Spring Break 2011

Spring Break is a two-week vacation for me this year (because we are a year-round school now). It's been sooo nice to not have to think about work and to be able to focus on and spend quality time with my own kids. This weekend was an especially memorable one, because I spent 4 days straight with them at a hotel in Dayton, Ohio. Why, you ask? Well, my very best friend from college, Anne, lives in West Virginia (My friends Amy, Tracy, and I went and visited her in January, if you recall). So over this break, Amy decided that we should meet up with Anne halfway between Chicago and West Virginia-this time with the kids. I was excited to finally use our car to its full potential for an extended road trip. We filled every single seat, used the DVD player frequently, and drove it until we almost ran out of gas-literally! That was a thrilling five miles of driving in the middle of the country!

 But luck was on our side, and we came across this tiny gas station just in time!











And then we found ourselves in this beautiful little town.The trees were in full-bloom, which made me so anxious for spring to arrive here in Chicago. 

With six kids in tow, us three adults had no agenda, other than to hang out, have fun, and swim in the pool. The kids were great entertainment. They were truly adorable, as they played together and got to know each other. 

 We did happen to find a great children's museum and the United State Air Force Museum.

Look at this precious face!

Our little "class" lecture about rules before entering the museum

Alice decided that she could tell Olivia the rules since Olivia's younger

Olivia showed HER, and started telling ALICE what to do :)

So they both gave each other simultaneous rules and warnings 

"Find your partners"

Cute little otters!

And, now, here is the grand finale of the trip. Without any planning or preparation, Jack suddenly learned how to swim!  AND, I happened to have our new underwater video camera to capture it!

I realized at the end of the weekend that I never took a picture of us girls. We were all quite busy keeping these kids happy, though. Which, of course made us happy (the nightly cocktails helped too ;)

It was a trip to remember, for sure. Old friends and new friends, and lots of smiles.