyone managed to eat their ice cream with minimal mess and nobody dropped their cone.

After the ice cream we walked over to Dick's to see if I could find some new flip flops.  I bought a pair there six or seven years ago that I love and have never been able to find the same style again.  And now I am only wearing flip flops, so I really need a comfy pair.  They had those, along with some shoes for Jack-the kids goes through shoes like crazy.  And each girl bought a bouncy ball. We also picked up a batting helmet for baseball season.  It was an expensive stop.  After that we were all ready to get home and I was really ready to sit for a while.

On Friday we went to the zoo with the Worthington's. We also ran into the Strongo's from the neighborhood.  Six kids and two pregnant ladies were pretty funny navigating some of the hills.  All the kids managed to get on animals on the carousel that moved this time.  Last time Jack picked a stationary animal and didn't realize until it was too late.

The tigers were surprisingly active and we watched those for a long time.  The kids also really liked seeing the peacock spread it's plume. The giraffe's were also pretty entertaining.  One really wanted out and was craning to get outside.  As we were leaving we saw a sign that said they were purposefully being kept apart due to a bit of spring fever. 

It was nice after lunch to sit and let the kids play on the play ground.  The day ended up being really nice and we all had a great time.

So not an action packed week, but enough to wear me out and the kids had the rest of the days playing with friends and helping around the house.

Spring Break

The kids got a full week off for Spring Break this year. We tried to make all sorts of plans to go somewhere and everything kept not quite working out, so we had some adventures here.

We only had one day that was really nice outside, so we went to the Hogle Zoo. Sophie had never been to the zoo before and had a great time. I decided to pull her in the wagon so we could bring along a picnic lunch. I thought the wagon was going to roll over us all coming down a few hills, but we managed to survive with only a few bumps and no major wrecks.

Jack is almost the size of a gorilla. The kid is really starting to stretch out. He had one sad moment when he picked an animal to ride on on the carousel that didn't move up and down. But he survived and will probably always notice such things on all carousels he rides in future. It was funny how he couldn't believe it and kept asking why they would even bother putting on a non-moving animal. This is from the kid that once picked to sit on a bench on a carousel with his grandma (who is not a fan of going around and around anyway). He has apparently changed his stance on this. Bella saw the peacocks for the first time and has decided she would like to be one for Halloween. I have seen the baby peacock costumes by Tom Arma, so I will probably try and figure something out based one those. If she doesn't change her mind, it will be pretty funny.

Sophie thought all the animals were great. She would repeat their names as we told her and point and laugh. She had a ton of fun. She liked the carousel, she liked part of her lunch-which is a success in my book.

She had a great time until the train, which concerned her greatly...She didn't cry, but she looked like this most of the time. Twas hilarious.

On Wednesday, we all went to the Children's Discovery Museum. The museum has a kid sized town full of activities. There is also a big water table with plastic bubbles to play with and all sorts of arts/ crafts, and tactile exploration things. Jack went a few years ago on a school trip and seemed to really like it. The biggest hit was the rock wall. The wall wasn't too high, so most of the time the kids spent going across vertically. They did it so many times they could barely move their arms. I love to see that level of exhaustion. We were at the wall for at least an hour, then went back again as the last thing we did. There was a play vegetable garden right next to it for Sophie to play in while Jack and Bella crawled all over the wall.

On Thursday, we met Nate for lunch and went to the Disney Store. Then on Friday, I surprised the kids by taking them swimming. I was a bit apprehensive because last year Sophie was not so fond of the water. So I warned the other two that we may not get to stay as long as they would like if she hated it. But she didn't, she loved it. She didn't mind the splashing or going under water or being carried around. She liked the deep better than the shallow and loved going around the lazy river. We swam until all pruny and water logged. There are no pictures because my camera isn't water friendly. I was pretty tired by the end of the week. And so it wasn't so bad when they went back to school and I got in a few naps.