Spring Break puts a Spring in my Step

This week has been more than wonderful to have time with my children. We have enjoyed lazy breakfasts, cartoons, day trips, and even picnic lunches. Oh how I can't wait for summer just so I can enjoy the days with my kids! (But honestly, I think school should end in the spring so everyone can enjoy this most perfect weather!)

Monday started off with a bang at the Beach! We gathered our sand toys, donned new bathing suits, and headed down to the newly renovated Hollywood Beach with Grandma. It is such a joy to visit that place now. The boardwalk has brick pavers, a decorative retaining wall separating the beach dwellers and the beach combers, and beautiful lantern light posts that highlight the blue sky and share space with the tops of the towering palm trees. We enjoyed a picnic lunch by the water fountains at the splash park. I love that place for the way it entertains my kids, but even more for the way it rinses sand off my munchkins! Its a two-for-one deal! The ocean water a perfect light blue, it was crystal clear, there were sand bars, and lots of sand castles to be built. I took the kids in the water all by myself. Honestly, I felt quite proud of myself for that. They don't know yet how to swim, and I was conquering my own fear of the "what ifs..." They squealed with delight. I am pretty sure Mh thinks she is a mermaid by the way she kept trying to leap out of my hands. Swimming lessons are a MUST this summer!

Tuesday was just as much fun at the park. We met three other moms and five other kids to play on the slides and swings. Two friends brought their newborns and one brought her daughter who was adopted from Kazakhstan. MH and Lindsay followed each other everywhere. Avery followed around some older boys and eventually learned how to jump off a moving swing, much to his mother's shagrin. Then I remembered he's a boy and should probably learn how to do that one day! Everyone, including the moms, had a great time in the fresh air. No one wanted to leave.

Wednesday was a slow day. The kids and I rested at home and enjoyed playing with toys. It was not extremely exciting, but it was sweet and down right normal. Just having time together is a treat.

Thursday was our day at the Water Park. Ok, not really. It was our day at our water park... in our front yard. Here's the story:
The kids and I took a walk to the local shopping plaza. We ate lunch at the very delicious Sonny's Famous Steak Hogies - who, by the way, will be featured on Food Network's show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" in June. Yummo! The kids got the special treatment: cheeseburger hogie, chips, and sprite! I was reliving my time in Philly with our close friends, so I ordered whatPhilly is famous for: Cheesesteak. When the waitress asked MH what she wanted on her Cheeseburger, she replied "Just tomatoes and bubble gum." She had the waitress' heart from then on!

I digress... as we strolled the plaza, we ducked into a fancy place, Family Dollar, and picked up a swimming pool. That, my friends, was the highlight of the day. Once home the kids changed into their suits and had tons of fun splashing and spraying, running and laughing while I planted some flowers in our garden. Ok, its not really a garden. "I planted flowers in our garden" sounds way more glamorous. I planted flowers in the green and dry landscaping that decorates the front of our house. It needed some color. "Garden" sounds must better, doesn't it?
For Avery, it was probably a tie between playing at our "water park" and making a cake for Daddy. Daddy has not been feeling well lately, and Avery wanted to bake this special cake to make him feel better. I don't know if it will actually make Chris feel better, but it sure makes me feel great! I can't wait to eat his chocolate chocolate chip sour cream bundt cake. Yumm!

The forecast for Friday is a major backyard makeover! We have been waiting years for this! Pictures to come once the sod is down and the family is BBQing on the terrace. Ok, again... not really the terrace. Just sounds better. Wink Wink. While Chris was busy readying the backyard for sod, the kids and I were planting seeds to grow some flowers. MH has been asking a lot lately about how to grow a flower, so this was very exciting to her. Avery loved the whole process, too. The dollar section at Target had these little grow kits. Avery chose Marigolds and MH chose Zinnias. The plants sprouted in two days. Check out all the growth on day 3!