Spring Break.
All three kids off of school… all week. Was it Spring? Yes. Was I getting a Break? Not exactly.
This year my wife was unable to take time off from work for a spring break trip anywhere, so we would be “vacationing” from home.
She was stuck working (a lot), which meant I was solo parenting (a lot).
For me, a successful spring break at home is very weather dependent. If it’s nice out, we can take the dog for walks, go for short hikes in the woods, ride bikes and scooters, and just play outside. The forecast all week was rain, rain and more rain. Bummer.
My first Spring Break outing was taking my daughter to get some X-rays, not a very fun thing to do over break, but better than missing more school. The best part of our trip to the hospital was when the X-ray tech told my daughter, “You can keep your sweatshirt and shirt on during X-rays…unless you’re wearing a shirt from Justice, then you’ll need to wear a gown instead.” First Born took off her sweatshirt, and sure enough, was wearing a shiny sequins and glitter shirt from Justice. Apparently the X-ray machine was no match for Justice apparel.
Despite our rainy week, we did find some fun indoor activities. We went to a local church that had a huge indoor free playground. Unfortunately, everyone in town was there. It was crazy packed. Also, at the end of our visit, my son launched himself off the indoor zipline and landed, nose first, on the ground. Initially, I was certain he’d broken his nose. Fortunately, it looked and felt much better the next morning. Thank goodness, I was really hoping to NOT have to make two hospital trips in one week.
Another highlight of Spring Break week, First Born finally made it to Skyzone. She’d been hearing about her brother and sister going there on numerous Fridays during their Toddler Time, but could never go due to her age and the fact that she has school on Fridays. Well, her time finally came and Skyzone did not disappoint her high expectations. My three kids and I had a great time, bouncing around for an hour and finishing of our trip with concession stand pizza and Cheetos for lunch. #HealthyDad.
My wife did get a day off on the final day of our Spring Break, so our family decided to make the most of it. The weather was gorgeous that Friday as we loaded up and prepared for a full day in downtown Indy. We had no set plans other than we wanted to start off with tacos at Bakersfield on Mass Ave. After lunch we went to Mass Ave Toys. A great toy store. Once we told each of our kids they could pick out a toy we were stuck there for an hour as they decided what they wanted. The amount of time and effort they put into this decision was more than I put into buying my last car. The Blonde Bomber spent most of the time carrying around a music box. She simply, “had to have it,” and that it was, “amaze.” At the checkout she changed her mind and bought a watch instead.
Middle Man was the one that knew what he wanted as soon as he saw it and never wavered in his decision. It was a logic game called Rush Hour. Come to find out it’s the newest game recommended by MENSA, which we thought was pretty on par for him.
First Born was a complete “nut ball” (her word) trying to figure out what she wanted. There were simply too many choices for her. She even had her own money she wanted to spend too, which further complicated her decision making. She decided on a jewelry kit that involved coloring and baking. Her gift from us was Simon. Remember Simon the game with the blinking lights?
After we left the toy store, I was ready to find a bar, but instead we went to the dog bakery for a new toy for our pup Buffett. The only hiccup at the dog bakery was The Blonde Bomber throwing a fit because she wanted to eat one of the yummy looking dog treats in the display case. I almost bought her one just to teach her a lesson, but figured it would just cause MORE tears.
Next, while my wife checked out a local wine shop, the kids and I went to Indy Reads Books. Indy Reads Books is an independent book store that uses it’s profits to advance adult literacy in Indy. It’s a great (inexpensive) place to buy books. Inexpensive, unless you’re looking to buy signed copies of A Fault in Our Stars by John Green, those will cost you $175. We left the book store with three bags of books, totaling about $25. Sorry John Green, maybe next time.
Our epic day-long adventure on Mass Ave ended at Yogulatte, the frozen yogurt store where, “yogurt comes out of the walls.” The Blonde Bomber was left unattended long enough while filling her yogurt cup, that her yogurt weighed (and cost) more than the rest of ours combined.
Our epic one-day staycation and Spring Break ended with some pizza with friends. Middle Man played his new MENSA game until he beat all the cards it came with. The dog enjoyed is new Wubba dog toy, Blonde Bomber lost her new watch, First Born spent the evening mastering Simon, my wife popped open one of the new bottles of wine, and me, I finally got that beer I’d been wanting since leaving the toy store.
Cheers to the end of Spring Break and to our kids returning to their classrooms!
-Pete
