Spring Break!

This year, for our spring break, we went north to visit family. However, though we humans may think this week long break is in honor of "spring," mother nature decided we needed a little more winter in our lives. So we got a few inches of snow while we were up there. It was actually pretty great. The past few winters, in Chicago, IF we get snow, it's generally followed by a deep arctic plunge in temperatures making it very difficult to get out and play in that white stuff. This past week, however, in between the storms, the temperature didn't dip too badly and we even had some blue skies and sun! So, we rolled with it. 

 

One afternoon we took the kids out to a big park with lots of nature and they really enjoyed hiking around in the snow. It was really fun to watch them get creative and make the most of the world around them.. there was a lot of snow getting carried around and some got lobbed into the river or pushed around with big sticks. 

 

We even found a cute little island (Heart Island, as we have dubbed it) and there was ice all around in the little pond which they took great pleasure in smashing up. For the most part, the grownups sourced the sticks and the kids did the smashing. It was a pretty good balance! 

 

 

 

 

 

Later, back at home, the kids built some "snow mountains" in the backyard. 

 

 

 

Amid all the snow fun, there was other fun inside as well. Most notably, some egg dying and lego building.

 

 During the visit, I also sculpted and attached a prosthetic leg for a beloved robot dog that has lost its leg. Due to the timing of things, I basically had to glue and then run off. But, by all reports, doggy is doing well and is enjoying lots of walking around time, much to my niece's happiness. Yay!

 

Then, as a final spring break hurrah, we spent a night at a hotel/indoor water park. Turns out, it's hard to take many pictures when you're in the water! So, I don't have much photographic evidence that we were there. But the kids had a blast (and the grownups survived.. hehe), so overall, that was a win, too.

 All together, another fun spring break in the books. We'll have a quiet final few days at home, then it's back to normal come Monday. But we'll enjoy it while it lasts!