spring break

wow. i think we found out just how many things you can possibly pack into one week's time. spring break was great but we are beat! while we did do a lot of work, we spent a lot of quality time together and that has made me even more thankful for my family....really a gift from the Lord. He put us all together as a family and did a great job. i would not want to spend all my days with anyone else!

as i was trying to recollect everything that took place over our break last night, i realized that we did so much, i don't even remember some of it. so here's the breakdown, for posterity sake. maybe this can serve as a reminder for us next year to not work so hard!

our spring break really started last friday, as burrito was off from school and john just had a half day of inservice and then a teacher appreciation lunch.

friday:

burrito, noodle and i met mrs. brandi, the preschool teacher i taught with last year, along with her son, p, and daughter, a. we had a great time at happy hopperz, an indoor bounce house place that we love to visit. they had added a new zip line and an air hockey table since our last visit and they were a huge hit with the boys. we had lots of fun and had lunch at the mcdonald's right behind there. poor p hurt his ankle though so we were sad about that. sorry p! just as we pulled into the drive, john pulled in too and so began our official break.

saturday:

we set out in the morning to check out a couple of new resale shops and then lunch at subway. we were supposed to have dinner that night with the wilks. however, their kids were sick so we canceled with hopes to reschedule. we were all really disappointed to not be able to go so we tried to think of something fun instead that we could do. where do the rutherfords like to go for fun???? ikea!!!! so we grabbed some dinner (yeah for cfa and panda!) and headed out to the ikea. we had a good time looking around and then ate some of their yummy cinnamon rolls for a special treat. it was a decent substitute for missing out on fun with our friends.

sunday:

church and then lunch at braum's complete with chocolate milk shakes. except for noodle of course, who took one look at the shake and proclaimed it to be yucky! i am not sure where he came from! how could a chocolate, sweet lover like me give birth to a child that refuses to eat cake and ice cream??? burrito, on the other hand, clearly inherited my genes, can you tell???

monday:

john needed to make a trip to the library so the boys and i went grocery shopping. that afternoon, we bought items necessary to accomplish our home projects. the weather was beautiful so we played outside a lot and grilled for dinner. and the biggest news of the day....my sister and brother in law called to say they were pregnant! yeah for a cousin! we are so excited!

tuesday:

we met friends for lunch. they have 3 month old twins and our boys totally fell in love. noodle kept saying that the girl was his baby and the boy was burrito's baby. we had cfa for lunch and visited with sweet friends. that night, john had grad school and the boys and i headed out to a friend's house for dinner. it was so nice to not sit at home missing john while he was in class. there were 7 kids at dinner and they all played so well together. i did not see my two boys hardly at all the whole night! we had so much fun....thanks Gibsons!

wednesday:

my mom and sister came over and the girls went out to shop and eat lunch. john took the boys to a park and they had a picnic lunch together. it was so nice to be able to shop without a child asking you 101 questions and begging to go look at toys. thanks mom and stace for a fun girls only excursion! john also tackled our first chore of the week, resealing our shower. it was not a hard job, just an inconvenient one, as we could not use our shower for 3 days. and if you have seen our shower, you would know the sacrifice! john also surprised me by digging up this huge yucca that was taking over the front of our house while i was out shopping. i noticed immediately upon our arrival that the yucca was gone and the bird bath had taken its place. it looks so much better! john had grad class that night too but the boys and i were so tired, bedtime came early!

thursday:

we went to pick up the power washer that was needed to wash down our swingset so that we could restain it. picking up the power washer was not too bad, as john and 2 other guys were there to lift it into the back of our Pilot. the hard part, and quite comical i might add, was when we returned home and tried to figure out how we were going to get it out. it took some creativity, but we were able to get it out of the pilot without causing harm to it or ourselves. i think john enjoyed power washing and then spraying on a deck cleaner to prepare the swingset for staining. the boys and i ran some errands while john stayed back to work. i was thinking a power washer and our two boys would not be a good combination!

friday:

power washer went back to the rental place and staining began on the swingset. it was a long, tedious and messy job! the boys did great though playing in the backyard while we worked. they were just ready for the evening to come because they were going to mimi's for a sleepover. this was the first time for noodle to sleep away from home and the first time since being a baby for burrito. john and i were able to drop them off and then head out for dinner and time at the bookstore. i was a little skeptical about things going smoothly for my mom, especially when it came time to go to sleep. however, i was pleasantly surprised to hear that the boys did great and were ready to do it again! in fact, burrito kept telling me all day that we could just pull up at mimi's house and he could get out and ring the doorbell! he was definitely ready to get rid of us!

saturday:

john and i slept in a little and it was so weird to not have the boys around...the house was so quiet! we had borrowed my dad's truck when we dropped the boys off because we were going to buy some st. augustine sod for our yard and he wanted some too. so saturday morning involved a lot of dirt, grass and sweat. that's a tough job! we removed a few bushes to eliminate a flower bed and then laid sod there in its place. we headed back to my parents for lunch and to pick up the boys. after we all took a nap, john and i finished up the staining job and the boys played outside. we were so thankful for good weather all week! here's a before and after shot of the swingset:

before:

after:

sunday:

church and then back home for lunch outside on our patio. i cleaned out our closets while the boys napped and then back outside for yard work. we planted some new plants, watered the new sod and played with the boys. it was a great end to a much needed spring break.

i wish i would have taken some pictures of our adventures but i was trying to just live in the moment and not drive everyone crazy with the camera. it was a great time for some family fun and makes me so ready for summer!

60 more days.....