Spring Break

Last week was Sullivan's Spring Break, but the girls didn't have school on Friday. (I had Parent/Teacher Conferences.) So Grammy drove up on Thursday afternoon to watch Janae perform in her 5th grade class's reader's theater. Then they popped in for a short visit with me in my classroom before heading down for a cousins sleepover at Grandma's. They got to spend two nights with Grammy and many of their cousins. It was a great way to kick off our Spring Break. (Plus it meant Ben and I got to go out on the motorcycle indefinitely and just hang out, window shop, and run errands together. The weather was gorgeous!)

I managed to help Ben paint a bedroom, do some yard work, clean out the fridge and freezer, and get a little Relief Society work done. I've been pretty productive. I still have a list of things to do . . . but I'm not doing too bad.

The girls have been playing with friends and going to the park. They jumped on the trampoline with the sprinkler on. It's been a great preview to summer. It's kinda sad to think that it may be winding up now and that we'll have to go back to work soon.

Ben also took the week off. He's been keeping busy with school work (this is his last semester for his BS degree!) and with projects around the house (of course). But he got to go out to lunch with a friend and spend a day on the motorcycle with Jeff, so it's safe to say he has also had his fair share of fun.

Today we took the girls to Lone Elk Park and the Wild Bird Sanctuary. It's been so much fun just hanging out together.


We got to see a herd of Elk resting. (There were about 8 or 9 that we could see.) And a few Bison (one was huge!). Ben said, "How funny that we went all the way to Yellowstone to see what we have right in our 'backyard'!" Lol. That's kinda true. We saw more Elk here than in Yellowstone. But we saw a lot more family in Yellowstone than here. ;-)


What a pretty bird!! A rare Janae-Eagle. :)

Having a little Photo Fun....

Beautiful Bald Eagles

And . . . a couple of dodo birds . . .

Favorite Story of Spring Break:

Daila was enjoying the Polish chickens and roosters, when all of a sudden a rooster crowed loudly and startled her. It was her first real rooster cock-a-doodle-doo (or as she would say talk-a-doodle-doo). Once she realized what it was, she was fine. It was kinda neat to hear a real rooster. But once he got going, he just didn't want to stop. So finally Daila gives a big sigh and says, "Stop howling. We're awake!" :)

McKelvey Park and the fun roller slide.

Picnic at Queeny Park

Someone is all worn out. :) Too much Spring Break fun in one day. I guess you could say she is Spring Break-ed out . . . or Sprung . . . or Spring Broken . . .

Daila's Photography Kick

This little girl just loves taking photos. She goes through spurts and let me tell ya . . . she is going through a photo spurt. Here are some of her cool shots she took during Spring Break:

Grocery Shopping


Locked In

Unlocked

Janae re-taping her broken pinky. (She broke it while playing basketball with the neighbor last week.)

Baby Gate and Backdoor on the Sun Porch

Dude Bunny

This is how we do Easter in St. Louis:

Our Backyard in Spring

I love that we have a dogwood and a redbud tree in our back yard.

Our winter last year was so cold. 7 snow days! That's a lot for an urban district. But then we had a horrendous heat wave throughout the summer.

This winter has been so mild and warm. Spring Break already feels like summer. We've worn shorts to school several times already. I wonder what our summer will be like.

Motorcycle Ride with Ben

Shadow Riders :)


Too bad I don't make this look cool . . . . I'm such a dork. :)



Having lunch with my Sweetie at T.G.I.Fridays.

Ouch!

Janae was playing with a basketball outside, throwing and catching it over our neighbor's fence.  When our neighbor Kelly threw the ball just out of her reach, Janae reached out to stop it, hitting her right pinky . . . and it looks like it is broken.

 All swollen up and on ice.  Urgent care doc said it is fractured.  We taped it up on a splint and now Janae has a legitimate excuse not to practice the piano.  ...for now...

First Lost Tooth!

Daila lost a tooth! We didn't even know it was loose! haha We were driving down to Sullivan and Ben was following on the motorcycle. Then the girls said, "Mom! Daila's tooth is about to fall out!" But I was driving so we had to wait until we got to John and Mary's house. As soon as I pulled into their driveway and turned off the car, I turned around to assess the situation. I put my fingers on the tooth just as Ben opened the door to see what was happening. As he was saying, "What?! You can't have a loose . . ." I pulled it out before he could get the last word out. Easy peasy. It was sooo loose. My baby girl, Sweet Cheeks, is growing up!

She's very proud of her brave 'lil self.