Spring Break

The kids eat dinner with Bryson
while watching
Spectacular Spiderman.

Spring Break started with a trip to the doctor for Ian. It had been nearly two months to the day since we last visited the pediatrician so I guess we were "due" for a trip in. Ian's barking cough returned over the previous weekend and progressed quickly. So we got him in on Monday.

Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Croup again. This time wasn't as severe as last time but the doctor opted for an inhaler instead of a shot or meds as with the previous time. Ian wanted no parts of the inhaler and the first round of using it was not pleasant. The "mask" they provided to help him ingest all of the spray really scared him so he asked to just use the inhaler itself. He has to take two puffs, twice a day. After the first few rounds, he had it down and wasn't afraid of the process anymore.

Daddy promised him a surprise if he could take his inhaler all week without a fuss. So on Friday he brought Ian a new Imaginext airplane called Tornado Prop. He was ecstatic and hasn't put it down all weekend. And because Mark didn't want Anna to be left out, he picked out a new bath toy for her that squirts water up in the air and she loved it.



The boys enjoy their pudding.

 Ian had his cousin Bryson over to the house for some playtime, dinner and some Spiderman comics on tv one evening. The boys were so wound up to see each other and had a blast chasing each other with light sabers, making chocolate pudding to enjoy after dinner, and eating in the living room while watching comics. Anna was right there for all the 'big kid' action, of course. 

 We ventured out to the local historical museum for the first time and experienced their hands-on portion of the museum designed for kids. It was pretty neat. The kids got to play dress-up in a wild west style house, pretend they were farmers, bankers, grocery store clerks, the town sheriff (and inmates) and enjoy the train table. We ran into one of Ian's school friends and his cousins so Ian and Anna were thrilled to see familiar faces. All the kids enjoyed the museum and Mama loved the price...free!  



Ian and Dalton as "teachers" and Anna
is the student in the historic classroom

Later in the week we met up with our family from up the turnpike at our local zoo. It was great seeing them and the cousins just had a blast. Ian wanted his cousin Dayton (11 years old) to come home with us. He referred to her as  his new 'big sister'. And Anna and Jacelyn (6 years old) hit it off immediately and walked hand-in-hand most of the day. The zoo was more crowded than I have ever seen it and the record crowds actually made the front page of the newspaper the following day. I learned to avoid the zoo at all cost during spring break. But it was a fun time, overall.

    

All the cousins gather together at the zoo.



And the best part was the kids slept in to a reasonable hour each day. Anna blessed us with sleeping until at least 6am, and even 7am one morning. And Ian would make it until 6:30 almost each day. Mama greatly appreciated getting to sleep past 5am several days in a row. Woohoo! We hope this routine continues.

 

It was a fun week and it sure did go by quickly. But I know the kids will be so excited to return to school because they have missed their friends. And we're all thrilled mild weather has arrived and it appears that spring is just around the corner. Hooray for sunshine and light jackets!