Spring Break 2014

Is it still considered spring break if you aren't in school? 

My mom was on spring break last week so Jack, Sophie and I made the trek over to Arkansas for a visit. 

The last couple of years we have done spring break with my sister but it didn't work out for us to go together this year... maybe next year?

Anyway, this year was low key. The weather turned cold, so we spent a lot of time playing at fast food restaurants with indoor playlands, and the library.

Jack didn't seem to mind.

On our last night at my parent's house, my aunt and uncle came over for sundaes and visiting. 

Jack ate all of his ice cream and strawberries, and then most of my bananas and strawberries as well.

Since Jack has been sleeping in a big boy bed, it was a relief not to have to haul a pack-n-play with us.

 
We had a great visit, but as with any trip, it is nice to be home and in our own beds again!

See Jack {and his cousins – March 2013}

This is an ongoing series of videos that I am sharing so that our extended family can keep up with how Jack is growing and changing in these early years.

I'm pretty sure that Jack had a blast spending toddler spring break with his cousins. Here are a few videos that capture some of the fun. 
 

See Jack and Levi pretend to cook in the play kitchen. 

These boys love this kitchen.

See Jack and Levi play in the (real) kitchen.

Levi had a blast running in circles and showing Jack how to sweep.


See Jack and Izzy ride horses together.
Also Angela teaches Izzy a new phrase, "Mark, shut the front door!"
You have to watch what you say around these kids :)

 
See Jack ride the big horse with help from his Grandpa Voyles.
 Jack is lucky that Grandpa brought him his own horsey to take home to Alabama...
now if only his daddy would put it together for him!  


See Jack and Levi jump on the trampoline.
It was a little cold, but the boys had a great time. 
They will be wrestling in there in no time. 


See Jack and Levi and Grandpa Voyles.
Grandpa sure makes a lot of crazy sounds! 


See Jack play with his cousins. 
This is just a little bit of our crazy!

Toddler Spring Break

A week with no blog posts – did you miss me?

Jack and I spent the last 5 days visiting with some of my family in Nashville. I don't think that I have taken a "spring break" type of trip in a decade and going on one with a toddler is certainly a different type of trip.

My mom had the week off from work, so she and my dad drove over from Searcy. We have found that my sister's house is a great central location for all of us to get together. My brother works 5 minutes away and was able to take his afternoons off so that he could hang out with us as well.

Monday night we visited and the kids played. We ended the night with the cousins taking a bath together. I'm not sure what Jack thought about this, but he seemed to have fun.

Tuesday, we made our way over to the Nashville Zoo. 

I think Jack had the most fun when I let him walk instead of riding in the stroller. 

Also the ginormous playground was a big hit for the kids.

I thought the best part was listening to my dad make various animal noises and watching the animals respond.

The funniest (though perhaps meanest) thing was when he made a call like a hawk while we watched the meerkats.
 

This poor little meerkat dove from his watch post into a hole to take cover.

Dad also got the flamingos going and a cassowary took notice of him as well. 

When we made it to the lemurs, Izzy wanted dad to call to them as well, but there isn't really a noise that the lemurs make.

I enjoyed seeing the zebras, giraffes and elephants. 

One reason I like to take my own photographs is that when you hand a stranger your camera, you take a gamble that they will take a blurry picture or cut someone out of the picture. In this case, the strollers holding Levi and Jack were left out!

After the zoo, we headed back to my sister's house, where my aunt and cousin met us for dinner. We enjoyed getting to visit with them.

Wednesday we were supposed to go to an Easter Egg Hunt at the library. Unfortunately the librarian booked the wrong event and we were treated to a ballet lesson instead. Izzy enjoyed it.

The boys were ambivalent.

After the library, the boys took naps and Angela and I took Izzy to a local consignment sale. Angela got a boat load worth of clothes for her kids. I was excited to find a kid carrier for our bicycles. As soon as it warms up again, I can't wait to take Jack on his first bike ride!

Wednesday afternoon we let the boys jump in the trampoline. I'm pretty sure that they will be having full blown wrestling matches out there in a year or two.

After bedtimes, the adults either watched Duck Dynasty and/or played Rummikub.

Thursday was cold and everyone was a bit tired from all of the playing and visiting. We decided to take the kids to CFA to wear themselves out a bit. One of Daniel's 3rd cousins met us there. She has been dying to meet Jack, so I'm glad that it worked out.

Jack climbed to the top of the Chick-fil-A playland. This was a first ever for him. Cousin Izzy helped him go down the slide, twice. He was pretty excited.

Friday morning, we got up and said our goodbyes after breakfast. I think Jack was pretty worn out from a week of non-stop playing. It may take a few days for him to adjust back to his normal schedule!