Spring Break Part 3

Seems weird to still be posting about spring break but time is moving way too fast these days and I'm falling behind!!

We did cave and take the kids to Knuckleheads one morning.

We drove indoor Go Carts, played video games and did the high ropes course.

They were intending to do the trampoline park too but the sun was shining and the adults were itching to get back outside.  Although the kids had fun they all agreed that hiking around Devil's Lake is more fun.  Whew!  We must be doing something right if they all chose the outdoors!!

So, we went back to Devil's Lake a second time and did an awesome hike up some steep rocky trails.

It WAS super cool but way too stressful for this mama to see the kids teetering on the edge of a steep, rocky drop off.  I stayed in the way back and kept my head down.

Ahhh!! Back on solid ground, where if Mason trips (which he does A LOT!!), he just falls into leaves and dirt!!

That's the end of the spring break posts!

 

Part 2

More pictures from Spring Break '21!

Kade's first time playing Monopoly.  

I thought he would hate it (I do) but they played for over an hour!! 

They were all fighting a bath so we told them they at least needed to clean their feet.

By the time they were done, they might as well have gotten in the bath!

More games!

Hey look!  I got a snuggle from Kade!  

See that leg sticking out under his?  It's mine.  

Oh this next picture is both wonderful and terrible at the same time.

Jenna and I took these 3 on a scooter ride/walk in between the rain showers on Saturday.  

Mason and Isaac (who we call The Middles or The #2's.  Who are NOTHING like their first born siblings when it comes to: following rules, or listening, or using common sense, or sticking close to your parents in strange surroundings or pretty much anything else pertaining to ease of parenting) decided to scooter WAY ahead of us on the way back to the cabin.  So far ahead, in fact, that we lost them.  After running down the path, then getting in the truck and driving up the road, then going back to the cabin and getting Jay and Erik to split up and help search, and more driving down the road the other way, these 2 came meandering back down the sidewalk happy as clams because they "explored".  

Hands down the scare of a lifetime.  

And this picture is the very last one we had of them.  

The one we were thinking we'd have to show the police when we called them.

Onto more calming pictures...

The view from our cabin.

It was so nice, we were even able to get the canoe out for a bit!

I'm driving, Mason is trolling.

He swore he got 100's of nibbles but no bites.

More hiking at Devil's Lake

Rolling down the hill

Quite the adventurous path we found!

Everyone waiting and laughing as it's my turn to cross.

Thanks to Jenna and our "scene from Dirty Dancing" I made it across safely!

While Erik and Jay laughed and recorded it, waiting for me to fall in!

We found a beach on Spring Break!!

 

Spring Break Part 1

This year the boys actually got a real spring break!  They had Friday off from school and then the entire week following.  That's NEVER happened before!  We took advantage and rented a cabin in Wisconsin Dells with Jay, Jenna, Violet, Isaac and Eve.  We didn't really do "Dells" stuff though; no waterparks--which was fine by me!

We left Friday after work and came home Wednesday morning.  It rained all day Saturday, good thing there was the NCAA tournament to watch!  Otherwise the weather was good!  Our cabin was right on the water so the kids tried to fish.  Of course Mason tried to swim.  And Kade got tossed in the water by Uncle Jay once for being mouthy--he had it coming.  

There's so many pictures, I have to split them up into separate posts.  

On the road!

10 minutes later.

The coloring station.

Vacation means eating LOTS of food.

The rainy Saturday didn't stop Kade and Violet!

Being cooped up inside meant lots of wrestling.

We went to Devil's Lake State Park a couple of times.

Everybody loved it and the trails were so cool!  

Lots of climbing rocks, which the kids couldn't get enough of and I just stayed in back so I couldn't see anything--less worry that way.

Isaac, Kade and Violet

Can you spot Mason waving to the camera?

He's right next to the tree.

Nothing better than a picnic in the back of the truck!!

The kids all said hiking was the best part of their day.

 

With the weather warming up and the snow melted away, the boys are back into a baseball frame of mind. Of course Kade is ALWAYS in that mindset but Mason is our surprise this year!  When we asked him a month or two ago if he wanted to play baseball, he was pretty wishy-washy.  He said he'd rather fish than play baseball 2 nights a week.  That answer wasn't a surprise and we weren't going to make him play.  

However, he had a change of heart and decided he DID want to sign up.  After asking him 8 million times if he was sure (he's never been too into sports and definitely needs some working throwing and catching) he assured us he was.  He said he's excited to get a new baseball bag 😆 Now, most nights they're out there playing catch or working on soft toss and Mason's skills have improved 10-fold!  I tell ya, he's going to be our dark horse when it comes to sports--he's going to end up blowing us all away.

I didn't take any pictures this week either so I made them pose tonight.

They were confused as to why I was taking their picture but those are some pretty great faces!

 

Guess what's coming back!!!  My Wednesday's, thats what!!  After the weirdest year ever, the boys are going back to school 5 days a week starting tomorrow.  That means I get my day back!!!  

However, Erik would never let me live it down if I didn't mention this:  a month or so ago, when they announced that school would go back to full time, Erik said, "you just wait.  The week they go back, there's going to be a huge snowstorm."  He's right, there's a big storm coming tomorrow.  They haven't called school off yet buuuuut....

I don't even care though because Wednesday is going to be 50 and sunny and we all know that's which day counts the most!!

I didn't take any pictures this week.

This is all I've got.

Trixie got fed popcorn and now she's discovered a taste for it.

This is how she sat the entire time Kade at his bowl.

It didn't even phase him.

Spear fisherman!

Also after an entire year, Kade FINALLY got his haircut professionally!!!

I told him to send me a picture.

This is what I got.

 

Is spring here?  Or is this the tease before another dumping of snow and cold weather?  Either way, we'll take what we can get!  The boys are finally back outside playing and using their imagination, instead of on a device staying warm inside.

Our driveway always gets some pretty big water puddles.

This year it's Mason's fishing hole.

Aunt Jenna wins Aunt of the Year for taking the kids swimming for FIVE hours last Wednesday!

They were exhausted and slept like babies that night!!

My boys are giants.

We went for a walk in grandpa's woods today, cut down vines and some buckthorn, had a small fire and roasted hot dogs and s'mores.