Andy's work schedule does not allow for any time off during Spring Break, so we've made it a tradition for the kids and I to go up to visit my parents. And now we have the added bonus of cousins in Dallas who can join us. Although, this year they were sick, so we ended up going to Dallas towards the end of Spring Break to visit them. Next year hopefully it can be all crazy the entire week at Papa and Grandma's house!!! Andy of course was working on Saturday, so we didn't waste any time and drove up there then. We stayed there until Wednesday and then headed into Dallas for a few days. Here's some pictures of our fun:
Ian sitting in his happy place:
Grandma always has lots of helpers when she makes French toast:
Ian LOVED my mom's little vacuum:
Here's a picture of the girls in front of the massive burn pile Papa had going:
Tractor ride!!!
Ian's taking over:
Papa always has some type of project going. The kids are always more than willing to help. He's so patient with them and they enjoy learning how to work with him. Papa teaching Ian how to shovel some dirt:
Tractor ride when Grandma's in charge (comfortable enough for a queen):
Ian loves riding the cozy coupe:
Ian working on the tractor:
Ian using the water can to put gas in his car:
One benefit of going up there is I can always take up projects that need to be done and my mom is always willing to help. We made the kids some seat belt pillows. They loved being able to pick out their own fabric from all the options Grandma had. And then my mom helped me make this old chair of Andy's, a chair again. We've had the base for awhile and just need to made the seat. Ian sitting in his Daddy's chair:
Ian ready to ride his car with some bling-bling:
As you can tell we spent a ton of time outside!!! The weather was pretty perfect. A jacket maybe needed in the morning, but by the afternoon it was nice. The mosquitoes hadn't hatched yet and since we had a cold winter the pollen wasn't out in full force yet, so it was perfect for Rachel's allergies. One afternoon while Ian was napping I was able to sneak up on these cute girls playing outside:
Once they saw I had the camera, they threw me some poses:
My happy place:
I don't return home to my childhood home when I visit my parents, but I'm pretty grateful they're in Texas. And I love going up to their place. It's beautiful any time of the year and it's just a breath of fresh air. We relax, we play, we sleep, we laugh, we read, we just enjoy life...
On Wednesday we drove into Dallas to spend some time with Paul's family. We had fun going to Sky Zone there (a indoor trampoline place). Audrey and Rachel loved it and Ian was a chicken. He's not big on jumping. Not quite coordinated enough to do that yet...or I guess brave enough. So he bounced some...
After jumping all morning, we went to In 'n Out for lunch. Yum, yum!!!
We had fun spending Wednesday and Thursday night at their house. We drove a triangle on this trip. We went Northeast to get to my parents, then West to get to Paul, and then Southeast to get back home. We don't drive I-45 often, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to stop off at the Sam Houston Statue that's north of Houston, right off I-45. It was a good stretch-your-legs break. Not sure why his head was on the ground, maybe it was just the practice one... But leave it to my kids to make sure he keeps his nose clean:
Smiles!
The statue (67 feet tall on a 10 foot base):
Leave it to Texas to make sure we can claim that we have the tallest statue of an American hero. :)
On our way back to our car I noticed that people were taking pictures above the head. There was a platform to stand on behind it. It worked for me, but I still had to hold up the girls. I didn't even bother with Ian, he's still a bit too short. We'll have to stop by again in a couple of years...
We had a great Spring Break! We're grateful to be able to escape and have fun somewhere while Daddy has to work. Hopefully one day he'll have a work schedule that will allow him to join us. We have fun, but we definitely miss him...
