Spring Break!

I impressed myself with the number of fun, family activities that we jammed into our Spring Break this past week. On Monday, I surprised the boys with a trip to the Kangaroo Zoo and a stop at the library afterwards. The boys picked out a few movies and a couple chapter books that we enjoyed reading aloud together each day during "quiet time." On Tuesday, we visited The Musuem of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. Despite the dinosaur museum practically being in our backyard, it was our first time checking it out. I can imagine having a lot of fun at the dinosaur museum in a few years when all the boys' attention spans are longer and their reading ability a little more advanced. At this point, the museum pretty much just served as an indoor recreation area, rather than any educational excursion.

Museum of Ancient Life:

On Wednesday, we invited our old friends from Washington over for a playdate and had a great time catching up with them. That afternoon, we checked into the downtown Marriott for an impromptu overnighter/swim-party at the hotel. First, we ordered pizza to our room and raided the consierge lounge for treats. Then it was time to swim! Hank and Max splashed and played in the pool for hours while I entertained Joey and Ben (who both seem to prefer the land over the water) from the pool deck. As much fun as we had swimming and playing, I must say I gained a greater appreciation for the comfort of my own bed after spending the night "sleeping" with a restless baby kicking and squirming in bed beside me, a toddler on the floor who periodically woke up confused and disoriented in unfamiliar surroundings, and two boys who fought over their shared covers and fell off their shared bed all night long. Small sacrifice for making such a fun memory.

Hotel Overnighter:

After checking out at the hotel on Thursday morning, we went straight to This is the Place Monument and Historical Park. We couldn't have chosen a better day to visit the park--the weather was just right for walking and exploring the historical village. Part way through our visit, Hank commented, "when we first got here, it didn't look like it was going to be very much fun...but it was!" I was actually pleasantly surprised by how much we all enjoyed This is the Place. The boys enjoyed all of the hands-on exhibits like panning for gold, weaving wool into thread, plowing the field, riding the train, and pounding iron into leather. Aaron and I enjoyed immersing our family in "the simple life" and, in some ways, agreed it doesn't seem all bad.

This is the Place:

How cool is that? The boys found our ancestor "Thomas Grover" on a monument dedicated to the first company of pioneers to enter the Salt Lake valley.

The fun didn't stop there. On Friday, we invited our cousins over for a playdate and then joined more cousins that night for dinner--Nana and Papa Grover took all the cousins to a movie and then hosted a night-time Easter egg hunt and a cousin slumber party.

I loved the time we got to spend together this week unemcumbered by schedules, appointments, and routine. We stayed up late, we slept in. We played. We made memories.

And now, back to normal life: bedtime, school, work, chores, homework, and a week's worth of neglected laundry. Boo!