Spring Break 2013

This year again, we had a pretty spectacular Spring Break. Knowing it was our last Spring Break in Boulder and I'm going to have to start working full time soon, I really wanted to make the most of this vacation. The week started with another one of those huge snow dumps that I love. So on Monday morning we head out to our favorite sledding spot. Josh sledded a little and then both boys played at the playground. In the afternoon we invited our friends Jenny, Eli and Hazel over for some boy fun (bows and arrows combined with transformers) while the girls just chilled.

I think this was the same day: Josh and William build a fort in their room. It was pretty elaborate, with 2 levels (Josh could lay down under William) and comfortable too. I was pretty impressed with their engineering skills... 

Tuesday morning our upstairs neighbors (Erika, Mael and Ethan) invited us over along with our old friends Deanna, Brayden and Sienna. For the next 2 hours or so, their apartment was transformed into a monkey play area. Josh, Mael and Brayden are all the same age within 2-3 months of each other and William and Sienna are only a few weeks apart. They're so much fun to observe, so happy, hyper and funny. And the best part is I love their Moms so it's always a double treat to hang out.

In the afternoon I was in charge of accompanying a group of residents to an entertainment center with Arcades, mini golf, and go carts (Yes I'm paid to do that : )!) It was SO much fun. We'd been to that place when Josh was little and I was pregnant with William and we'd had a good time mini golfing but that was pretty much all he could do. This time they really enjoyed the whole experience. These kids are growing so fast, I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up much longer! Would you believe my 2 and 4 year old know how to operate arcade games? Yep, I have mixed feelings about that. But I love that they're so adventurous and so eager to learn and experience new things. 

(No I did not let them play the Ghost squad... Please, take that game out of here!)

Mini-golfing was fun (and disorganized)

And the best part was Go-Carting. William could barely reach the gas pedal (the guy had to ride with him to help), but they loved it.



Then Josh and I did the adult version. 2 giddy faces. Josh was ecstatic, it was like living a dream.

After all that fun and excitement we went back in for a few more arcade games and the boys claimed their prizes. Josh picked up a sword of course, and some tattoos, a little toy dinosaur and candy. William only wanted candy, but I managed to interest him in some tattoos and a dinosaur too.

We were all too excited to go home that night so we head over to Smiley court for a movie and popcorn night. The movie was Wreck it Ralph. It was funny and the boys loved it... Talk about a full day!

On Wednesday morning Sammy came over to play for a few hours. If I could adopt a kid, I would adopt this sweet little boy. He is such a peacemaker at our home. I have a rule that the boys can not play with their swords when we have friends over (or even when they're together), but when Sammy comes over I can (usually) make an exception. I made an exception that day, and they played for hours without hurting each other. Sammy set the rules from the beginning: they were on the same team. So they armed themselves (Sam picked his own combination of equipment, the football helmet was his choice!) and attacked trees, poles, cut up snow and defended the princess (me) without any argument for at least 2 hours.



In the evening we decided to go to a musical at the library. A friend from church was performing and the topic sounded interesting (the story of a black boy adopted into a white family). It was really good and introduced them to theater ("Mom, why do they keep going in and out?"). The boys were very entertained and tried to participate several times. It was funny (and a little stressful since the play was being recorded for TV! and I couldn't just let them say their comments out loud and try to get on stage!
Even though we had to leave early I think it was a good introduction to theater, problems of racism and cultural identity.

Thursday morning we joined our family housing friends for a visit to the zoo (again part of my job). We rode the bus, an adventure in itself especially for William who isn't used to it. I figured it would probably be the last time I took the boys to the Denver zoo so I decided we'd make the most of that day. We did absolutely everything we could do there; saw all the animals, rode the train, the merry go round, watched the elephant show, ate cotton candy and finally one of my colleagues let them pick a toy from the souvenir shop to thank me for backing her up the next day. All that time we were with our friends Maggie, Henry and Maya which contributed greatly to the success of the day. Going to the zoo is great, going to the zoo with friends is the best!

Coolest little gang!

William really liked the gorillas.

Josh and Henry gave us an intense drum concert.

William literaly fell in love with the stuffed rhino that Michelle bought for him.

We were all so pooped afterwards! Both boys instantly fell asleep in the bus.

We arrived in Boulder around 3pm. I thought the day was over. We had had so much excitement, I thought we'd go straight home, eat something and crash in front of a movie. But by the time we got home the boys had had an hour long nap and were completely resuscitated. The weather was amazing and they saw one of their friends play outside at the playground so we barely had time to take a potty break and we were back outside for more fun. Henry and Maya were riding their bikes which motivated Josh to practice riding his bike again. I had taken the training wheels off his bike in November and we'd practiced a few times, without much success. He was really upset that William could ride his balance bike faster than him and every outing turned into a competition to beat William (and a giant tantrum because he couldn't). I wish these two were not so competitive, it drives me crazy and I have no idea how to deal with it. But that competitiveness turned out to be very useful that day. After only 2 laps around the field I told Josh I was going to let go, he didn't want me to but I reassured him and let go, he continued pedaling and balancing without any help! It was a total surprise and a giant moment of pride. He literally exploded with joy and so did I. We played the Celebration song and I went home to get some celebration candy, I told Josh I was so proud I was going to tell his Dad, and his Gramma, and Granpa, and uncles and aunts, and all his cousins and the entire world. We made a huge deal out of it and he was just the most radiant child for the rest of the day. He continued riding his bike for an hour or so. I put the video on facebook and a lot of people sent some really nice comments. I read them to Josh the next day and that boosted his self esteem another notch. So a big thanks to everybody who commented and made my little boy feel so special that day.

(He's saying "Woohoo, look a meeeee!! I can ride my bike by myself!!!")

We all had a hard time falling asleep that night, just too much excitement for one day!

Friday was our last outing for Family Housing. We went to the Butterfly Pavilion. Again it wasn't the first time we went there, but the boys were older and able to appreciate it much more this year. This time Joshua actually held Rosie, the giant Tarantula. He also touched some starfish and horseshoe crabs.

William looked at the spider with interest, my friend Sarah tried to convince him to touch it but he didn't want to. Can't blame him! 

The butterfly greenhouse was nice but not quite as interactive

William decided Sarah was his Mommy for the day. He did not leave her side and refused to let me do anything for him... Sarah had to follow him around, hold him up to see the insects, hold his hand, open his snacks etc... Thank you Sarah for being so nice to my little monster!

We missed the play area the first time we came here. It was a nice surprise to find it. The boys especially enjoyed stuffing fabric butterflies into a clear tube and see them fly up the tube (there was a fan at the bottom).

and the bean bag toss game.

We finished our visit with a nice little story time.

After the butterfly pavilion, we met some friends at the pool. Sam, Mael and a few other younger friends were there. We all had a good time. And then later in the afternoon we met with Emily and Sam again for an egg decorating party in their neighborhood. 

On Saturday the boys went to Lafayette with Rex for an egg hunt and collected a massive amount of eggs! I helped organize another egg hunt here for the residents in our apartment complex. 

Sunday our friend Maggie had organized a little gathering to celebrate Smingus Dyngus, a Polish tradition where kids chase each other around with spray bottles and water guns (at least that was our version of it). The boys had a blast.

We left early to attend a potluck with friends in Smiley Court. The fun never stops around here. I'm so glad we've had this experience of living here in Boulder, close to so many amazing people. Family Housing really is a great community and I'm going to miss it, but I know I'll be able to say I enjoyed it to the fullest!