April 21, 2008 - Spring Break........and Beyond!!

Whew, lots to catch up on. I'll try to summarize and move quickly! And better yet, I'll try to do better at updating this blog!!!

Our spring break was April 7-11. We were all well during that time, thank goodness!! We went with my mom to St. Petersburg, FL to visit her aunt, or "Auntie Pat" as we like to call her. We had a wonderful time visiting her and it was great to get away for a few days. The only negative of the whole trip was the drive down. We left on Saturday, April 5th which is the day that the entire state of Georgia is driving south for Spring Break! On top of that, the weather could not have been much worse for driving. It was pouring down rain for 75% of the drive. In fact, once we crossed the border into Florida, it was the kind of blinding rain that causes drivers to pull over or drive 20mph with their hazard lights on. It was simply nasty! Plus we ran into some traffic snags on I-75 toward south Georgia. We left my house at 9:30am and arrived at Auntie Pat's at 7pm. But the important thing is that we made it! And we were all safe and happy to be there. The rest of the trip was wonderful and the drive back on Wednesday could not have been better.

We didn't do a whole lot while there, but we did manage to walk around the Pier and downtown St. Pete. We also visited a Children's Museum and walked around John's Pass over by Madeira Beach, where we had vacationed with Andrea and Bryan two years ago in July. We really enjoyed just relaxing and visiting with Auntie Pat, her friend Norm, and their cat, Max. The kids really took to all of them right away and they really were on their best behavior so I was very pleased. Meanwhile, Ed had his guys' trip to Toronto with Bryan to see the Red Sox (who lost all three games over the weekend to the Blue Jays) and Dad broke his collarbone playing tennis on Sunday!! Mom felt bad for not being there but Dad's OK, just embarrassed, and Zachary was there to check on him.

We were glad to get home and get back into routine the week of April 14th. I can't believe the school year is quickly coming to a close! We had a great spring weekend this past weekend. We got together at Balinda and Clint's house on Friday for an impromptu "pizza and beer" night with the kids, along with the Merrills and the Steeds. It was great and the weather was perfect for the kids to play outside. On Saturday, we went to downtown Norcross with Mom and Dad and we ate at the Cafe. We were seated near a window and Daniel was fascinated with two trains that went by. After dinner we walked across the street to a park and playground. They were also having live music on the street with lots of picnic tables set up. It almost looked like a Chastain-type atmosphere. It was fun and we definitely want to do it again. On Sunday we had Mom and Dad over along with Uncle Zac and Heather for a cookout. It was fantastic to finally use our patio furniture and enjoy our outdoor living space. I was so excited to finally enjoy it and we are looking forward to hosting the next pizza and beer night with our friends.

Today Elizabeth had her first swimming lesson at Dynamo. Nothing too exciting happened, it just looked like they were assessing the kids to determine their level. Elizabeth was excited that Ella was in the class with her and she seemed happy to be in the pool again. I really hope they are able to teach her to swim well enough so I won't have to hover over her at the pool this summer. It was a bit challenging to pick her up from school, rush home to eat lunch, and get to Dynamo by 1:00 but for 5 weeks I think we can make it work.

The kids are really a lot of fun these days. Daniel mimics a lot of things that Elizabeth says, including little things like "That hurt me." He's very snuggly and clingy these days ("Hold You MaMa") and I'm trying to enjoy those moments. Elizabeth seems to be full of energy and despite her busy schedule of school, gymnastics, swimming, soccer....she seems to take it all in stride and enjoys being around other kids. I don't know what I'll do without the routine of the school year when summer comes but I'm sure we'll get through it.

Daniel's room is also now finally complete. Ed just about divorced me trying to strip the old wallpaper border from the nursery. He tried to get the entire project finished while we were in Florida but it took him two days to get the wallpaper down. But then he was able to prime and paint the room in one day and then he and Mom put up the new wallpaper border the next day. Then the storage drawers underneath his bed were finally delivered on Friday. I'm now happy with the way everything came out. I still think the wall color is just a little bit off from what I really wanted - a little too much green and not quite enough khaki - but overall I'm pleased. Daniel does a happy dance every time we show off his room to someone so I know he likes it too! It's nice to finally kiss a final farewell to the old nursery. Now we just need our friends Michael and Carol Smith (who are expecting baby #4!!) to come and pick up the nursery furniture!!