Spring Break Staycation!

The boys had a week out of school - David still had to work, so going away on a vacation wasn't really an option. Unless I wanted to take them alone - which I didn't.

My BFF, Angie, and I decided we would plan fun activities everyday to keep the kids busy. She, too, has 3 kids. Two of which are Ben and Will's age - and her middle one happens to be Ben's BFF. So it worked out great for a fun week.

Day 1: The zoo

I had Ben and Will (Andy was at home w/our babysitter, Jamie). Angie had her 2 boys, her teengae daughter and 2 of her friends. So ... we had a full house. We packed a lunch and headed to the zoo. We decided to go the first day of spring break hoping it wouldn't be that crowded. We were right. It was a great day (crowd wise) for the zoo. It had rained the week before - all week, so it was still alittle chilly out in the morning. It warmed up and turned into a great day.

Below: Will, Brayden, Jared, and Ben

The boys got to an animal encounter. They got to choose between the snake and this huge lizard. They chose the lizard.

Me, Ben and Will. An attempt to get a photo of us. You see Will didn't want to cooperate.

Ben and his BFF, Jared

I always have to bring somethign for Will to ride in. B/c of his lungs - he gets pretty tired quickly.


After it warmed up - the boys (and girls) decided to play in the water.


Here's Will enjoying himself in the water. He was the first one in and kinda the reason the rest of them were in. That's my boy. No fear Will!

Here he is - realizing he's all wet and hates to be all wet.

We had to check out the penquins before we left. Can see the one standing behind them through the glass? He came right up w/them standing there.


Ben, his BFF, Jared and the penquin.


Here's all of us for a quick group shot. The girls met up with us after lunch. They were exploring on their own for the first part of the day. From left to right: ____, Mariah, Me, Will, Callie, Brayden, Ben, Angie and Jared


This is us trying to get the boys out. After a long day - we were exhausted. In the very front, Angie's pushing the empty stroller; Callie and her friend are swinging Brayden, and Mariah is pulling Ben, Will and Jared in the stroller.


Day 2: Joe's Crab Shack

Ben and Will had dentist appointments in the afternoon so we decided to meet in the morning and play until I had to leave to go to the dentist. This time I had all 3 of my boys and Angie had just her 2 boys. Her daughter and friends were at the mall. We had a great time. Angie and I got an appetizer to share and the boys got kids meals - which were only $2 each. Great deal!

Below: Ben, Will, Brayden, Jared

Ben

Andy - he had a great time. Much more than I thought he would. At first he was upset about the sand touching his feet and getting all dirty. Then he surrendered and just jumped right in.


Will putting sand on the slide.

Day 3: Arboretum

I have a membership so I thought it would be a great (cheap) day for us. We again packed a lunch and headed for the Arboretum. I had all 3 of my boys again, and she had her 2 boys, her daughter and 1 of her friends. It's Dallas Blooms right now - so it was packed. I have never been before when it's been that crowded. Luckily, my membership saved us alot of time. There was no line for us - so we got to just go in. The blooms were beautiful and we got some great photos. The kids were able to play in the storybook playhouses that they have on display. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed our day.

Day 4: Mall and Ben's first sleepover

We decided to do something low-key since we had done big field trips a few times already. Angie and I were pretty worn out. We met at the mall. I had Ben and Will (Andy was w/our babysitter, Jamie), and Angie had her 2 boys, her daughter and one of her daughters friends. We let the boys play in the playarea and we ate lunch in the food court. We had a good day.

This was a special day for Ben because he was going to have his first sleepover without me. He's actually had 2 previous ones, but both times I was with him sleeping over as well. He spent the night w/Angie and his, BFF, Jared. They had a lot of fun. Ben went to soccer practice w/Jared and got to play also. Ben really enjoyed himself and said he may even want to play next season (which is awesome!). They played xbox, club penquin and really had a great time. I picked Ben up on Friday afternoon and he was ready to have Jared spend the night with us. He can't wait.