Spring Break 2008!

Sunday Pictures - Trey looks a little beat up after kissing the concrete Saturday night..his nose and his head got a little too close

A week of fun, a week to get nothing done, and in the end you are glad that it's back to life as usual tomorrow. This year instead of planning any big trips or even little trips, we decided to spend the duration of spring break right here at home. We did, however, plan an activity for just about every day during the last week so that Bayley and Kendal had something to look forward to over their spring breaks! Monday we started the week off with a bang by heading to the mall to get the kids pictures taken. It's always an adventure to get 3 kids ready and looking presentable for pictures, and then factor in the waiting time and the ride over and you are lucky to have anything turn out. I scheduled an appointment hoping that would reduce our waiting time, only to get there and have to wait over 45 minutes before we began our session....needless to say I was not a happy camper. In the end the kids cooperated and looked presentable and we ended up with one keeper! I guess that will make it worth it! After the pictures and lunch at Chick-fil-A, we headed about 45 minutes North to Gadsden, Alabama where they have a kids museum and a couple other small art museums. The kids had a good time, but in the end I'm glad that those activites were FREE because I would have been very disappointed if I had paid money to go to any of the museums.
Kendal playing doctor...she loved giving shots!Bayley was a great cashier...she loved being in charge of the $! Trey played house almost the entire time we were at the kid's museum



Tuesday we went shopping....my only shopping day of the entire week, and then we had a few friends over in the afternoon.
Daddy took the kids fishing Tuesday night! They love playing with the minnows.

Wednesday was our stay at home day. So the girls played games and did small activities around the house. Then Wednesday night Bayley went to swim practice and then we headed to the church for Wednesday night activites.

Thursday Grandpa "G" came over to play with the kids and to help Jeff and I complete a couple of projects around the house. We spent the majority of the day outside installing new outdoor ceiling fans, removing the pool cover, power washing the porches, and washing Grandpa's truck. The kids loved spending the day outside, however, Trey found out the hard way not to touch tall mounds of dirt filled with ants. As I was power washing I watched him notice the large ant hill, start towards it, ignore my cries to stay away, grab two huge handfuls of dirt/ants, and then we heard the screams. I was able to quickly grab a towel and isolate most of the bites to his hands, but he did end up with about 25 nasty fire ant bites on his hands that have blistered and look very ugly.
Grandpa even took time to play Barbies with the girls...what a devoted Grandpa

Friday Jeff took the day off of work to spend with his girls during their break. They woke up early and spent about 2 hours fishing in our backyard....they caught 2 decent fish and saw a bunch more that they couldn't get to bite! We gave Bayley a list of options of things she could do on her last day of spring break and in the end she chose to go with her Mom to a rollerskating rink to try for her first time to rollerskate. We decided Trey and Kendal aren't quite old enough to enjoy this activity so it was just Bayley and I. She has a set of rollerblades that she loves to use outside our house, but as you all know it is a little different rollerblading on asphalt than it is rollerskating on wood floors. The first time she fell she was pretty upset, but after that she did a great job and by the end she looked like a seasoned rollerskater...in fact she met a couple of new friends who couldn't believe it was her first time and who she loved showing off her bravery to. After rollerskating we let Bayley pick out a couple of movies to rent and headed home for a relaxing evening with the family.
Bayley rollerskating!

Saturday we decided to extend Spring Break and we all headed to Birmingham to go to the McWane Science Museum. It was awesome! Bayley loves science anyways, but this museum has just about everything a young scientist could want. Tons of interactive activities, games, and demonstrations. All of the kids really enjoyed it! I'm sure we will take many more trips there as long as we are this close to Birmingham. Saturday night Grandma "G" came over to play with the kids, while Jeff and I went out to celebrate our 8th anniversary! Our anniversary isn't actually until Tuesday, but after looking at our schedules, Saturday was looking like our only day in the next couple of weeks where we could steal away a night. Jeff took me to the nicest and best place to eat in Anniston, which was a very great treat! He really does treat me good!
Bayley laying on nails
The girls in the wind tunnel The girls even got to dissect a squid and they loved it!

Today has been an eventful Sunday. Today was our branch conference and Jeff was called and sustained as the new Branch President. We are excited and humbled about the opportunity he has to serve the people in this area. I'm sure it will bring lots of growing experiences.