Spring Break - Days 8 & 9

The last two nights we have slept in the camper in the driveway. Now we just need to get the van up to towing capability so we can go camp somewhere! I'm really looking forward to that! Here are the girls all nestled in for a good night's sleep.Saturday was spent running errands (mostly me), figuring out some of the camper's systems (mostly Jason), doing some bike riding, movie watching, etc. We did all go run an errand late in the day and decided to pick up Chick-fil-A for dinner and take it to a local elementary school playground for a picnic and some play time.We also checked out some wildlife that was hanging around the picnic tables - caterpillars.Afterward it was time to go home, take baths, and go to sleep - in the camper again. I think the girls have been sleeping pretty well in the camper. The first night Heidi came completely out of her sleeping bag - it was actually on the floor. So she said she was a little cold. Both nights Rachel has said she didn't want to sleep in the camper. But she hasn't complained long about it. In fact last night Jason was going to lay down with her for a little bit and when I turned out the light, she told him he should go sleep in his bed. :-) And she was fine. We are a little concerned about our noise factor with 3 boisterous little girls at a campsite. We'll have to go in the off-season or something.

This morning we woke to a glorious Easter morning. We attended our 9AM family service which was powerful. Then we drove up to Dahlonega to gather with my family for Easter and to celebrate my grandmother's 96th birthday! It was a fun time to be together.

We tried to get a family picture, but let's just say we are still in the phase of life that it's difficult to get everyone to cooperate. We took about 10 and this is the best of the bunch. Maybe next year...Then I was hoping to get a picture of the girls together, but... So here they are individually. :-)And 2 out of 3 with Daddy.We had a delicious lunch together and then celebrated Grandmommy's birthday!The girls with Grammy & Great Gram!Lastly it was time for Easter baskets and some final egg hunting of the season.I don't know how many rounds we did but it varied from Grammy and some of the older cousins hiding them for the younger cousins, to the youngest cousins "hiding" them for their moms, and every combination in between. It was fun.

Well, that's a wrap on Spring Break. The girls are in bed and it's back to the routine tomorrow. It's been a fun week and I've enjoyed documenting it here. I think I've maxed out my blogging for awhile - you may not see another post until May, but we'll see.

Spring Break - Day 7

Today's adventure was the Marietta Museum of History Aviation Wing. We drive by this corner every Wednesday on our way to and from BSF and Jason drives by it almost every day going to and from work. The girls always enjoy seeing "the planes on the ground." (We learned to say "on the ground" because they would look in the air when we said "look at the planes.") :-) Jason was able to take a long lunch today and meet us.

They all liked "the big one." That would be a C-141.We were able to go inside it and up in the cockpit. Pilot Emma.Co-pilot HeidiLook out - they are all three in the cockpit!Then Emma moved over to the Flight Engineer seat.There are probably 12-15 planes and helicopters - mostly military - on display. There was a Lockheed Jet Star that we could also go in. Rachel & Heidi deplaning. Engine goes here.Duck under the wing.Now they've taken over a Huey Helicopter!After leaving the airplanes, Jason was able to join us for lunch at "Welcome to Moe's!" It was a nice treat for him to be able to take some time off and do this with us today.

Heidi has been asking me for months if we could plant some flowers. Now I pretty much think I have a black thumb. But we have given it a try today. I had bought three little flower pots for each of the girls a while ago, so we did those today and they are sitting in the window. Hopefully they will bloom. We planted Cone Flowers, Daisies, and Forget-me-not.Then they wanted to plant more, so I decided we would try to make an area around our mailbox. Rachel & Heidi "helped" pull up the grass around the mailbox, so now we have a little squarish area around the mailbox for flowers. We planted some wildflower seeds there, so we'll see what happens. If they bloom, you'll see pictures in the future - if they don't, don't ask. ;-)

Tonight we are doing "camp driveway." We had grilled hamburgers, french fries & corn on the cob for dinner out on the porch. Jason pulled out the camper with some little helpers.It is all set up and we are headed to bed shortly. Hopefully everyone will sleep well! Good night!

Spring Break - Day 6

Today we went to Champion Kids. It's a favorite of ours. Emma and Heidi have both had birthday parties there, we've done gymnastics, dance and social skills classes, and we always enjoy the open play times. They have in-ground trampolines, a foam pit, a rope swing, balance beams, bars, slides, inflatables, and more. It's a great place!

Heidi seems to have overcome her fear of inflatables and was really enjoying them today - as were Emma and Rachel.Bouncing on one of the trampolines.On the rope swing (you drop in to the foam pit).Jumping in to the foam pit.Down a slide.All 3 on the big swing.Sisters.Our budding gymnast.Another fun Spring Break outing. One more day to keep them busy before the weekend!

Spring Break - Day 5

Today was zoo day! We didn't get the jump on the day I was hoping for, but we didn't have any time schedule we needed to stick to, so it was ok. We arrived at the zoo about 10:45. The first stop is always the flamingos.Next was the elephants - which they all like!Then it was continuing on to see everything else. One of my favorites is the pandas.Learning about lions. Emma really enjoyed reading a lot of the signs around the zoo - learning all kinds of things about various animals, habitats, etc. Heidi and Rachel learned that lions have sharp teeth!Trying to feed the parakeets (I think they were already pretty well fed by the time we got there).Brushing the goats in the petting zoo (she and Heidi have come a long way with this).Cute girls!We finished the day off with riding the carousel. Heidi rode an otter, Emma a bear, and Rachel a crane.FIVE hours later, we were headed out. Everyone was tired. But just outside the gate is a dolphin painted with various animal prints. Great photo op! Except that the subjects for the photo were less than interested by this time. But I like the dolphin anyway!So Emma's favorite animal was "the smiling elephant." She kept saying one of the elephants was smiling. Heidi's favorites were the elephants and flamingos. Rachel's favorites were the dolphin (statue) and flamingos. My favorites were the tigers and pandas. Another successful trip to the zoo!