Spring Break 2010

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? YES!

We drove to Boise last Friday, for a mini vacation during spring break. The kids had been counting down the days and their lunchboxes were packed (with toys) a week early.

Our first stop was lunch at Tucanos. We LOVE Tucanos because it's so easy to find a favorite for everyone. Zach ate mostly cheese, Nicole ate mostly strawberries, Jonathan ate a chicken heart without knowing what it was, and Gregory drank out of a straw for the first time. Ben and I ate a lot of everything. Except the chicken hearts.

We settled into the hotel and then headed to the POOL. I love this picture. My memories from hotel stays when I was little are of sneaking quietly through the hallways to the hotel pool. The anticipation of swimming in the winter was intense enough that I still remember the feeling. I could see the same excitement in my kids. The smell of chlorine as we put the key in and opened the door. It was perfect.

This was Greg's first time in the baby tube. He didn't smile -or- cry for the entire two hours. He was just mesmerized. The next time we swam (we went three times) he was giggling and splashing and kicking his feet. The tube will be his seat of honor this summer so I'm glad he approves.

Nicole got a free ride on Dad all over the pool. There were other dads at the pool but Ben was the only one who got in. The kids loved it. What a great dad! Nicole was a cutie in her new swimming suit and little ponytail.

Zach had a grin on his face the whole time. He swiped the duck from Nicole but he was better at it anyway. And he was especially good at drenching me and Greg as he went kicking past.

Where'd the baby go? Jonathan is old enough to swim on his own and he certainly made the most of his independence. He raced against Dad and played with his diving rings and torpedo. He was the first one in the water and the last one out.

Next stop, and most importantly: Chuck-E-Cheese's! I played "Deal or No Deal" and won a whopping 43 tickets! Okay that doesn't sound like much, but most games gave us 2 or 3 tickets.

Ben doesn't know I took this picture, but it was fun watching him play football. He earned a lot of tickets for the kids. Notice his tongue sticking out, because...

I think it's genetic. Jonathan remembered the popcorn game from our last trip and it's the one he was most looking forward to. He was good at catching popcorn. Meanwhile Zach and Nicole were above our heads, crawling around in the play gym. For a LONG time. Zach was redfaced and putting off a lot of heat when he finally came out.

At that point we realized that Nicole hadn't come out yet because she couldn't. She was afraid of the slide and couldn't figure out how to get back down the ladder. So she just kept crawling around and waving at us. When she'd had enough, Mom had to climb up through the weaving platforms to get her. (Easier said than done.) After being rescued, Nicole had a lot of fun on all the rides. (Notice her tongue.)

Greg didn't miss out on all the fun. He got to drink soda.

We all had a great time a Chuck-E-Cheese and we were there until 10:30 pm. We were pleasantly exhausted and the kids had enough tickets for a couple small prizes each. My favorite part of the evening was getting our pictures taken in the fun machines. We have a nice stack of them, and this is the winner:

We can't figure out why the ride recommends only 2 people per picture. We fit six in just fine! It may appear that Zach isn't in the picture, but his shoulder is definitely in there, under Nicole's chin. A family of six? No problem!

We had a great vacation and even fit in some shopping. Before leaving Boise, we visited the fabulous Mike and Amber Peterson family and they made a gourmet meal for us. It was definitely a memorable two days. Happy Spring!