Gimme a Spring Break!

Last Friday, the last day of school before Spring Break, we had some crazy weather. I didn't have a good feeling about that. If they called it something else, then maybe I wouldn't expect warm weather and relaxation. But when I'm anticipating Spring Break, I want warm weather. So I might have to petition the school district to rename it something like "Don't-Get-Your-Hopes-Up-Because-You-Can't-Count-On-The-Weather-But-Take-A-Week-Off-School". Or even just "April Fool's Break". That might help me, mentally.

Pretty much every kind of precipitation fell during the weekend, from rain, to freezing rain, to hail, to snow. P.S. Every time I've traveled to a "warmer" destination during Spring Break in the past, it has rained/snowed on me. So I realize that it's not the location, it's just my curse.

But by Monday, things started to look better. We crossed our fingers, tried to trust the weather forecast, and made plans for the week. (And, guess what! The forecast was abnormally accurate...until today!)

We planned some work and some play for each day, and I let each girl plan a dinner menu.

Monday - Wash the walls (I'd been wanting to do that forever, so it had to happen on Day 1); Plan menus and shop for groceries; Katelyn made Fiesta Chicken Soup (spicy but tasty) and Ranch Cheesy Bread (interesting) for dinner (without much help at all). FHE fun: Jump Planet, followed by fresh fruit smoothies at home.

Tuesday - Clean the bathrooms (a chore the girls usually seem to enjoy, oddly); Pack a picnic and go to the zoo (We stayed for 4 hours, which was enough walking for 8-months-prego Mama, and the weather was nice and sunny, although a bit chilly. Our favorite attraction was the orangutans eating heads of Romaine lettuce in three bites.); Emily made homemade fish sticks (using non-fishy halibut) and rainbow pasta (once again, another capable and enthusiastic cook).

Wednesday - Laundry day; Hannah's ballet class; Play and picnic at a local park with several other ward members (Sunny again, and a bit warmer. The three older girls rode their bikes to the park and home again.); Lauren made lazagna and breadsticks for her dinner night (Hannah helped, and everything was delicious).

Thursday - Big job: Clean out drawers and closets in the girls' bedrooms (that took most of the day, but it's one of the most satisfying chores for me!); Play with Friends (while Mom lays on the couch--Oy! my sciatica!); Hannah's choice of Macaroni & Cheese for dinner (I know she likes the blue box, but I made it from scratch, while Hannah was more interested in watching a movie than cooking. Just as I predicted, when she came to the dinner table, she took one look and said "That's not the kind I wanted!" But I thought it was delish!).

Friday - Doug took a precious day off work so we could have some family fun. We planned to attend the annual Tulip Festival (It runs all month, but when we got there, no tulips were in bloom yet. We only saw one field of bright yellow daffodils, but we didn't stop for a picture because it was pouring rain.) That outing was my choice, but the girls were happy to come along because then we got to visit the horse & pony farm in that same town. We made a reservation for a trail ride earlier in the week, and even though the rain that was predicted for this weekend came a bit earlier than we hoped or planned, we didn't change our agenda. Even though it was cold and very wet, the girls had a fantastic ride, and can't wait to go back. Thank goodness we brought a change of clothes for the ride home, and thank goodness the farm had mud boots for Doug and I to borrow! The pictures don't do justice to just how wet and extremely muddy the 1/2 hour ride through the forest was!
Doug decided he wanted a turn to plan the menu and practice his culinary skills, too, so he's busy making hamburgers and pumpkin cake right now, which is why I have time to post finally!

Now we're ready for a relaxing weekend of sitting on the couch watching General Conference before it's back to school and work on Monday. It has been a fun (even if unpredictable) week!(And yes, it wore me out!)

P.S. My April Fool's trick this year: I finally got something in the mail that I've always looked forward to: Jury Duty! (You might think I'm a fool to want to do that, but it has always sounded interesting to me.) Too bad my date to report is two days after this baby's due date! Yeah, that's not going to work out. Darnit!