April 1st to April 10th was Spring Break for us. I was a little worried about keeping everyone busy and entertained, but it went rather well, with everyone having a great time. Even Ryan came home early on a few days and spent some fun time with us.
Day 1, Friday: We had an appointment with Josh's Orthopedist and drove to Grand Rapids. What fun it is to take all five to Dr.'s appointments, but the nurses were very good about it and kept them entertained. We then went to the mall and played for a couple of hours. The kids had a great time.
The weekend was uneventful as I had to work, so they just hung out with dad and played around the house.
Day 2: Monday, came and we were ready for some fun. I took the five kids to an afternoon matinee of Gnomeo and Juliet. They kids loved it at first, because they were loaded up with Popcorn, juice, M&M's and licorice. Toward the end their attention started to go. They wanted to play and 3/5ths of them needed to use the restroom. We missed the last 5 minutes, so we'll have to rent it to see how it ends. It was cute, but I don't think it is a cartoon that I would buy. I don't really like the play very much, and the cartoon just wasn't that much better.
Day 3: I had planned to take everyone to the zoo, but the kids just wanted to go to the park and play. Ryan was also able to get off work an hour early and came to join us. He helped them to fly their kite since it was soooo very windy. Here are some pictures:
Day 4: We spent the day at Deanna's Playhouse. As I have said before, this is one of their favorite places to go. It has all the toys and activities to keep them busy for a good 4-5 hours. I have to be around to watch, but usually get to sit back and do a little reading while they play. We bring a nice snack or lunch and they have a great time. Here are some pictures from this week and from a few weeks ago:
Day 5: On day five we went to the Holland Aquatic Center and played in their Splash Zone. The kids love swimming and this place has it all, a pool, slides, and a splash pad all at an affordable rate. Who needs a water park when we have all this within a 10 minute drive. Ryan was even able to get off early and come and join us. Here are some pictures (Sorry about the ones on the diving board, I used my phone and there is no zoom lens):
Morgan loved this obstacle course. She was on it most of the time we were there. She is turning into quite a good swimmer without her life jacket.
Day 6: I guess we wore out the kids swimming the day before, because when I offered to take them to the Library nobody was up for going. They just wanted to stay home, played in the back yard, rode bikes and watched a movie while eating popcorn. Actually it was a very nice relaxing day.
Day 7: The kids all got to attend a baptism of some friends in the ward. Then Ryan and I got a babysitter and decided to take the night off. We went to dinner, hit the mall and watched the King's Speech. I have really wanted to see this movie, but decided not to because of the rating. Problem solved, they changed it to PG-13 and did some editing. While I'll agree that the language did move the plot line along, it was not needed to make the movie. It worked out just fine with the editing. Needless to say, the kids had a great time with the babysitter and enjoyed the brownies and sprinkles she brought to share with them.
I have to say, I had a great spring break. It was nice sleeping in for an extra hour, getting a good run in on the treadmill, going at my own pace, taking the kids to fun places and enjoying me and the kids time (and Ryan time when he could get off work).
