Spring Break Stay-cation

With Daddy out of town for conferences, a cast, and family coming in town to celebrate a baby shower, we decided to stay put for Spring Break this year, but we made the most of it.

It kicked off with a day at the lake with our extended family. The boys always have the best time playing outside with cousins and come home exhausted. This time was no different. Mommy loves that ... and spending time with so many loved ones. 

We drove home into this beautiful sunset.

The next few days were rainy, and we almost went stir crazy....almost. But we made it! We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a very green dinner for the boys and corned beef sandwiches for Mom and Dad.

Blended up some spinach and added it to the cheese sauce for a healthy spin on mac & cheese.

We didn't get dressed and watched movies with popcorn.

Busted, Jude! Hahaha!!

We played dress up and colored.

Jude finally asked for a cast, "like Eli"                                                                     And Jude is drawing people now! This is Jude and Eli holding hands. Sooooo sweet!!

And I got busy crafting for Aunt Kristi's baby shower.

Finally, the rains stopped in time for a trip to a barn on Wednesday morning to feed, groom, and ride horses with some friends. Eli's buddy, Elias, comes in town to visit his grandma (my dear friend, Gail) each year. The two boys catch up quickly and are two peas in a pod. They get along fabulously despite only seeing each other once a year. We thought we were just going to feed the horses, so the mini lesson for Eli (what broken leg????) was a definite treat and bonus. All three boys enjoyed the time there. Jude was a little disappointed to not be able to participate in all of the fun, but Jonah was thrilled as he loves animals and there were dogs, cats, and horses all around. 

That afternoon, we decided to go bowling with our buddies Christy, Jordan, and Avery. The kids all had a really great time....though they eventually lost interest in bowling and enjoyed pretending to play all of the video games instead. Crazy kids. 

Thursday, Mommy finally got brave enough and agreed to a trip to Chuck E. Cheese with Elias and Gail. The boys all had a blast spending tokens and playing games.

These two boys are crazy and so alike. Their friendship has been fun to watch grow....they hugged goodbye and said, "See you next year!"

Friday was a picnic in the park day. It was a beautiful and sunny day, but the pollen really got to Mommy. I was on the couch much of the afternoon from a crazy pollen-induced headache. Yuck.

All of my sisters were in town at this point as we prepared to shower Aunt Kristi and her sweet baby girl. Our evenings were spent with them and finishing up little shower details. Eli and I did sneak away for a little date to see a movie on Saturday afternoon. 

So even though we didn't have an out-of-town adventure or any beach time, we still managed to fill our stay-cation with all kinds of adventures and fun.