Spring Break

Nate and I missed the memo that spring break is supposed to be a time to relax and have fun.  Instead, we used the time to clean and get some projects done around the house.  There are a couple of things we did when we were building our house that we have regretted ever since.  #1. We didn’t put fans in the bathrooms.  We thought, “We can just open the window.”  That was stupid.  Who wants to open the bathroom window when it is 24 degrees outside?  No one, that’s who.  So, after nine years of living here, we (meaning Nate) finally got around to putting in bathroom fans.  They are lovely.  No more stinky bathrooms at this house.  Regret #2 was putting carpet under the computer desk.  When we were building, Nate’s idea was to extend the kitchen floor under the computer desk.  I thought it would look weird so I vetoed this plan.  Turns out he was right.  (Hardly ever happens you know.)  :)  We had to buy several plastic mats to go under the computer chair over the years because they kept cracking.  They were expensive and it was tricky to get one just the right size (important since the carpet under the mat was like new and it was right next to the highest traffic area of our house . . . there was a distinct line in the carpet whenever we would move the mat).  We finally got sick of it and decided to tear up the carpet and put down laminate flooring.  The project was complicated since they don’t make the same type of laminate anymore.  We ended up pulling up the flooring in the entryway to use under the computer desk and buying new flooring for the entryway.  It was a big pain and involved taking off baseboards and buying all new trim.  I’m glad Nate still loves me even though it would have saved us a lot of time and expense if I would have just listened to him in the first place.  He’s cool that way.

We were all about getting things done, but we tried to have at least one fun thing a day for the kids so they wouldn’t think it was a total drag.  It worked.  They kept themselves busy and didn’t complain about being bored.  Here are the things the qualified as fun over the break:  building Legos, lunch at Chick-fil-a, free donuts from Krispy Kreme for good report cards, night games with the neighbor kids, Toads (Emily with her friend Briann), sundaes from Burger King, a family game and movie night (The Muppets), Wii, watching Hoarders on Netflix, fashion drawings (Emily and Elise), Scrabble (Ben and Emily), Webkinz, sending email messages (to each other and to friends and to me and Nate), soccer games, and coloring Easter eggs.  It helped that we also celebrated Abby’s birthday over the break, so that added a couple of extra fun things to the mix.  Mother Nature stuck with tradition and we had spring break snow for the fourth year in a row.  Crazy.

Sunday was Easter.  The kids sang Gethsemane in sacrament meeting.  It is a beautiful song.  Abby sang it around the house for weeks before Easter.  She performed a solo for us so we could take a video.  I love how she sings “Jesus loves me-hee.”  It’s my favorite. 

After church, we had my family over for dinner and an egg hunt.  Holly’s family came straight to our house on the way home from San Diego.  My kids were very happy that their cousins made it back from their trip in time to come and play.  We had a good time visiting with everyone and the kids had lots of fun playing.