Spring Break 2009

Spring break. The title alone holds such high hopes -- that it will in fact be spring and that it will in fact be a break. In Texas spring break is held in March (slightly before the actual first day of spring) and you can see how my extended family spent their "spring" break at this previous post -- they came to see us in CT and return to winter.

But now it is April, and surely, surely if they call it spring break it ought to feel like spring, right?

I planned the whole week out with outside activities and adventures.

Monday's plan -- Go to the Beardsley Zoo with neighbors, leave at 9:30 a.m.

Monday's reality -- Watch the rain fall, give thanks that it is not snow even though the temperatures were hovering near freezing. Play with the neighbors at their house all morning and then at our house all afternoon. While the kids played, I checked the weather -- cold and rainy all week. Uuggh! Can I really do this all week? So I started searching for activities that were indoors. Thank heavens for the internet. While I searched, the kids were bouncing off the walls and I thought, "I really need to find a bouncy place, like pump it up, or bounce U or something for them to give all this energy a location other than my house." I found a bounce U in Stratford, CT (35-40 minutes away) and they had a open bounce on Tuesday! Yeah!!!!!

Tuesday -- go to bounce U and play with friends



Wednesday -- we went to the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven (about an hour away)with our neighbors. It was cold -- but that didn't stop the kids from dressing like it was spring. Trent called from the city to tell me it was snowing; I was happy to report that even though it was cold, we were not having snow.

I had printed out some pictures from the Yale website (that show in a grid- parts of their art collection) and gave them to the kids and told them it was like BINGO they had to find all the images on their sheet. They had a lot of fun doing it. Even Adam wanted to have a sheet and a pencil -- I should have known that something that would be awesome and fun for the kids and really help them look at each picture and piece would be a nightmare for me. First, if they couldn't find one, they needed my help (which I would have loved to give) but I was a little too pre-occupied following Adam and his pencil VERY, VERY closely to make sure he did not add his signature to any of the priceless masterpieces. They were all at his eye level and he just had a sneaky look to him. (or I was just exceptionally nervous). All the time, I was trying to imagine what the headline would be if he did.

"2 Year Old Defaces Picasso, Mom and Dad selling everything to raise $200 million"

"Jackson Pollack reincarnated in 2 year old"

"Andy Warhol painting gets a new shade!"

I need to give Adam a little credit, though. Not once did he try to do anything. He was absolutely great, I know, cause I was watching him the entire time. The only time we had any trouble was when my friend Moya was pointing out something in a Picasso painting to me and the security guard rushed over to inform us that we were setting off the alarms since her finger was within 1 foot of the painting.

Only the adults were reprimanded at the art gallery, isn't that fitting????

After the art gallery, we went to IKEA and had lunch, checked the kids in the play station and went shopping. I found all sorts of things I needed! (or wanted???)

We got home and then got the house all ready for Heidi & Aaron and their 3 boys who were coming to visit us from Utah that night. So I will finish writing about spring break with them in another post.