We started the boys first ever Spring Break with a quick trip to Orlando to see some of the parents.
Donna's mom's birthday was back on the 10th, we didn't make it down that weekend though because it was opening weekend for t-ball. So we headed down to see Grandma Marie (my bonus mom) and Donna's parents in one trip.
We left Friday night for a fun filled weekend of cooking out & strawberry picking! We got in a little bit late Friday night. Traffic was rough since it was friday AND Spring Break is in full effect in FL. The boys had plenty of time to love on Grandma Marie though when we arrived & drag out a slew of toys before heading to bed.
Saturday morning Donna & I had a long overdue date with the car wash. My van stays in a constant state of disrepair between the dogs, cats, kids & travel but Donna was convinced to get it cleaned up! I cleared out all the trash, toys, random clothes & clutter. Donna attempted to vacuum the dog hair. It was obvious rather quickly that our vacuum did not have the power needed to suck the hair out so we headed to the car wash... It took quite some time but the van was returned to us with much less dog hair than we turned it in with. I apologized in advance & left a hefty tip for all their work.
When we returned from our date, Marie was prepping for the cookout/birthday celebration that she invited Donna's parents for. So we jumped in & started helping out. She went all out as usual, we had chicken wings, burgers, & a slew of side dishes! I'm pretty picky when it comes to eating chicken. My dad was the only one that made BBQ chicken that I would eat but Marie made some pretty amazing wings! They were the perfect amount of crispy & not greasy at all. I will have to try making them her way myself now.
The boys singing Happy Birthday to Grandma (kgc)
We had a great visit but as usual, Donna's mom & dad didn't stay too long. It rained most of the late morning/early afternoon so as soon as I saw a break in the rain, I rushed everyone into the van to head to the strawberry farm. They're use to my craziness so I'm sure it came as no surprise, lol...
I had mentioned strawberry picking to the boys earlier in the week & they were super excited to go! So much so that Caden deemed it a 'special day.' He said we were "going strawberry picking because it was a special day." Who doesn't love a 'special day?!' It went rather quickly & met the boys expectation of greatness. Kellan now wants to be a 'real strawberry picker.' I love the things our children say!
G, K & C
Sunday we cleaned up Grandma Marie's spare bedrooms before heading out. We took a detour out of the way to Donna's parents before heading home to visit for a couple more hours. We picked up a fancy lunch from Micky D's for everyone & did a little front porch sitting while the boys & the dogs ran around the yard. We didn't stay too long before embarking on our long drive home.
Normally the boys & the dogs wear themselves out enough that they sleep a good way of the drive home but that didn't happen this time, at least not for the boys. They didn't fall asleep on the drive down either so I've been making mental notes of their car napping... It's been pretty non existent recently & that makes me kind of sad, sad that we may never know another quiet car ride...
Monday Donna headed to work & the boys & I laid low catching up on laundry & just relaxing for the day. Late monday afternoon I learned that an old friend from Orlando was in town & going to be at the zoo Tuesday.
O, H, G, C, g, & C
H, g, G, O, C & K
G & H
C, K, G, g, O, & H
The boys love the zoo & we thought it would be fun for all our kids to hang out together, so we met up with them Tuesday. The boys had so much fun with Jenny's son & 2 daughters. They said it was the best zoo day ever! It's rare that we actually walk the whole zoo or even spend more than a couple hours since we live so close & go so frequently but we walked the entire zoo, seeing every animal there. The boys were very worn out by the time we left but did not want to leave their new friends. Garren wanted to go home with them & Caden wanted to go back to the campground to camp with them. I'm pretty sure the feelings were mutual between all the kids.
G, C, & K
Wednesday I attempted Easter grocery shopping with the boys which I do not miss doing at all! Donna came home early, I sat up the boys kiddie pool in the backyard for a little freezing swimming & the boys played outside most of the afternoon.
V, K, C, & G
W, G, K, V, & C
G, V, K, & C
Thursday we had another zoo date with a friend. The boys were more than thrilled to head back to the zoo but this trip was more about the splash park & playground than seeing the animals. It's a good thing because the zoo was PACKED! There were lines for everything. We had a good time with our friends though & just stayed a few hours this time.
Donna was able to take Friday off. We were going to do something fun with the boys but a nasty storm was moving across the state & the forecast was 100% chance of thunderstorms ALL DAY. So we ran a couple errands early & decided to do some painting & cleaning at home instead.
The rest of the weekend consisted of Easter doings which I'll save for the next post. :)