Spring Break-ish

Last week was spring break and it looked quite different from last year's**. When I think back to a year ago, my stress level was through the roof and there were so many unknowns. A year later, Tony and I are both vaccinated (Woohoo!!) and there's a glimmer of hope for the next few weeks and months, including summer break! 🤞

And you know it's going to be a good week when you lose your first tooth!! Sebastian could not have been more delighted about this...he's been extremely patient while his friends and classmates lost tooth after tooth...

He got $10 from the Tooth Fairy, a small tooth stuffed animal that Brie made him and a stuffed dog he'd been looking for (Samuel found it)! 

We didn't travel this year, so it was nice not to feel the anxiety...and to relax for a week. Instead, with Brie's help, we thought we'd make the most of a staycation spring break, complete with a private flight to...Ft. Myers Beach, Ohio! 😉 We flew Samuel Airlines...of course, Samuel was our pilot. The flight was very quick and the legroom wasn't too bad!

We kicked off our staycation with a little St. Patrick's Day dress up...

And a trip to the zoo! We spotted our favorite hippo...

And got a pic at our favorite spot.

And then Bas lost a second tooth! Crazy!

We also had a blast playing putt putt golf on a gorgeous sunny day. Sebastian won with three holes in one! 😮

Also very spring breaky?? Good eats...both homemade and local!!

And drinks! Sebastian took this of me on a Friday afternoon. Cheers!

I discovered that Cadbury Eggs pair beautifully with Rosé!

We also did a science experiment or two (this one was with Skittles)...

And art projects (Brie painted Tony's old phone case and then posted a YouTube video all about it. #2021)

And big news!! Sebastian learned to ride a bike! He is SO proud of himself!! He even made it all the way around the neighborhood before wiping out. He was a little scratched up, but still thoroughly impressed by his accomplishment.

And what's that on our window ledge?? That's right...parsley! We were very ready for...

Passover! We had a wonderful first night seder as a family. It's become such a special tradition of ours and is SOOOO delicious...

The kids all know the drill now...

And really enjoy participating.

Passover is the first holiday that we're celebrating virtually for the second time...kind of a bummer. But we still had fun celebrating online with Rockdale Temple for a second night seder (our first time ever doing this!).

Brie had the clever idea to use battery-powered candles (less mess), and Samuel thought it would be fun to pretend to light them. 

And Brie had the honor of singing the Four Questions. She did a beautiful job! 

Then Sebastian read them! He did great! We were all very proud of him...

We concluded our celebration with some furry friend time!

Brie made a cool maze for Snowflake. She made it through with a little treat incentive here and there...

So while our spring break wasn't exotic or balmy, we did feel refreshed and grateful after our relaxing and family-focused week! Hope everyone is having a lovely early spring!

P.S. Other memorable spring breaks? Exactly twenty years ago, Jackie and I used our teaching spring breaks in Japan to go visit Korea and China. It was a crazy trip, but we had an amazing time!

**Simply reading my blog post from last spring break gives me heart palpitations! I feel the uncertainty in my voice...what will the next few weeks bring?? Little did we know that those weeks would turn into months...and then a year. Tony worked from home until late summer! The kids are virtual this entire school year! Our first Zoom music lessons were an adventure and now we're a year in and they're the norm. And, YES, we have baked the heck out of the pandemic, watched A LOT of movies, gone on hundreds of walks around the neighborhood and, above all, had AMPLE together time. 💖