Ode To Spring Break Part 1

Oh, Spring Break, how do we love thee? Let's just list a few of the highlights shall we?

Sleeping in. No schedule. None. Unless we say so. (no pictures of us sleeping)

Friends. All day, everyday.

Time to decorate with a week to spare.

Time to shop for much needed home merchandise...new faux wood blinds...laaaaaaah.

And it's only WEDNESDAY! I guess that makes this part 1 of the Ode...

Spring Break Family Night

It's Spring Break! Loved staying home today and actually completing the laundry. Even got some Easter decorations out (thanks to the hub for getting them down last night). With no homework or early bed time to worry about, we had an impromptu Family Night after Heather's volleyball practice. The girls were feeling adventurous, so we went to Mario's Restaurant over in Five Points. They loved the food and the atmosphere. It reminded Jenna of the Blue Bayou at Disnelyand. After dinner, we all went to Home Depot to pick out a new side garage door and some faux wood blinds. Okay, so not the most exciting Family Night ever, but we were together and enjoying each other's company. It was actually quite fun.

Mario's lights

Everyone pitching in to load the truck

We see florescent lights; the girls see light sabers

Last Day With Amy & Crew

We were able to spend one more day with the Henstras on Saturday. They rented a beach house in Newport to spend an extra couple of days with the nice, warm weather that decided to show up. We spent a few hours on the beach and had dinner together at Islands. It was such a treat to have some extra time with them. We already planning our next get-together in Utah.

Disneyland With Jeff

Jeff, Clarissa and Ella came to CA for a special Disneyland trip this past weekend. We went to meet them Thursday afternoon. The girls had fun exploring Tom Sawyer's Island and Toon Town. We weren't able to spend more than a couple of hours, but it was so good to see them.

Yoga Visits California

My friend Amy, sometimes referred to as Yoga from our days on TwilightMoms, is visitng CA from Utah this week with her three kiddos for their spring break. They drove out a few days before their beach cottage reservations so they could spend a few days with us. Although Amy and I have met and hung out together in Forks and at the Breaking Dawn signing in Los Angeles, our kids didn't know each other at all. When they all met, they became fast friends. Katie and Heather are exactly the same age (11), and Ellie and Jenna are the same age (9). Amy's boy, Riley is 13, and although I worried he would be bored, he has fit right in and is loving the Wii.

Today we planned to be at the beach. It was only in the high 50's this morning which is very cold for us. While we waiting for some sun to warm things up, the girls picked a bushel of oranges off our tree. We made fresh-squeezed orange juice, and they had a blast juicing all the oranges.

Newport Beach is so beautiful, but today it was just plain cold. Amy is from the mountains of Utah and even though she drove through snow to get her, this chilling wind was not what she pictured.

The kids, however, didn't seem to mind. They explored the jetty, dug in the sand, and played in the water.

They finally came out and tried to warm up a bit. We didn't stay very long, but they had a great time. Hopefully the week will warm up for them as they head for their beach cottage.

Jog-A-Thon

Here are our excited joggers. Heather was still recovering from a cold, but she was excited to run.

Jenna is feeling happy in her new shoes Daddy helped her buy when Mommy was at choir last night.

Heather was smiling for most of the 4 miles she ran. This is her second jog where she's been sick. We'd love to see what she can do well!

Heather ended up with a medal that belonged to her friend, Emily. Emily, for some reason, did not want to win the medal. We couldn't figure out why. She stopped on her 16th lap with a minute left in the race, and then encouraged Heather to keep running. Heather was done, done, done after 15 laps, but ran another one with her friend's encouragement. Did Emily know Heather was her only competition? I don't know. Then during the tie-brake sprint, they were neck-and-neck until Emily pulled up at the last second and let Heather cross the line. She said that Heather worked really hard and that Heather deserved to win. Emily is a really sweet girl, and no matter what we told her about her being the true winner (she would have taken the sprint), she didn't want the medal. We settled for hugs and thanks and then I went to the market and put together a bag of chocolate treats for an additional after school thank you.