I was right about my prediction for today.  Most of our kids had a tough day at school.  I helped to take one kid down on the gym floor.  I felt bad because by the time I got there, my friend had already been hit in the back of the head by a floor hockey stick.  She had a nice lump starting, so we sent her immediately to the nurse for ice.  Brings back memories of last year….

On the good side of today, we managed to dodge the winter storm that was heading our way and instead, just got rain.  I was very pleased about that.  I did, however, have to go out for recess this afternoon and get pelted by pea-size hail.  That wasn’t fun, but the fourth grade teachers (men) thought we needed the fresh air!  I don’t get those guys sometimes.  So I think it’s safe to say that March went out like a lion….and come to think of it, I believe it came in that way too.

Today went pretty well.  The kids at school seemed to be in good spirits after a restful week and vacationing…which means tomorrow will be a “crash & burn” kind of day.    I saw some tan people and had to ask them, “Where did you go for break”?  Then after hearing their wonderful stories, I let out a big sigh and said, “I wish I could have  gone there.”  Oh well, I’m  looking towards summer now.  We’re planning a trip out to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone in June.  We haven’t settled all the dates or booked any hotels yet, but hopefully we’ll have that all taken care of soon and then I can relax and start counting down my days until I leave for fun….and just think of all the pictures I’ll be taking!!!

Today is our official last day of spring break.  We didn’t do much of anything.  Nate did some spring cleaning up in our bedroom.  He vacuumed under the bed, cleaned the slats on the windows and dusted everything.  Sometimes he gets in those moods and I don’t stop him. It looks wonderful.  The girls played outside for awhile.  Kelly asked if we could get out the swings and put them on the swing-set, but the cool breeze made their fingers cold and they didn’t last too long.  Instead, they came inside and played Kung Fu Panda on the Xbox.  That’s fun too and they’ll be plenty of warm days this summer to swing, right?   Let’s hope so.

Tomorrow we all head back to work and school and try to get ourselves through the next two months before it’s summer break.   I’m always looking ahead!

What a refreshing day it was today.  We actually had the sun out for the entire day.  I felt the urge to shop again, do a little laundry and even play some basketball with Kelly, outside!  What a difference it makes to have some sunshine in your day.  I took Kelly over to Kohl’s in hopes of finding some capri’s for her to wear to school.  We thought maybe if we bought some summer-type clothes, it might change the weather pattern around here.  We’ll see….it’s worth a try!

For dinner I made some delicious Clam Chowder in the crockpot, while my husband made wonderful mini loaves of bread to accompany this soup.  Turns out his bread was the hit of the dinner.  We didn’t tell the girls what the soup was, and made them taste it first.  Kelly turned her nose up right away and said, “nope, yuck, I don’t like it.”  Megan ate her  “tester” bowl but decided she didn’t want a whole meal of it.  Later we told them what it was and Kelly was very grossed out by the fact that she actually ate a clam.  Ha!  Sometimes it’s fun to be a parent!

Today the girls went to work on their last day of spring break.  I took them out to Sailer Greenhouses where their Uncle Mark, Aunt Peggy and cousin Nikki, put them to work.  This has become a tradition for them during spring break.  They love to spend the day in the warm, tropical greenhouses helping plant flowers and getting their hands dirty (and their clothes).  This time, the girls got to hang out with Nikki’s other set of cousins, Blake & Molly.  They are Peggy’s sister’s kids and happen to be twins, the same age as Megan.  They all got along great and Mark told me that they took a long lunch break, which included a game of hide and seek!  Can you imagine hiding out in five different greenhouses?  That’s like “super hide n’ seek”!

I spent a couple of hours enjoying the peace and quiet of my home.  I got some reading done, had a little lunch, and even did some wine shopping.  My little slice of spring break.

Yesterday was our third day of break and it was a quiet one.   Megan played in a floor hockey tournament all day and Kelly spent a couple of hours with a friend.

Today we met our friends, Dawn & Michael and did one of our favorite activities….going to the movies!  We saw, Race to Witch Mountain at the Burnsville Theater.  It was an action-packed movie from start to finish.  We all enjoyed it and their was even cameo appearances by the two original kids that were in the Escape To Witch Mountain movie, made over 30 years ago.  Being a huge fan of this movie, I spotted them right away.  That was fun to see.

After the movie, we went to McDonalds and had some lunch and Dawn and I got to do some talking.  It felt good to get out of the house on this dreary, cloudy and cold day.  I really could use some sunshine.

On our second day of Spring Break, we headed over to Brueggars Bagel shop and had lunch with our good friend and Kelly’s Godmother, Shelly Larson.  We always enjoy getting caught up with each other and the girls love to share their news with Shelly.  We also get to hear about her boys, A.J. and Ben, and what they are up to these days.  It’s always an enjoyable day and a “feel-good” afternoon after our visit. 

Later in the afternoon, it started to rain…again!  Have I mentioned that I’m not much of a “spring” person?  Anyway, Kelly & I decided that we’re not going to let that rain ruin our day.  What better way to cheer yourself up, than to make a batch of Chocolate Cappuccino Brownies.  The outside of our house may seem gloomy, but inside…smells oh so wonderful!  I can’t wait for dessert!

Today was our official beginning of spring break.  We enjoyed ourselves by spending the day out at the Mall of America.  The girls each invited a friend to come along for a day of shopping and lunching.   I too, had a friend along for conversation and sanity.  Megan and her friend Kristin spent their day looking for all the “name brand” stores, such as Hollister, Ambercrombie, and Aeropostale.  These are the cool stores.  Kelly and her friend Lauren, were just happy to be at the “big mall” and found cute clothes at Old Navy and Justice.  Cool stores for their age and a bit more reasonably priced, I might add.  The girls brought their own money along and were happy to spend it on some new summer outfits. 

After four hours of walking, my friend and I were ready to head home.  It was a fun “girls day out” (sorry Dawn & Terry – we missed having you two along).  I have to say, this is the first time that I went shopping and came home empty handed.  Not even one bag in my hand!!

Even though we had Kelly’s party last Saturday, today is her actual birthday.  She turns 9 today.   That number seems to be old, maybe because knowing that next year are those double-digits, it scares me a little.   After school, she opened her presents and then we went out for dinner.  Her choice was the Tin Shed restaurant in Savage.  Nate, Megan & I enjoyed a Chicken & Ranch pizza while Kelly chose chicken tenders.  After the meal, the waitress came over with a nice chocolate sundae for her and we sang Happy Birthday quietly at the table. 

Then we decided to have some fun and head over to the game room and throw away some quarters on their arcade games.  It was a fun family night and Kelly enjoyed her special day.

Every year, about a day or two before her birthday, Kelly gets a little sad about turning another year older.  She’s been so excited about her birthday this year, that I thought maybe it wouldn’t happen again this year.  Then last night at bedtime…the tears came down.  I was saying good night to her and she realized that she only had one day left of being  8 years old.  She’s forever telling me that she doesn’t want to grow up and she wants time to stand still.  I call this the Peter Pan Syndrome.  Tonight she asked me if I cried when she was born.  I told her that I didn’t cry because I was so happy to finally meet her and see her.    I guess it’s something we all think about…growing old, but kids are so good at saying what’s on their mind and I guess we adults just keep it to ourselves.  One thing I do tell Kelly every year, is that it doesn’t matter what age you are, it’s how you feel inside.  So I think we should all feel like kids and we can stay young forever!    ~Peter