The kids started back to school today, and I still haven't talked about all the stuff we did on vacation. But I also don't have any pictures, which makes for a boring post. So I will do my best to write a quick summary of each activity, thus preserving it for posterity. haha
Saturday the kids played almost the whole day with each other, with their Playmobil. I love when they do that. Makes me feel happy we spent so much money on the stuff, and I love that they are learning to truly enjoy their siblings. That afternoon I did something I had done for several years; went on a joint teach with the missionaries. The lady lived in an area of town I was not familiar with, so Chris showed me on Googlemaps exactly how to get there, what the street area looked like, and wrote down every turn and street name for me. He handed me the paper and said, "Now, when you get lost and call me, try to stay calm. It doesn't help when you get all mad and yell at me because YOU are lost." I smiled sheepishly and promised to keep it together.
I have been getting lost a lot lately, and will call him in a panic, demanding he tell me where I am and how to get where I need to be. Poor guy. But I am pleased to report that I found the address on the first try, no tears necessary. I was only able to stay for an hour, due to parking limitations, but it was very nice. I am so glad they asked me to go.
Monday was Sechselaeuten, when they burn the snowman to chase away winter and predict how hot the summer will be. Since Chris had the day off from work, we decided to head up to Germany and do big our grocery shopping. He hasn't come with me in over a year, since there wasn't room in our old minivan for our entire family and enough groceries to justify driving up there. But with our new van, there is all kinds of room. After we were done packing it all in, every one still had leg room! Yippee! We left early in the morning, to get back in time for the girls' afternoon activity.
Our neighboring town offers what they call Ferein(s)pass, or vacation fun. They send out a list of different activities for different days, and the kids can choose what they want to do. Then the parents go wait in a big long line at the playground, money in hand, to sign their kid up on a first come/first served basis. We were lucky, that all the things my kids wanted to do, still were available by the time it was my turn.
At two o'clock, Chris drove the girls down to the local pharmacy, for a fun afternoon of soap making and perfume smelling. They had an absolute blast, and brought home two soaps each; one lemon scented and one rose scented. They now use them every time they wash their hands.
On Tuesday, we had planned to stay home and be lazy, maybe straighten up the toys a little, nothing too straining. Then we got a call from Julie S. that she and a couple other moms were heading over to the animal park and did we want to join them? At first, no one really wanted to go except Nicholas. But it was going to be a very nice day, and I wanted to see my friends, so I bribed them with grilled sausages, Pringles and cookies. (I am so horrible.) It worked, and we all piled in the car and headed over the hill. We hung out at the awesome playground for quite a while, until too many tiny tummies started rumbling. Then everyone walked over to the grill area, where some nice people already had a lovely fire going and we could just add our sausages to theirs. I love not having to fuss with newspaper and matches. 🙂
After lunch, we took a slow stroll around the park, not really seeing any animals, but having lots of fun playing and laughing on the trail. At the very end, we played some more with the water pump, and then said goodbye to our friends. Sarah had to be a at a Doctor's appointment to check on the progress of her eardrum, or we would have gladly stayed a bit longer. (Her ear is completley healed and back to normal. Whew!)
Wednesday was the day we ended up being lazy, staying home and straightening up a little. I even let the kids stay in their pajamas all day. That makes it really feel like vacation. Chris worked from home that day, as I needed to go help a lady clean out her apartment in the afternoon. Fortunately, I had two good friends with me, and the apartment wasn't actually that dirty. But if you find yourself with a long-haired cat, saving tiny slivers of soap in a cup somewhere in your house, you may want to look into the possibility that you are a hoarder. (Just a few commonalities we found between this house and the last one we cleaned out.)
Thursday was a busy day again. I took Sarah to her horse riding actiivty at 9, dropped the car off along with the new navigation system to the dealership to be installed, picked up my loaner car, drove home, picked up Nick, and took him to his acitivity. From the description, we knew he would be working with wood, building a structure of some sort, but we weren't sure exactly what. I thought maybe a birdhouse, or something. Turns out it was way cooler. At the playground, they have a whole collection of wooden treehouses that children, with adult supervision, have built over the years at these activities. Nicholas helped build a floor for a new treehouse, including cutting some of the wooden planks to the correct size with a saw and hammering them in place. He said they spent a long time learning how to use the tools properly. 🙂
They also grilled sausages for lunch over a fire, were allowed to play on the zip line and in the pond at the playground, and had a snack of three different kinds of cake. He loved it, and wants to go again next year. That evening, I went to pick up the car with the newly installed Susie, ready to take me wherever I need to go. No more panic, no more frantic phone calls to Chris, no more driving around aimlessly while the children ask "Are we lost again?". I am so excited.
And thus ends our 2009 Spring Break. I think it was the perfect blend of fun activity, mixed with lots of downtime. Can't wait til next vacation. Come on summer!