We've had way too much fun enjoying spring break this past week. Not that life is tough by any means on a normal week... but it was fun to have a new schedule and go on some adventures instead of the usual routine.
We also enjoyed some time just hanging out in our pjs goofing around at our house.
Aunt Jessie came up on Monday afternoon and played with me and the kiddos, ate dinner with us, and stay for FHE and some chatting.
I attempted a creative idea for FHE that was a total fail in so many ways... especially since the kids were like 500 times more hyper than normal... so not sure if they'll know anything about the Easter story this year... but at least I tried!
On Tuesday we packed up early (helps that the nail gun woke us up at 7am) and headed down to the San Jose Children's Discovery Museum with a friend from Andrew's preschool class last year.
It is good that I don't think things through very well sometimes... because otherwise we may have never made it to the museum. I never thought, "oh, it might be crazy at the museum with three kids... especially Catie"... and so we pressed on and actually had a great time despite many giant Catie tantrums.
The pictures don't tell the whole story and look quite idyllic. Catie sat still for two seconds and then was off destroying this little art studio... meanwhile Andrew could not be torn away from his beautiful masterpiece. We totally forgot to pick it up when we left and I haven't mentioned the museum again for fear of the wrath of Andrew when he realizes he left his masterpiece there!
Giant Bubbles!
Giant tinker toys!
Andrew loved building and stayed here forever!
Meanwhile Catie was OBSESSED with these bugs and took all of them and hoarded them for our entire visit to this exhibit... which didn't win her any friends. When one kid tried to borrow one that she hadn't touched in like 5 minutes she threw a tantrum, then he pushed her over, and then she had an even bigger tantrum. The other mom did nothing to get her son to stop attacking Catie (even though by that point she'd stopped hoarding the bugs), so I grabbed her and moved the poor little sobbing girl to another area in the museum to escape him... and he kept following us around. Annoying!
Anyways, we spent the entire museum visit working on sharing and not hoarding... and by the end Catie was giving things back a little quicker, though it was such an emotional thing for her that she would just cry and cry even when she was sharing. Being two is tough work!
The little cutie also has a very large personal bubble. If you come close to her she yells NOOOOO and OWWWW and OOOUUCCH! (if you are a stranger) and although it is really funny... it makes going to busy places a little tricky. It is amazing how often strange adults touch kids they don't know instead of using their words... Catie helps them realize quickly that that is a BAD IDEA.
She managed to lick all the plastic balls close by her really quickly... (maybe her new technique for marking her territory?) and then loved every second as she got herself completely soaked in the water area. It was so fun to watch how happy she was!
Andrew was in heaven too. Once the kiddos were wet and cold, we went into the bathroom to change clothes and then we went off on our next adventure for the day....
I paid for all the fun adventures and messed up schedule on the drive home (almost 1.5 hours of screaming by one, two, or all three kiddos depending on the part of the drive)... but all the fun with friends was totally worth it.
On Wednesday we headed back down to the Peninsula to meet up with some other friends. I didn't manage to snag a single picture because I just enjoyed chatting with friends and lounging a bit.
We first went to a park in San Carlos with my friend Jen who used to work with me in PAUSD. We both have 5 yr olds and 2 yr olds so it was fun to watch the kiddos play together while we caught up.
After that we ventured over to see the Balenas and we were greeted with SO MUCH LOVE from all of our Balena friends that we will need to see them again very soon! Andrew and George ran off together and played happily for almost an hour while Grace entertained Catie and Liz and I mostly got to sit and chat. LOVED it!
We also hit up Hillsdale Mall for some Mrs. Fields Cookies (Elise used to work close by there so whenever either one of us used to go to Mrs. Fields there they thought we were mall employees because between the both of us we were there so often... so it was fun to go back to our old stomping grounds).
On Thursday we relaxed a bit and Kevin made the kiddos waffles and then we left around 10am to head to the Oakland Zoo! We met up with my friend and her cute kids and then another one of her friends and his kids... so we were quite a group with 11 kids and 3 adults!
Apparently waiting for the train to leave was really hard? :) (see photo below) They LOVED the kangaroos but my favorite line from Andrew on the train was "Mom, oh my goodness, I can see THE PARKING LOT!" He said it was such enthusiasm that I just started laughing. I love Andrew and his zest for every aspect life.
The new friend proved to be very helpful when it came to the hills at the zoo :) He pushed my stroller up the hills while Catie relaxed inside and I carried Ryan in the Bjorn.
After the zoo my friend Kristy and I took the kiddos over to the Oakland Temple to end the day. It was gorgeous. They ran around, visited Jesus (Christus statue in the Visitors Center), and smelled the pretty flowers. Catie loves to say "I'm pretending!" when she is actually doing something... so whenever I told her to STOP picking the flowers she would tell me she was pretending (but she wasn't... and has no clue what that word really means)... so cute and challenging at the same time.
We managed to get home quickly and without any screaming, which was delightful.
I am now thoroughly exhausted from Spring Break and am ready for real life to resume next week!
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