Spring Break Week 2014 started off GORGEOUS! Sunshine, sleeping late and comfy clothes made for a perfect way to begin The Bailey Bunch Spring Break Week!
I couldn't resist enjoying the beautiful weather Monday as we headed to Winthrop Lake for a "pic-i-nix" lunch (As Ben would say), some duck feeding and a bit of energy burning! I will say it was a bit to good to be true. For about an hour, these 4 little loves played beautifully together! It was a slice of heaven as Spring Break 2014 began!
While I had hoped my children would be wed fed by this adventure, I quickly realized they were more concerned with the nutrition of the ducks rather than themselves. The ducks of Winthrop Lake had a rather wonderful meal thanks to the Bailey Bunch! Complete with Jersey Mikes Subs, animal crackers, Cheez Its and a few raisins! Yummy!! Oh well, this momma had great intentions for nutrition. It just ended up the ducks benefitted more from it than I originally thought!
Then, my children, particularly Bess and Ben, were introduced to joys of inch worms and living in the South in the spring! And this my friends, is where the love for inch worms all started! Or should I say LOVE… LOVE for the inchworm! Because this family certainly has love for the inchworm!
So much love that my littlest love had to run ALL THE WAY back to his favorite stump just to get the inchworm he called "Red Car". This little boy ran as fast as his little legs would take him! The whole time just a screaming, "Don't leave inch worm and Ben! Don't leave inch worm and Ben!"
Eating outside, learning about inch worms and playing "Castles and Forts" on top of tree trunks was exactly what I had hoped our first day of Spring Break would consist of! A little bit of outside entertainment mixed with precious smiles and giggles!
Day 2 lead to a bit more bravery for this momma! Being that Easter was just around the corner, what more appropriate spring break activity than dyeing eggs! After A LONG time cooking the eggs outside in a crockpot and fighting Otis over the water inside of the bowl … our eggs were ready to be dyed!
Anticipation over egg dyeing was truly contagious at this house! I don't know if they were more excited or if in fact I was!
Carefully and thoughtfully I prepared the back porch for what I expected to be an creative art disaster ! Table cloth, extra water, small cups, I felt like I had it all prepared according to kindergartners and preschoolers!
Once the first eggs went in, I was a bit surprised at the calmness of these 4 little loves!
Bess was a pro at egg dyeing and was extremely thoughtful over which colors to use and when to use them!
Wylie went into full out artist mode and used as many colors and as many dips per egg as she possibly could!
Charlie just wanted his to be the brightest. No matter what color, he wanted his blue to be the bluest, his orange to be the most orange and his yellow to be brighter than the sun!
Ben ended up with a total of 2 eggs (thanks to me!). I should not have been surprised when he was more interested in the bowl of extra water and tongs! Pure entertainment for pretty much the whole process!
In the end, the experience was worth every smile and giggle I heard! While I wouldn't say Martha Stewart is going to be emailing for me for our color combinations, we created beautiful eggs that they still are looking at!
Wednesday of break was Family Fun Day!
Together the fam loaded up bright and early and began our day long adventure to the North Carolina Zoo! And what a zoo it was!
Our journey to Asheboro, NC couldn't begin without stopping at the most appropriate and our current most loved place for a good hearty breakfast… the new QT station near our house! After bellies were being filled with doughnut holes, dry cereal and trail mix, we began our 2 hour and 21 minute drive to the animals of NC!
The weather was chilly but the sun warmed us right up! Of course all the walking that was about to happen made for a quick warm up too!
The girls were decked and ready to impress in their sunglasses!
There were so many little parts to this zoo that offered fun play moments for the kids! The kids LOVED playing in the Polar Bear Den!
The Bison (who were laying down but are actually in this picture) offered us a gorgeous sunny spot to take a family photo! The bison exhibit was right next to the geyser which the kids thought was pretty cool too! I am always so thankful for people who recognize families taking pictures and offer to let dad (or mom) hop in the photo so we have everyone in the frame! Thank you random zoo friends for this little snapshot!
The climbable animals at this zoo were everywhere! And they were BIG! The kids got a kick out of being hoisted up on the tops of these animals for a "ride"!
One of the coolest places you visit at this zoo is the Sonoran Desert dome. It is the "center" of the zoo and the half way point between the zoo continents of North American and Africa.
As you enter, you are surrounded by cactus! The kids had heard about these plants but had never actually seen or touched them! Charlie was the smart one of the bunch and only posed by his cactus. Wylie wasn't as smart and found herself pricked by the little cactus she decided to "investigate"!
The Carousel was also a favorite of this crew! Everyone picked their favorite riding animals and off we went! I had to ride with Ben and I must admit I did enjoy it! It made you remember how much fun something so simple can be!
An exhibit at the zoo is a section called BUGS. This walk through exhibit features giant bugs some of which you can crawl on! Some of the animals make noises, some hissed, some even spit water out at you! Each bug had facts to read about as you stood and stared at how big the bugs were! The kids LOVED this part!
At the end of the exhibit was a "Poop Playground"! The kids didn't realize the playground was suppose to be "poop" until we told them! They were all over the playground until we mentioned that and then they turned their noses up! It was pretty comical!
With every new area of the zoo, there were often these little photo opp locations! The giant ostrich eggs were another favorite location for the kids!
Nearing the end of the trip, the focus of the adventure shifted from animals to ice cream. The kids knew that was the last thing we were going to do at the zoo so once they had walked for almost 5 hours, that was the only question we kept hearing. "Is it time for ice cream yet?"
After the request was made 100 times, we headed to the Crocodile Cafe for this families favorite… "Hutty Buddies"- as Ben would say!
While our last days of Spring Break could not be enjoyed outside, we made the best of things inside! Thanks to an ice cream visit from Rah Rah, Ben ended up with his own box of "Hutty Buddies". While I did ask repeatedly for Ben to show me his teeth as he prepared to enjoy these delicious treats, this was the only face I could get! I eventually gave up and we all enjoyed a rainy day treat!
We didn't visit the Caribbean or travel to the ends of the Earth for our break! While there were moments of boredom, laziness and twiddling thumbs, our days of Spring Break 2014 were really quite nice! It was nice to have a "stay cation " of sorts!
Now we are officially ready for summer!
Counting it down… Counting it down!
Thank you babies for a wonderful week together! I love spending time with you and watching you giggle, play and snuggle with me! I am one lucky momma!
No comments:
Post a Comment