Spring Break - the best week of the whole school year

My children and I had a low key but absolutely wonderful Spring Break. I'm so grateful to have such well behaved kids who love to play, read, and be with each other. The whole week went by so quickly that I hated it when Monday morning appeared. Homeschooling is sounding better and better each time I have them home for an extended period of time.

On Monday (April 9th), the children took the whole day off with nothing scheduled. They slept in, played games, watched a movie, and read books. I didn't have time to capture all that they did that day, but here are a few highlights of their relaxed Monday:

They loved playing Jenga. James is an expert in winning this game, and he loves playing it dangerously.

Charlton won't let anyone win in Zingo. He has had a lot of practice playing against himself.

After lunch, they set the table ready for their play-dough creations.


My favorite game was the reenactment of the story of Odysseus and the sirens. Gillian was being the siren trying to tempt Odysseus to stay at her island by singing beautifully, and Jefferson was Odysseus tied to his ship so he could be able to have the best of the two worlds - stay in his ship as well as hear the famous siren's voice. I had an enormous fun watching them, especially Jefferson as he kept tossing and turning pretending to be tortured by the siren's voice. Hilarious!

While the kids enjoyed themselves, I spent my time working hard. I had been wanting to take care of my food storage and pantry for months, but life has been busy, and when it wasn't I had felt like reading rather than having to take up a massive project such as this. I had decided to use the closet in my laundry room as a food storage area, plus the rotation system that Elijah placed in our guest room. The closet had taken a life of its own and it took me almost the whole day to throw and find room for the things we had stored in there. And then I started filling it with food storage boxes keeping track of what I had so I could know what I needed to add later. The end result was satisfactory, and now I feel I'm ready to continue planning our yearly supply. I know listening to the prophet's voice will bless our lives.

On Tuesday, the kids finished their homework during the day, Gillian attended her choir in the late afternoon, and in the evening we had dinner and a movie with our friends, the Wiederholds. My friend's children and my children and both of us had just finished reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and were waiting on Jefferson to finish it too. As soon as he was done, we set a time to watch it together. My friend took care of dinner, and I brought dessert - cupcakes and ice cream. We had to stop at the store on the way home, because Jefferson insisted on having cherries on top of his ice cream.

Wednesday was spent grocery shopping, hunting for boy clothes (Old Navy is my boys' best friend. Knowing how much they like to dress stylish, I'm being careful in not introducing them to expensive stores), and then spending time with friends at the gym(in our church building). The older kids brought their roller blades and scooters to play with, but my sweet Charlton didn't need any such items. He grabbed my friend's hand and had her walk with him around the gym. I love it that he never lets go of his book even when walking. Adorable!

Thursday was our fun day. We packed some lunch and snacks and headed to an indoor water park, meeting up with friends. My kids just love the water, and since it was still raining outside, this indoor park was a treat for them. The older kids got to try all of the rides that the park offered, but they were sweet enough to also help me with Charlton taking turns in introducing him to different water venues. I was worried Charlton would be too scared to get into water, but under the loving supervision of his older siblings he was able to overcome his fear of water and try his hand in swimming. I took some pictures in the beginning, but then I had to give up that job in place of having fun with my children. This was a very pleasant entertainment, and time well spent together.

This is my favorite picture. Charlton didn't like the spraying water on him, so James was trying his hardest to shield his younger brother from it. I felt their brotherly bond as I watched them cling to each other.



When we got home that day, we were tired, but our day wasn't over. After taking showers and eating dinner, we got ready for my mother's arrival. I had washed the sheets and the blankets, and cleaned her room out, but we still had to do last minute clean-up. It was raining and storming outside, with occasional lightning, which we hadn't heard often since we have moved here in California. When time approached for me to drive to the airport, the kids, who were ready for bed, begged me to take them with me. Not only it was very late, but it was also storming outside. Nevertheless, we said a prayer and took off. I thought they would all fall asleep on the way there, but they were too excited. My mom is staying with us for two months and we are all looking forward to her cooking and loving presence, in that order :).

We got back from the airport right at midnight, and so the next day, on Friday, we all slept in, even James, who has the habit of waking up early and reading on his own while the rest of us wake up. The day was spent opening all of the gifts that my mother had brought for all of us, playing cards and dominoes, and taking naps. In the evening Elijah and I went out while mom put the kids to bed. A good beginning for the next two months.

Since we rested on Friday, and Elijah had plenty to do, we decided to take the kids out to the park on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, so I packed lunch and took the family with me for a picnic. After eating and playing at the playground, my mother and I walked around the lake while the kids roller bladed and enjoyed the sun.
When Charlton seemed to feel tired and ready for a nap, we laid a blanket next to the volleyball court, and let the kids play in the sand. Nap evaded Charlton even though I laid him down and gave him his beloved bottle. The joyous noises of his siblings playing proved to be too tempting.

On our way home, we stopped for some healthy ice-cream at Yogurtland, and then took the kids home for some much needed showers.
I left my mother in charge of the kids, and Elijah and I headed off to the movies to watch Hunger Games. Elijah hadn't read the books and so he was surprised with the level of subtle violence expressed in the movie. Although we both felt the movie did a good job in capturing our attention, and I personally thought the director had portrayed flawlessly the book's events and characters, we both thought that the movie didn't teach any original lessons or shared uplifting messages. Nevertheless, we enjoyed being together and having a couple of hours off.

Well, that ends the account of our Spring Break. We had such a good time that I'm already making plans on pulling my kids out of school just so we can enjoy this weather some more.