A Super-Late Spring Break and Easter Recap

We limped into the week before Spring Break with a horrible respiratory virus.  Jacob missed 3 days of school; Frank missed a day of work; Carter even missed his Easter party at "school!"  Judging by how long it took us to get over it, I'm thinking we might have actually had the respiratory flu.  So, no fun.

The kids were supposed to spend Sunday night (the Sunday before Easter) with my parents, but I delayed it another day, hoping to give them another day to recover.  They did end up spending some time in Watseka (Jacob's "What I Did Over Spring Break picture at school says, "I went to Taco Bell.  I drove Grandpa's Yukon." It stands out quite nicely among the pictures of beaches and zoos. :) ), but we did try to do some fun things during Spring Break.

The weather wasn't very cooperative, so we headed over to the Children's Discovery Museum one morning.

(Why does he look 16 here?!?!)

(Carter's new favorite shirt... It says, "Time Out." It's perfect for him, don't you think?)

After the museum, we met Frank at the Subway near his office for lunch, which doesn't sound all that entertaining, but considering a) we rarely eat lunch altogether; b) we rarely eat lunch at a restaurant and; c) the Subway is approximately the size of my closet.  It was actually a pretty entertaining event.

Dinner was an enchilada casserole indoor picnic in front of the TV, another activity that the kids enjoy just because of it's sheer novelty.

On Good Friday, Frank took the afternoon off, and we went to the Scovill Zoo in Decatur... or we tried to go to the Scovill Zoo... as it turns out the zoo didn't open for another week.  But it was all cool because they have a great playground outside the zoo grounds which entertained us for a solid hour.

We colored Easter eggs

and participated in the Hudson Lions Club Easter egg hunt.

Then came the main event-- Easter!!  I tried so hard to get a picture of both kids in their Easter outfits, but all I got were a buncha shots of crazy:

My table, however, did photograph beautifully.

For dinner, we had ham, mashed potatoes & gravy, mac and cheese, roasted carrots, peas with bacon, fruit salad, and rolls.  For dessert we had Peeps brownies, apple pie, cherry pie, and chocolate pie!

This pic of Seth at the grown-ups table might be one of my all-time favorites:

The kids were anxious to get the hunt underway, and the adults were anxious, too, as it was beginning to look like rain. I don't know how all the boys ended up being so matchy-matchy, but I guess great minds think alike?  :)

And a couple of randoms, just because they're cute:

Before dinner, we managed a semi-decent family pic.  I really try to get all four of us together for pictures during holiday and events.  Ten years from now, none of us will remember that Frank was actually trying to track down the credit card that was left at TGI Fridays the night before, or that I was sweating and yelling at Jacob to put on shoes and hoping that the rolls didn't burn while we took this picture.

Time has a way of smoothing over those imperfections, remembering only the good, and becoming the bar by which the standard is set.  When my kids are all grown up one Easter morning, maybe hiding Easter eggs for their kids, or smelling a ham in the oven, or helping an older relative with their plate, I hope they think,

"Oh, this reminds me of Easter at mom and dad's.  Our holidays were pretty awesome when I was growing up."

Thoughts for Thursday

Here's what's up around our house...

Last Saturday Frank did his first 5k of the year, the Miller Park Zoo Stampede.  Here he is coming around the 1k turn.

It was pretty chilly, but the boys and I went to watch him.  Jacob has decided he wants to run in races, but only the kind where you get a number to pin on your shirt (in other words, kids races aren't going to cut it.)

We've had a few nice days recently, and we've loved the outside time.  I happened to have my camera with me as the boys were playing in the field, and I'm glad I did.  A few of these shots crack me up!

We also had an MYOP (Make Your Own Pizza) Night recently using the personal-size Boboli crusts. Jacob wants everything on his pizza. Carter only wants sauce.  (Someday, that kid will be a good eater, but until then....)

Kitty Girl went for a spin around the neighborhood,

And someone learned how to drive the Lightening McQueen car!  (He's pretty proud of himself, if you can't tell by the picture.)

We had a pretty cool pre-Easter Easter egg hunt at Grandma Anna and Grandpa Gary's.  Since it was muddy outside we hid the eggs inside this year.  One perk to the indoor hunt-- I think we found them all!

(Why do my kids need to hold their toys in front of their faces?)

I was super-excited for the time change this past weekend.  I'm ready for warmer days, spring flowers, and oh yeah, pretty sunsets!

Key Lime Cove 2016

A few weekends ago, we went to Key Lime Cove in Gurnee, IL, for our annual mid-winter getaway.  This is the fourth time we've been to Key Lime Cove, and although there are other hotel/indoor waterparks in the area, we love the tropical vibe of this place.  It's just what you need in the middle  of a cold, grey winter!

We hit the waterpark as soon as we arrived.  It should be noted that we arrived around 1, as we typically have every year, but our room wasn't ready.  Apparently, "actual" check-in time isn't until 4. They invited us to change in the locker room and hit the waterpark, however.  While Frank and the boys jumped into their swimsuits, I debated what to do.  I'm not a change-in-the-locker-room kind of person.  I typically have a last-minute date with a razor and some self-tanner.  (keeping it real, here)

In the end, I ended up changing in the locker room, and although it wasn't ideal, it worked out okay. We spent the next four or so hours at the waterpark.

In the past, we stayed on the property to eat at their sit-down restaurant, but we had eaten a big lunch, so we decided just to pick up a few slices of pizza from their pizza parlor for dinner.

After pizza came-- ice cream!

Just outside the ice cream parlor is an arcade with tons of games.  Gone are the days when they were content "playing" a game (ie: without any tokens).  They are all about winning the games, earning tickets, and exchanging them for as much cheap, plastic junk as possible.  (I blame Carter's birthday party last year at Chuck E Cheese for this new found love of gaming!:) )

We walked around the hotel for a while

before finally calling it quits around 9.

The next morning, we ate a quick breakfast and geared up for one last swim prior to checkout.

The really exciting thing about this trip is that Carter enjoyed the waterpark!  Just less than a year ago, hated waterparks, so I am hopeful that he's turned a corner and will be easier to take to the pools and splash parks this year.

He loved this waterslide in particular!

Jacob loved everything.

Jacob always loves everything when he's on vacation.

He has Frank's sense of adventure, and it's one of his best qualities.

We played at the waterpark for about an hour and a half before zipping back up to the room to change and pack up.

As always, the time went too quickly, but we are already looking forward to Key Lime Cove 2017!