What I did on spring break, by EEK

While on vacation, all I did was lay around, soak in bubble baths, lay in the sun by the pool with fruity umbrella drinks and relax!

But you KNOW that is a lie!! Actually, while on vacation, I took my family to an INSANE restaurant that is *famous* for it's 170 item buffet. Gross. Except they had all you can eat crab legs. Not gross. however, when you take your kids and all they want are plain butter noodles from the 170 item buffet, that doesn't leave you too much time to eat the crab legs. Ahh, the crabs got lucky on our visit.

Quinn wishes we would have let him relax more. The third night in town we had dragged them around so much, he actually fell asleep while chewing. Yep, we are all about relaxing on vacation. (I TOTALLY would have judged us if I saw us out... who the heck lets their kid fall asleep at dinner, mid-bite?)

We rode an enormous Ferris wheel. The kids were a bit afraid... well, maybe not Turner. Or maybe not anyone.

Except me.

The kids spent a considerable amount of time on their trip with their faces painted.

I spent a considerable amount of time on my trip waiting in line for the kids to get their faces painted.

The paint spent considerably less time actually on their faces compared to time spent in line.

I spent a wee bit of time being annoyed about that.

We took our kids on a Pirate ship ride. After Olivia got over pouting and whining about how the trip was *only for boys*, they all had a great time!

They got to hunt for sunken treasure, taste real pirate grog, hoist the sail and fight a bad guy pirate with squirt guns. For one hour, my kids really thought they were pirates on a ship.

Restful? Relaxing? Not so much.

Fun? Memories?

Outstanding?

For Sure!

I'm ready for the next adventure.

It takes a village

Because we rolled into Dayton at 3:30 on Saturday afternoon, I had already made up my mind that we would NOT be coloring eggs this year. This confession might make me a really bad mom, but I HATE coloring eggs with my kids. It's so messy. Which is ironic, since my mom had me dying eggs and hunting them through my Sophomore year in college. Yep, college.

My decision was met with tears and complaints from my 6 year old. Drama and hysterics are definitely part of our future.

But I stuck to my guns. After seven days where the world revolved around them, I was not about to kill myself so that we could color eggs. I'm a Grinch, what can I say?

Thankfully, some good friends invited us over for Easter lunch. They have three girls (one is away at college) who have occasionally babysat for our kids since Olivia was a baby. Let's just say when the kids hear we are going to Monica and Meredith's house they jump up and down and do a happy dance. These girls (and their parents) spoil our kids rotten!

Honestly, my Easter started off kind of rocky. Easter in my mind was always associated with my dad's side of the family. I'm not exactly sure why, but my dad really loved Easter. This holiday really snuck up on me (maybe it was our trip that distracted me) but it wasn't until the morning that I realized it was my first Easter without my parents.

My mom always bought the kids an Easter outfit. Here is a picture of baby Turner (pre Quinn days) on an egg hunt at my parent's. My emotion was high and my tears were flowing. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to pull it together to enjoy our friends.
God always knows what we need, though! When we got to their house they had pulled out all the stops.

An egg hunt (with toys, trinkets and candy!) An amazing spread, crafts, games, great conversation and even gifts for my kids!
Which is exactly what I needed on Sunday. My soul was overwhelmed. I miss the certain way my parents did things and spoiled my kids. Don't get me wrong... we have PLENTY of family who spoil them. There is a unique way each one does it and its weird and sad some days that theirs no longer exists.

Part of my Easter blessing is that without even knowing it, our friends provided a little something that was missing from my life. God's grace through friends. (These girls are quite the little Pinterest queens, too, I might add!)

No one will ever take the place of my parents. But I'm slowly learning that sad days don't have to be totally sad!

safe and sound

We arrived home Saturday afternoon. It would have been sooner, but we decided to add a *bonus* state onto our trip. We were happily driving along through West Virginia when all of a sudden a sign welcomed us to Kentucky.

We were not suppose to go through Kentucky. Oops.
The kids are off of school for one more day and then it's back to normal around here. I'm looking to do a full vacation post (full of pics that probably only family cares to see) and an Easter post, because we had an AWESOME Easter yesterday.

But right now, I've gotta run to Pilate's class. Because I'll tell you what, it's a really good thing I don't live down South. With all those crab legs and Hush Puppies, I'd be up to 400 lbs in no time!

But I wanted to post a few pics just to prove we were at the beach. It already seems a million miles/years away.

Also, about two days into the trip we changed verbage. We no longer called it family vacation, it became the family trip. Because the beach with three kids is no vacation. But it sure is a ton of fun!!

An ocean runs through it

Greetings from the beach. Just a quick note to say hello from South Carolina. We've been having a blast. The resort we are staying is perfect for our family. With an indoor water park, activities for the kids, an outdoor pool and a view of the ocean from our apartment, we are pretty much in heaven. The weather could be a *touch* better. I had to wear Capri's and a sweatshirt to the beach the other day (boo hoo, I know!) but somehow my kids were brave enough (dumb enough?) to play in the ocean while I sat shivering. I guess that's how you can seperate the southerners from the mid-westerners... we're the ones who let their kids play in the ocean, risking pneumonia.

The looks on my kids' faces the first time they saw the ocean was priceless. Although I have to keep telling Quinn it's called the ocean NOT the river.

The first night we were here, I was getting the kids off to bed and Olivia took one last look out off the balcony and she asked me, "Mom, does the ocean stay on all night?" Yes my dear, God doesn't turn it off while we sleep. For that I'm thankful! Only two full days left... why do I not live here???